IceDogs double Generals
A two-week layoff from pre-season action was just what the doctor ordered for the Niagara IceDogs.
The IceDogs topped the Oshawa Generals 6-3 in Ontario Hockey League exhibition action Thursday night at Meridian Centre, their first game since a Sept. 9 loss to Guelph.
“I think guys are buying into the structure. Guys had two good weeks of practice to work on a lot of stuff to get everyone on the same page. We’re predictable for each other but unpredictable for the opponent so I’m pretty happy with how we worked,” IceDogs coach Ryan Kuwabara said.
Kuwabara will take extended practice time at any point of the season.
“This is a great time, that’s why I’m so happy to be here from the start, to be able to implement that and the culture,” he said. “The guys are playing for each other which is nice to see.”
Niagara featured a balanced attack with five players scoring goals and eight hitting the scoresheet.
Overage forward Ryan Humphrey had a strong game with a goal and an assist.
“He’s a 20-year-old so (play) just like that, to make smart plays, to calm things down when things get a little crazy and just the experience, he’s been in two finals and one championship so that’s pretty good,” Kuwabara said when asked for his expectations for Humphrey this season.
Humphrey, St. Catharines native Connor Federkow and Daniil Sobolev begin the season as the club’s three OA’s.
“That’s junior hockey to an extent, you get a crew of older guys teaching the younger guys and then they will become older guys who can teach the younger guys,” Kuwabara said. “If you get a good cycle through, then we’re going to have a lot of success.”
Federkow, Zak Lavoie, Kevin He and Gavin Bryant have worn the assistant A’s in pre-season, but Kuwabara isn’t ready to name a captain just yet.
“We’ll see. We’re figuring out who are good leaders and which way is the best way to go for our club,” he said.
The IceDogs conclude the pre-season Saturday versus Peterborough in Milbrook. They open the regular season Friday, Sept. 29 at London before hosting the Knights Saturday, Sept. 30 in their home opener.
“Still a little bit of work,” Kuwabara said when asked if the team is ready to begin the season. “Just got Bronson Ride back from NHL rookie camp (Ottawa) so he’s got to get in and get up to speed on some of the stuff. The pace of the game where he was playing was obviously a little faster than here and he has to adjust but we’ll just keep working of details, little things in the D zone and breakouts and with that structure the guys can make plays within them.”
Ice cubes: Owen Flores, Bronson Ride, William Stewart, Andrew Vermeulen and Ivan Galiyanov did not dress for Niagara . . . Calum Ritchie, Dylan Roobroeck, Tyler Granham, Hayden Sabourin, Jacob Oster, Beckett Sennecke and Rasmus Kumpulainen were scratched for Oshawa.
STATS PACK
IceDogs 6 Generals 3
Niagara IceDogs: Micheal Podolioukh 2 (2,3); Kevin He (3); Zakary Lavoie (2); Gavin Bryant (1); Ryan Humphrey (1).
Oshawa Generals: Luke Torrence (3); Ryder McIntyre (1); Stuart Rolofs (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Isaac Gravelle/Noah Bender (35), by Oshawa on Marcus Vandenberg (21); Power plays: Niagara 1/3, Oshawa 0/2.
Attendance: 702.
Next up: The IceDogs conclude the pre-season Saturday versus Peterborough in Milbrook. They open the regular season Friday, Sept. 29 at London before hosting the Knights Saturday, Sept. 30 in their home opener.
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