IceDogs finish last overall for third straight season
Connor Federkow bid an emotional farewell to his Ontario Hockey League career Saturday night.
The overage defenceman for the Niagara IceDogs saw his time in the OHL come to an end with a 9-2 loss to the Sudbury Wolves at the Meridian Centre.
Following the game, Federkow was named the game’s first star and was greeted with hugs and good wishes from both the Wolves and his teammates before taking a few final minutes alone on the ice to soak it all in.
“It was amazing,” the 20-year-old St. Catharines native said. “It means the world. Seeing my whole family and all my friends, you couldn’t ask for much more. It sucks how the game turned out but you couldn’t ask for a better career. Made it to the finals (with London) last year and got to come home and play on my home ice.”
Federkow, who played two seasons in London before being acquired in the off-season, had about 100 family and friends in the stands. His scrum with the media was interrupted briefly by his former minor hockey coach, Dave Keracher, an ex-Thorold Blackhawk.
“My family does a lot for me so it was really nice to play in front of them for one last time before the next journey starts,” he said. “It’s just a blessing.”
Federkow, who finished the season with nine assists in 63 games, gave the IceDogs some much needed muscle and leadership on the blueline.
He says he will miss the camaraderie with the teammates the most.
“I think just me and the guys. Those guys become your brothers all through those years and you couldn’t ask for better buddies. Coming to the rink every day, spending all day with them. All through my career I’ve had great guys beside me. That’s what made it so good,” he said.
Federkow intends to do whatever it takes to continue playing.
“I’m just going to keep pushing,” the former Saint Francis student said. “You have to start somewhere again and I’m willing to push to the end when you can’t skate any more. I’m just going to go with the flow.”
Federkow was given a quick hug by IceDogs coach Ben Boudreau when he came off the ice for the final time.
“To me, I want to coach to the end and I’m still mad at how the game played out and then you realize it’s all over and all your feelings start coming back to the surface,” Boudreau said. “I remember at one point what my last junior game felt like and I watch other players and their emotions and at the professional level watching guys when their careers are over and that’s not easy.
“That’s something you do your entire life. It’s your first true love and knowing your junior career is over, I can’t image what those emotions are on the inside. It’s incredibly heartbreaking to see him experience those emotions. You feel for the guy, you love the man, and you just wish it wasn’t over and you wish you just had one more game to play.”
The loss ensures the IceDogs (17-42-6-2) will finish last overall for the third straight season. The club won only 12 games last year.
Boudreau feels the pieces are in place to lead the IceDogs out of the cellar.
“Looking at the positives and the positives only, we’ve got three guys with 50 points — Kevin He, Gavin Bryant and Ryan Roobroeck. You have your building blocks and you look at the other guys. Ethan Czata has taken massive steps and (Ivan) Galiyanov) and (Artem) Frolov getting his first goal. Then you look at some of the sandwich meat right in between there and some of the positives so you have your building blocks how you want to restructure and rebuild around those guys. You have the starting group and now you have to go support that starting group with some new faces in the off-season.”
Boudreau said there is no time to reflect on the season with exit meetings Sunday followed by the OHL Cup next week, the OHL draft April 12-13, then rookie camp.
“If you had a great season and you could put your feet up and drink until the sun sets but there’s too much work to be done to be able to sit back and not worry about what’s happening. I want to get right back and make sure that we’re not in the same stage for next year,” Boudreau said.
Ice cubes: Alex Assadourian, Kevin He (suspended), Michael Podolioukh, Andrew Wycisk and Charlie Robertson did not dress for the IceDogs . . . Nate Krawchuk, Nolan Jackson, Chase Coughlan, Lucas Signoretti, Nick Yearwood, Ryan Pryce and Nathan Villeneuve were scratched for the Wolves . . . The Wolves have seven NHL draft picks on their roster . . . Owen Flores was backed up by Tyson Gustaw of the Wellesley AppleJacks of the Provincial Junior C Hockey League.
STATS PACK
Wolves 9 IceDogs 2
Niagara’s Connor Federkow and Sudbury’s Quentin Musty.
Niagara IceDogs: Mathieu Paris (11); Urban Podrekar (3).
Sudbury Wolves: Quentin Musty 2 (42, 43); Kocha Delic 2 (29, 30); Dalibor Dvorsky (44); David Goyette (40); Landon McCallum (21); Alex Pharand (17).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Marcus Vandenberg (28), by Sudbury on Owen Flores (45); Power plays: Niagara 0/2, Sudbury 1/3; Penalty minutes: Niagara 8, Sudbury 6.
Attendance: 5,048.
Next up: The 2024 OHL Priority Selection Draft Lottery will be held Wednesday, March 27 at 7 p.m.
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