IceDogs get defensive
Stephen Dhillon was in mid-season form for the Niagara IceDogs in their home opener Friday night.
The 20-year-old netminder kicked out 29 shots as the IceDogs topped the Kingston Frontenacs 3-1 in their Ontario Hockey League home opener Friday.
Coming off a split of their first two games which saw them surrender 11 goals, the IceDogs tightened things up considerably in their own end, from Dhillon on out.
“Obviously, it’s early in the season and everyone is still learning,” Dhillon said. “Everyone is new to each other so we’re still trying to get on the same page in some aspects of the game.”
Dhillon picked up the win Sunday in an 8-5 victory over Mississauga in a game that was rife with breakdowns and errors.
“Opening night, to be honest, it felt pretty good and then we got into penalty trouble and a couple of strange bounces,” Dhillon said. “Tonight was great. It’s always fun to get the win and to have a relatively easy game.
“The guys made my job pretty easy taking away sticks for rebounds and just giving them outside shots.”
IceDogs coach Billy Burke said the club focused extensively on defence in practice.
“We had a long meeting and went over a lot of things and I thought our defensive game was much better,” he said.
Burke is well aware the IceDogs won’t be able to contend without being solid in their own end.
“When we’re rocking, we should be able to score, but if you look at every championship team, its identity is that it can play strong defence as well as strong offence,” he said. “The flighty teams never seem to be able to make it until the end of May.
“It’s certainly a priority. It’s going to be a continual work in progress, but there were a lot of positives tonight.”
Burke appreciated Dhillon’s part in that aspect.
“Dhillon looked outstanding,” Burke said. “He was very, very strong and very calm. I can’t remember one bad rebound coming off him.
“Stephen Dhillon looked like a solid, top over-age OHL goalie.”
Following a scoreless first period which saw Niagara outshoot Kingston 16-9, the IceDogs broke the stalemate when rookie Kyen Sopa scored his first OHL goal just under five minutes in. Niagara dominated the majority of the period but were unable to beat Kingston netminder Brendan Bonello again.
Bradey Johnson put Niagara up 2-0 early in the third period before Ben Jones netted his third of the season. Jones shook off a Kingston defender while on a short-handed breakaway to give the IceDogs a 3-0 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Kingston finally got one by Dhillon with just over six minutes to play.
Ice chips: Liam Ham (day-to-day), Drew Hunter (week-to-week), Jonah DeSimone and Jukka Schotter were scratched for the IceDogs . . . Emmett Gordon, Bryan Laureigh and Luke Drewitt did not play for the Frontenacs . . . Former IceDogs forward Jordan Maletta has joined the team in a front office position. Maletta recently retired due to a concussion.
Stats Pack
IceDogs 3 Frontenacs 1
BPSN Star of the Game: Niagara goaltender Stephen Dhillon with 29 saves.
For the Niagara IceDogs: Ben Jones (3); Kyen Sopa (1), Bradey Johnson (1).
For the Kingston Frontenacs: Jason Robertson (4).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Brendan Bonello (36), by Kingston on Dhillon (30); Power plays: Niagara 0-for-3, Kingston 0-for-3; Penalty minutes: Niagara 8, Kingston 8.
Attendance: 5,300 (sell out)
Up next: Home to North Bay Saturday at 7 p.m.
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