IceDogs rally falls short
Too little, too late.
The Niagara IceDogs fell behind early and then staged a furious comeback only to fall 4-3 to the Ottawa 67s in an Ontario Hockey League game Friday night in St. Catharines.
The loss was the fifth straight and seventh in the last eight games for the IceDogs who dropped to a league-worst 10-23-1-1.
The 67’s got back to the. 500 mark at 19-19-1-2.
“That’s a frustrating game from a coach’s standpoint,” said IceDogs associate coach Jody Hull, who was subbing for head coach Billy Burke in the post-game press conference. “I thought we were good in the first seven or eight minutes and then we get scored on, and then all of a sudden for whatever reason, the sails went down and we stopped doing what we were doing in that first seven minutes and we get behind so far.”
The 67’s broke open a scoreless tie with a pair of quick goals just 42 seconds apart in the first period before adding one in the second and their fourth at the 13:46 mark of the third to take a 4-0 lead.
That appeared to be more than enough against a sluggish Niagara squad that had accumulated just 15 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes.
Niagara’s comeback began with just under four minutes to play when Liam Van Loon scored on the power play. Less than a minute later Brice Cooke narrowed the gap to 4-2 before Brenden Sirizzotti’s ninth of the season made it 4-3 with 1:27 to play.
Niagara then had a couple of good chances to score as time wound down with goaltender Josh Rosenzweig on the bench for the extra attacker.
“We’re going because we got a goal and then we get another one and had an opportunity to tie it up there but our play for the 60 minutes is too much like a roller coaster ride right now,” Hull said. “To be successful in this league you can’t be like that.
“As a group they have to learn that too and show when we get scored on we’re not just going to collapse and keep going. Until we figure that out as a group, we’re probably going to continue this roller coaster ride a little bit.”
Hull feels the club can still get something out of the effort.
“We are fragile, but at the same time, we’re pretty young team and a lot of this stuff is going through the process and getting experience. When you’re young, you have to learn how to win and we’re just not at that stage now with our group,” he said.
The IceDogs have little time to reflect on the loss with a game in Peterborough Saturday night and another one Sunday afternoon in Ottawa.
“The nice thing about our league is we have an opportunity tomorrow night against another team to show what we’re capable of and then we get these guys back Sunday in their building,” Hull said. “You get right back on the horse again.
“We always look at it that tomorrow is a new opportunity, a new chance. You have to learn to park it. Think about what happened, but park it and come to the rink with a new attitude and a fresh mindset and be ready to go when the puck drops.”
Ice cubes: Cameron Peters and Andrew Wycisk did not dress for the IceDogs . . . Collin MacKenzie, Adam Varga, Tyler Boucher (Ottawa), Jack Beck (Calgary), Cooper Foster and Gavin Ewles were scratched for the 67’s . . . St. Catharines native Derek Smyth has two goals and four points for the 67’s . . . The IceDogs entered the game with the No. 10-ranked power play (22.6) and the 20th-ranked penalty kill (72.2) . . . IceDogs defenceman Sami Douglas-Najem had to return to the dressing room for a couple minutes after getting bodychecked in the first period. He was shaken up again at 16:10 after being elbowed by Chris Barlas, who received a five-minute major penalty and got ejected from the game for checking to the head.
STATS PACK
67’s 4 IceDogs 3
Niagara’s Josh Rosenzweig and Ottawa’s Max Donoso.
Niagara IceDogs: Liam Van Loon (12); Brenden Sirizzotti (9); Brice Cooke (7).
Ottawa 67’s: Thomas Johnston (11); Luca Pinelli (7); Teddy Sawyer (3); Will Gerrior (3).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Max Donoso (28), by Ottawa on Josh Rosenzweig (21); Power plays: Niagara 1-for-5, Ottawa 1-for-3; Penalty minutes: Niagara 6, Ottawa 13.
Attendance: 500 (maximim permitted)
Up next: The IceDogs are in Peterborough Saturday night at Ottawa Sunday afternoon. Their next home game is Wednesday, Feb. 9 versus Barrie.
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