IceDogs turn in solid effort to top 67’s
Josh Rosenzweig is making a bid for more playing time.
The 18-year-old netminder not only came up with perhaps his best effort between the pipes all season, but he also chipped in with an assist as the Niagara IceDogs defeated the Ottawa 67’s 6-1 in an Ontario Hockey League game Thursday night at Meridian Centre.
Rosenzweig turned back 33 shots and had a shutout until a giveaway deep in the IceDogs’ zone resulted in an Ottawa goal early in the third period.
“A shutout doesn’t matter to me,” Rosenzweig said outside a raucous Niagara dressing room. “The two points is huge for us right now. We’re trying to turn the season around and this was a good step forward for us.”
Rosenzweig was playing back-to-back games for the first time this season after a solid effort Saturday in Barrie where the IceDogs picked up a point in a shootout loss.
“You get more into a groove when you are playing more like that,” he said. “I felt it tonight and the team played unreal.”
Rosenzweig was the IceDogs sixth-round selection in the 2019 OHL draft. The Toronto native got into just four games in his rookie season and at one point found himself at the junior B level with both the Niagara Falls Canucks and Welland Junior Canadians.
“Coming into my 16-year-old year out of minor hockey I obviously wasn’t as mature in net,” he said. “The past 18 months during COVID I really tried to focus on the mental side of my game and keeping it simple and working from the bottom up.”
He said his time in junior B only strengthened his resolve.
“It’s adversity. You get knocked down and you get back up,” he said. “It’s been a battle, it’s been rough at some bad times, but it’s going good now.”
IceDogs coach Billy Burke loved Rosenzweig’s effort.
“He did a great job for us,” Burke said. “He’s big, he’s athletic, he’s bides his time, he works hard. He made some amazing, athletic saves at big times in the game. Very proud of him. The guys played hard for him and cheered hard for him.
“It was a great team effort and obviously you need your goalie if you’re going to have any success.”
Rosenzweig’s recent play should earn him some additional playing time — coming into the game Tucker Tynan had started 14 of Niagara’s 19 games.
“It’s better to have two or three capable guys than three guys who aren’t,” Burke said. “It’s tough, it’s uncomfortable at times, but it’s competition and we need it.”
The IceDogs took a 2-0 lead after one period and built a 4-0 lead by the early stages of the third.
Overall, it may have been the team’s top effort of the season.
“It’s been a lot of hard work lately, the last two weeks here,” Burke said. “It was a great effort, a great night.
“It feels good and I’m proud of those guys for sure.”
Burke said the coaching staff challenged the IceDogs to be more physical and it paid off.
“We wanted to get 100 hits tonight as a team, that was our focus,” Burke said. “We thought if we played like that, we’ll see what happens. We’ve been too easy to play against unfortunately a lot of nights. We thought if we come out physical and make that a focus, then we won’t be chasing, we’ll be able to play with the puck in the offensive zone more and it worked out.”
Ice cubes: Cameron Snow, Ethan Sims, Joseph Costanzo, Sami Douglas-Najeem and Declan Waddick were scratched for the IceDogs . . . St. Catharines native Derek Smyth saw a good deal of ice time on the blueline for the 67’s and was a plus-1. The 17-year-old defenceman had a goal and an assist in 20 games this season.
STATS PACK
IceDogs 6 67’s 1
IceDogs goaltender Josh Rosenzweig and Ottawa forward Vinzenz Roher.
For the Niagara IceDogs: Daniel Gushchin (15); Brice Cooke (6); Jake Uberti (5); Cam Butler (5); Liam Van Loon (4); Andrew Wycick (1).
For the Ottawa 67’s: Vinzenz Roher (7).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Will Cranley (37), by Ottawa on Rosenzweig (34); Power plays: Niagara 3-for-4, Ottawa 0-for-4; Penalty minutes: Niagara 8, Ottawa 8.
Attendance: 3,598
Up next: The IceDogs are home to North Bay Saturday on Teddy Bear Toss Night.
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 3,700 other stories found on our website, please consider hitting the Support Us button on the right-hand side of our home page and making a PayPal contribution to our website. Your support would be much appreciated. If you are a business owner, please consider advertising on our site. Our rates are reasonable and we provide plenty of exposure for your business. Contact bpotrecz@outlook.com for more information.
