| ST. CATHARINES, ON – The IceDogs are on day 2 of their 4-game, 5-day stretch tonight with a Central Division matchup with the Mississauga Steelheads. Entering tonight with three games already played versus Mississauga, the IceDogs have secured 4 out of a possible 6 points.
AP call-ups, Andrew Vermeulen and Gabriel Runco will be back in the lineup tonight, as well as a new call-up, Charlie Burns to back up tonight in goal. After last night’s injuries, the IceDogs’ list of inactive players has grown. Landon Cato (D), Anthony Agostinelli (F), Gerard Keane (D), Owen Flores (G), Juan Copeland (F), and Andrew Wycisk (D) would all be out of the lineup tonight.
Niagara entered the game 14 points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference sitting behind the Oshawa Generals and Sudbury Wolves. Mississauga joined the game 5th place in the Eastern Conference, led by OA forward, James Hardie and veteran defenceman, Chas Sharpe.
IceDogs Starters (19/01/23):
LW: Declan Waddick
C: Daniel Michaud
RW: Andrew LeBlanc
LD: Bronson Ride
RD: David Jesus
G: Josh Rosenzweig
Tale of the (Stick) Tape
| Team Leaders |
Niagara IceDogs |
Mississauga Steelheads |
| Goals |
Zakary Lavoie (15) |
James Hardie (27) |
| Assists |
David Jesus (18) |
James Hardie (21) |
| Points |
Zakary Lavoie (25) |
James Hardie (48) |
Between the Pipes
|
Niagara IceDogs |
Mississauga Steelheads |
| Starters |
Josh Rosenzweig |
Ryerson Leenders |
| Games |
19 |
21 |
| Wins |
3 |
5 |
| Losses |
3-12-2 |
10-2-0 |
| Save Percentage |
.867 |
.869 |
| Goals Against Average |
5.31 |
3.72 |
1st Period
At 15:04 into the first period, Christopher O’Flaherty would be called for a slashing penalty and give the Steelheads a powerplay opportunity. Still, Josh Rosenzweig and the IceDogs PK stood tall for the entire 2 minutes. With just over 1 minute left to play in the first, Zander Veccia struck first for the Steelheads to open the scoring.
Shots read 14-10 in favour of Mississauga.
2nd Period
The middle period would begin with James Hardie maintaining possession in the IceDogs zone to set up Luke Misa in the slot and put the Steelheads up by 2. At the 6:29 mark, a quick release from Kevin He would find Alex Assadourian for a back-door rebound and put the IceDogs on the board and cut the visiting teams lead in half. The goal would mark Assadourian’s fifth point in his last three games in his new role with the IceDogs. Bronson At 14:05 into the second frame, a strategic pinch from Bronson Ride was able to collect the puck in the corner and find Kevin He breaking in from the point for a one-timer and tie the game a two apiece. Two minutes later, Angus McDonnell would tuck one in on the backhand down low for a Mississauga lead.
After two periods of play, the Steelheads led 3-2 on the scoreboard and had a shot advantage of 28-21.
3rd Period
The Steelheads would open up the final period on the powerplay with a point shot from DeZoete and an awkward tip in front to trickle in and increase their lead by 2. With 9:20 to play in the game, Misa fed Veccia cross-crease on the doorstep to make it 5-2. One more Steelheads goal Van Volsen.
The final shots read 43-29 for the visiting team.
Niagara will be back on home ice on Saturday night vs the Kingston Frontenacs for their third of four games this week. |
