Maksimov effort
Kirill Maksimov’s first OHL career hat trick helps lead IceDogs past top team in Canada
Instead of searching for some solace when they trailed the Ontario Hockey League’s winningest team by three goals in the first period, the Niagara IceDogs were focused solely on discovering the back of the net.
Alex DeBrincat’s power-play goal with 19 seconds remaining in the opening frame staked the visiting Erie Otters to a 4-1 lead. Erie? Yes, the same team that dominated Niagara 10-1 in the road half of the home-and-home series Friday night, but it was not the same pack of ’Dogs that took the ice Sunday at Meridian Centre for the rematch. Oliver Castleman answered DeBrincat’s 59th goal of the season only 12 seconds later, and momentum from that marker carried Niagara to three more goals before Erie scored shorthanded to even the score at 5-5.
But the ’Dogs, determined to gain some ground in the race for the playoffs, weren’t finished putting their stamp on the second period. Kirill Maksimov, on a deflection of team captain Ryan Mantha’s shot from the slot on the power play for his second goal of the game; and Maksimov again, from the back of the net and off the back of Otters goaltender Troy Timpano to net the first hat trick of his OHL career; gave the hosts a two-game lead heading into the final frame.
Taylor Raddysh, on a bullet from the top of the left faceoff circle that beat Stephen Dhillon stick side, made it a one-goal game early in the third, but Mantha, with his second of game, inflated the cushion for Niagara back up to two.
DeBrincat, who on Sunday extended his personal goal-scoring streak to 17 games, made things interested with his second powerplay goal of the night, but any hopes the visitors had of forcing overtime were dashed when Kyle Langdon’s second goal of the afternoon went into an empty net to round out the offence for the IceDogs.
Niagara’s come-from-behind win, coupled with a 5-4 loss by the North Bay Battalion to Hamilton Bulldogs in the shootout, moved the IceDogs two points ahead of North Bay in the quest for the eighth, and final, playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Sitting in sixth, two points ahead of Niagara, are the Ottawa 67’s, while the Sudbury Wolves enter the week only one point ahead of the IceDogs.
Niagara’s second victory in four starts against Erie this season also put a smile on the face of IceDogs head coach Dave Bell. Using boxing terms, he dismissed Friday’s road loss to the Otters, a setback that had no effect on the playoff race, as a warmup to Sunday’s final round.
“Did you see what we did? We played rope-a-dope on Friday, and we just didn’t know it would pay off until this afternoon,” Bell said. “We played fast and didn’t watch them play.
“When you watch them play, they can make some things hap-
Bell told his players to forget about the score after they trailed 4-1 late in the opening period.
“After the first period, I told them, ‘You’re on the same ice surface, you’re in the same league, you’re the same age, so just go move your feet and play. Play them heads up and see what happens.’”
Oliver Castleman, Ondrej Machala and Maksimov for using their speed to give the Erie defence fits.
“Those guys all have extra gears — especially, Oliver, he’s got that gear he can just take off — and that puts a stress on any D.”
Bell said Niagara won’t be spend too much time relishing a “humongous win” with their next game, at home to the Owen Sound Attack, only three nights away.
“They’re good, they’re really good,” he said. “You’ve got to look at that game as another big challenge, and then you’ve got Sudbury and North Bay coming.” “It doesn’t get any easier.” Maksimov said the team had no trouble forgetting about the lopsided loss in the opening game of the weekend series with an Otters team currently ranked as No. 1 in the Canadian Hockey League. “We didn’t think about it, we just had to think only about our game today and worry about getting two points,” he said. “It’s like an extra motivation to come back and beat this team again.”
Niagara’s last victory over Erie in head-to-head play this season was a 4-3 decision in the series opener Oct. 6 in St. Catharines.
On Friday, Bell replaced Dhillon with Colton Incze after his go-to goaltender, and one of the busiest backstops in the league, allowed eight goals on 43 shots. Sunday, it was Kris Knoblauch’s turn to go to Plan B. Niagara Falls native and one-time Niagara Falls Canuck Joseph Murdaca went to the bench in favour of Timpano, Friday night’s starter, after surrendering four goals on 15 shots. ’Dog Biscuits: Krysta Gorman performed the U.S. national anthem and the choir from Ecole Sacre Couer in Welland sang O Canada … DeBrincat’s 162 career regular season goals are the most ever for an Ontario Hockey League player born in the United States. The 19-year-old Chicago Blackhawks’ second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft is a native of Farmington Hills, Mich.