Decisive dogfight
IceDogs equal season high for goals in third win in a row and third victory over Bulldogs
Ben Jones, No. 3 in the program and 189th in the NHL draft, was the No. 1 star of the game when the Niagara IceDogs closed out 2017 with another solid performance.
The 18-year-old centre from Waterloo, Ont., scored a shorthanded goal and collected two assists to help the IceDogs top the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 7-3 on New Year’s Eve.
It was the second, three-point game in a row for the seventhround draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, and the eighth straight game in which he has collected at least a point.
“He’s our Everything,” head coach Billy Burke said of the playmaker after the IceDogs won their third in a row. “We could bring him out right now and ask him what we want to do in every situation, and he knows it bang on. “He’s a smart player.”
Burke praised the third-year IceDog’s poise and confidence.
“His offence is continuing to evolve,” Burke said. “He’s going a great job for us.
“He’s a great guy, so you’re happy for those guys.”
Jones, who has 14 goals and 27 assists in 35 games and is on pace to exceed the 50 points he collected last season, ranks individual statistics behind victories for the team.
“It’s huge testament to my teammates, a lot of them have been assists,” he said. “It sounds cliche, but the most-important thing is we win every night.”
Jones said he will sometimes defer to linemate Akil Thomas when the IceDogs are deep in the other team’s end of the ice.
“You see how often he scores with an absolute bomb,” Jones said. “Obviously, you want to give it to him.
“If the play is there, I will make it, but if I can find him I obviously trust his shot more than mine.
“I think we work really well together, and I’ve been very happy with how it’s gone so far.”
Hamilton controlled the play in the first period outshooting Niagara 18-9, but it was the IceDogs who opened the scoring in the game. Thomas beat Nick Donofrio stick side from inside the left faceoff circle at the 17:41 mark.
The sophomore winger’s 10th goal of the season had barely been announced when Will Bitten beat Stephen Dhillon glove side to knot the score 27 seconds later.
At 6:50 of the second period, Jones’ pass from the left side of the net found Johnny Corneil in front of the crease and Corneil found the back of the net to put Niagara up 2-1.
There were 28 seconds remaining in the middle frame when Jones gave the hosts a 3-1 lead with a shorthanded goal.
The IceDogs outshot the Bulldogs 12-8 in the second period.
Nicholas Caamano beat Dhillon on a breakaway 47 seconds into the third period to make it a onegoal game, at least for a few minutes.
First-round draft pick Philip Tomasino, also finding the back on the net on a breakaway, put Niagara up 4-2 with the fourth goal of the season.
A sellout crowd of 5,315 at Meridian Centre was treated to an offensive explosion with Niagara scoring two goals and Hamilton one within 1:02.
IceDogs goals from Kirill Maksimov, with his team-high 23rd of the campaign; and Danial Singer, on the power play; bookended a power-play marker from Hamilton’s Matthew Strome.
Niagara’s Matthew Philip rounded out the scoring with his eighth of the campaign as the IceDogs equalled their season high for goals. They also netted seven goals in a 7-4 road victory over the Sudbury Wolves two nights earlier.
The game pitted the No. 1 power-play unit in the Ontario Hockey League, Hamilton, against the second-best penalty-killing unit, Niagara.
The Bulldogs were seeking their seventh straight victory.
Niagara opened the season series versus Hamilton with two victories: 4-1 Sept. 23, 3-2, in a shootout, Oct. 7, both on the road.
Hamilton topped a mid-season poll of media members who cover the Ontario Hockey League on a regular basis as the team to win the Eastern Conference championship. The Bulldogs were the choice of 55 per cent of respondents to win the conference and the unanimous favourite to advance to the final.
’Dog Biscuits: Joshua Dame, LW; Ian Martin, RW; Bradey Johnson, C; and Zach Shankar, D; did not dress for the IceDogs … St. Catharines native Danial Singer, 18, was playing in his 100th OHL game … Niagara
content on the Bulldogs roster: Brandon Saigeon, 19, Grimsby, 34 games played, 20 goals, 21 assists, 41 assists; Riley McCourt, 17, St. Catharines, 25 GP, 1 G, 8 A, 9 pts; Connor Walters, 20, Welland, 30 GP, 2 G, 6 A, 8 Pts … Saigeon came into the game leading the OHL with 12 powerplay goals … Norm Habel sang the national anthem bfranke@postmedia.com