’Dogs host top dogs
No. 1 ranked Sault Ste. Marie visits Meridian Centre for only time in league play this season
Eight. One. Four.
Those are the Canadian Hockey League rankings of the three opponents the Niagara IceDogs were scheduled to play over a five-day period this week.
By the time the final buzzer sounds Saturday night in Sarnia, Niagara will have played the Kitchener Rangers, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyounds as well as the Sarnia Sting.
A tough stretch that IceDogs head coach Billy Burke described as a “murderers row” began Tuesday night in Kitchener, where Niagara deserved a much better fate than a 3-1 loss to the Rangers.
It continued last night at home, with the highly regarded Greyhounds making their only visit to Meridian Centre in league play.
On Tuesday, in a homecoming for former Blueshirts blue-liner Elijah Roberts, the IceDogs beat eighthranked Kitchener everywhere except on the scoreboard. They outshot the Rangers 45-39, won more faceoffs, 38-31, and shut out one of the Ontario Hockey League’s highest-scoring team on the power play.
However, winning wasn’t in the cards as Kitchener bench boss Jay McKee was once again able to play his ace in the hole, goaltender Mario Culina.
For the second time in as many starts against Niagara, the over-ager earned first-star honours. The first time, Jan. 17 in St. Catharines, he stopped 34 shots for his first shutout of the season.
Though frustrating, and definitely disappointing, oh-so-close setbacks to the Rangers and, in the game before that, to the Kingston Frontenacs, another team loaded for a Memorial Cup run, should help a young IceDogs team over the long run.
“We can play with the best teams in the entire country,” Burke said. “No, we didn’t get the result that we wanted, and maybe we don’t get rewarded with the points that we deserve, in the next couple of weeks playing these kind of games, against this kind of competition, back-toback-to-back-to-back, is going to pay off for us.
“There might be some pain here, like we’re feeling tonight, but it’s going to pay off for us in the long run.
“We just got to do our best to keep playing hard. We will eventually be rewarded for our efforts.”
Niagara came into last night’s game hoping to snap a four-game losing streak, while Sault Ste. Marie was seeking its seventh win in a row.
Results were not available at press time, but a story is posted online at niagarafallsreview.ca and wellandtribune.ca.
The 27-17-4-3 IceDogs entered Thursday trailing the Central Division-leading Barrie Colts, 30-182-1; by four points.
The first-ranked Greyhounds, 43-5-2-1; lead No. 4 Sarnia, 36-12-40; in the West Division.
With 16 to 19 games remaining in the 68-game regular season, Sault Ste. Marie and Sarnia are so far the only teams clinching playoff berths.
Kitchener finished 0-for-3 on the power play against Niagara, but against the Greyhounds even manadvantage opportunities have been a double-edged sword for opposing teams.
Sault Ste. Marie penalty killers Boris Katchouk and Tim Gettinger lead the league with a combined nine shorthanded goals this season.
Katchouk and Gettinger are tied for second for most game-winning goals, seven each.
Non-conference opponents only play each other twice in league play. The Greyhounds, who play in the Western Conference, skated to a 4-1 victory over the Eastern Conference IceDogs Nov. 4 in Sault Ste. Marie.
The weekly CHL rankings released Wednesday had the Greyhounds first, the Sting fourth, the Rangers No. 8, up from ninth the week before, and the Hamilton Bulldogs ninth, down two spots.
’Dog Biscuits: Thorold native and Colorado Avalanche draft pick Conor Timmins had six goals and 29 assists in 30 games patrolling the blue-line for the Greyhounds this season … Blue-liner Mac Hollowell, a Niagara Falls native, has 10 goals and 35 assists in 46 games in his third full season on Sault Ste. Marie.