’Dogs score third convincing win in a row
Rookie goaltender Christian Sbragalia backstops Niagara in rematch with Hamilton
On Nov. 24 a Niagara IceDogs team favoured to compete for an Ontario Hockey League champion dropped a 5-2 decision on the road to the Hamilton Bulldogs.
In that lacklustre performance against their K9 Cup Challenge rivals, a team rebuilding after going to the Memorial Cup tournament, the IceDogs were all over the ice — anywhere, and everywhere, but on the same page.
Fast forward eight days, to Sunday afternoon’s rematch in Hamilton. This time there was no question exactly who the top ’Dogs were.
Kirill Maksimov’s, with two goals; Ivan Lodnia, successful on a penalty shot; Jason Robertson, goal and three assists; Bradey Johnson found the back of the net for Niagara in a whistle-to-whistle 5-1 win.
And keeping all but one puck out of the back of their net was
rookie Christian Sbragalia, who was playing in only his second game for the IceDogs and first since Nov. 10.
“Obviously, every game isn’t going to be a game like we had all weekend, but we’ll certainly take them when we can get them,” said head coach Billy Burke, whose team has now won three in a row after beating Erie 6-2 Thursday and Kitchener 7-2 Friday.
“This is no fluke, these guys are
playing the right way, they’re playing hard and they’re being rewarded for it.”
Given the IceDogs had just bolstered their lineup with Robertson, a proven sniper; and Jacob Paquette, a shut-down defenceman; in a blockbuster trade with Kingston, that loss to Hamilton last weekend may have had a silver lining.
“We have a great game the Friday night and think we can just show up and we’re going to
have roses,” Burke recalled. “It was good experience for us to kind of have our lunch handed to us.
“But I thought we had a great week of practice. Everyone worked hard and we were able to get a big three wins.”
Burke praised the play of Sbragalia.
“I think he was outstanding,” the coach said of the 17-year-old from Mississauga. “He certainly
had to make some huge saves to give us the ability to go into the third period with the lead.
“He proved that he’s everything we hoped he would be.”
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Sbragalia had impressed the coaching staff with his play at practice,
“but games are a different animal.”
“He looked big, he looked calm, and looked confident,” Burke said. “It’s exactly what you want from your goalie.”
Maksimov, who earned firststar accolades after netting a hat trick against Kitchener, edged Sbragalia and Robertson for player-of-game honours Sunday at Hamilton. He touched on the night-and-day difference between the two games against the Bulldogs in his post-game comments.
“I think we’re just playing as a real team, everybody buys in, block shots, does their job well,” Maksimov said. “We just have to play our game, it doesn’t matter who we play.
“We have to play our game, our system well, and we’ll be fine.”
Each team was seeking its consecutive win.
Sunday’s game at 17,383-capacity FirstOntario Centre, formerly Copps Colesium, was the third of the season behind the K9 Challenge Cup rivals. Niagara opened with a 6-3 road win Nov. 15, Hamilton prevailed 5-2 on home ice Nov. 24.
Niagara may not have a more familiar foe than the Bulldogs. They meet six times in the league play.
In the playoffs last season Hamilton beat the IceDogs in a fivegame Eastern Conference semifinal on the way to winning the Ontario Hockey League championship.
Stephen Dhillon got a break after seven straight starts in goal for Niagara.
Also scoring for the IceDogs Friday in Kitchener were Akil Thomas, Philip Tomasino, Lodnia and Robertson. Niagara outshot the Rangers 34-19.
’Dog Biscuits: MacKenzie Entwistle, F, Chicago, from Arizona; Nicolas Mattinen, D, Toronto; Brandon Saigeon, F, Colorado; Matthew Strome, F, Philadelphia; are the NHL prospects currently on the Hamilton roster … Niagara has seven NHL draft picks: Daniel Bukac, D, Boston; Ivan Lodnia, F, Minnesota; Ben Jones, C, Vegas; Kirill Maksimov, F, Edmomton; Jacob Paquette, D, Nashville; Jason Robertson, F, Dallas; Akil Thomas, C, Los Angeles … Saigeon, a Grimsby native, came into Sunday’s game with 19 goals, 26 assists for 45 in 27 games in his fifth season in the Hamilton Bulldogs/Belleville Bulls organization … IceDogs blueliner and alternate captain Johnathon Schaefer is from Stoney Creek, now a part of Hamilton.