’Dogs outplay but can’t outscore Spirit
The Niagara IceDogs returned home from their only trip of the regular season to Michigan with two points and a renewed appreciation of the need to keep their foot on the gas.
The Saginaw Spirit, their opponent in a late afternoon game Sunday, needed no such lesson on the weekend
After scoring seven unanswered goals — yes, seven — the night before in a 7-6 overtime victory over the Sarnia Sting, the No. 1 team in the latest Canadian Hockey League rankings, the Spirit knew the importance of protecting a lead.
Much to Niagara's chagrin, Saginaw goaltender Evan Cormier made 37 saves backstopping the Spirit to a 2-1 victory that snapped a four-game IceDogs winning streak.
"I thought we had every opportunity to win," head coach Billy Burke said. "I thought the guys played hard, played well, had chances. "Their goalie played well." Niagara failed to earn at least a point for the first time in six games despite outshooting Saginaw 3828, including by a 19-5 margin in the second period.
"They got a fluky bounce off a stanchion that lands right on the guy's stick when in every other rink in the league the puck goes out the other side.
"And that was the game."
Burke said backup goaltender Colton Incze deserved a better fate.
"Colton was rock solid, 100 per cent gave us a chance to win," he said.
As a team, the IceDogs deserved a better fate as well.
"The effort was there, I definitely think we probably deserved to win that game," Burke said. "But credit them for hanging on and getting it done."
Damien Giroux opened the scoring 1:04 into the game to put the hosts up 1-0.
Kirill Maksimov, who was acquired by the IceDogs last season in a trade with Saginaw, scored on the power against his former team to knot the game at one-all heading into the second period.
Saginaw and Niagara also traded goals in the middle frame, though only Duncan Penman's goal for the Spirit would count on the scoreboard.
Danial Singer found the back of
the net for what would have been his third goal of the weekend and 11th of the campaign, but the evenstrength marker was called back after the play was reviewed.
Video showed a Niagara player offside before the goal was scored.
The IceDogs won the period that counted the most on the scoreboard when they visited the Flint Firebirds Saturday night.
Take away a second period in which Niagara outscored the lastplace team in the Ontario Hockey League 5-0, and the outcome of the opening game in a two-game weekend swing through Michigan may well have been different.
Instead, they held on for a 6-4 score after allowing three unanswered goals in the third period.
"It got a little hairy at the end there," Burke said. "But it's a good learning tool for the team on how you have to have a sense of maturity and close those games out.
"Any team in this league can score goals. Leads go away real fast."
Singer opened the scoring 2:02 into the game with his ninth goal of the season for the IceDogs.
C.J. Clarke beat Stephen Dhillon on his blocker side to tie the score at one-all heading into the break.
Flint outshot Niagara 11-7 in the first frame.
A backhand pass from Philip Tomasino set up Matthew Philip to put the IceDogs up 2-1 at the 5:38 mark of the middle frame.
Niagara took a 5-1 lead on evenstrength goals from Akil Thomas, Singer, his second of the night, and Bradey Johnson, his fifth in three games.
The IceDogs had a 5-on-3 power play for a full two minutes, but couldn’t capitalize directing only four shots on Garrett Forest in the Flint net.
However, any shift in momentum to the Firebirds’ side of the ice was short-lived.
Niagara was called for a penalty, yet it was the IceDogs who took advantage of the extra ice with Johnson netting a shorthanded goal 13 seconds into the penalty.
“That turned to be enormous for us in the big picture,” Burke said of Johnson’s second goal of the night and sixth in his last three games.
If the second period belonged to the IceDogs, the final frame belonged to the Firebirds. Flint outshot Niagara 12-8 and scored the only goals — two from Nicolas Mattinen, one from Jack Wismer.