IceDogs heading west this weekend
Niagara will face both Michigan teams on the road after win over Peterborough
After a three-game homestand, the Niagara IceDogs will head west.
The IceDogs make their annual trek to Michigan this weekend for games against the Saginaw Spirit and the Flint Firebirds.
The trip to Saginaw is about a five-hour bus ride, and that doesn’t account for time at the border.
Saginaw is good. The Spirit is in third place overall in the Western Conference with a 7-4-1 mark, but just three points behind conference-leading Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Flint, not so much. The Firebirds are 0-11 and have been outscored by 44 goals with 21 goals for and 65 against.
The Spirits last game was Saturday, a 6-0 win over Flint in what is dubbed the I-75 Divide Series.
“It will be a tough trip,” head coach Billy Burke said. “A lot of travel. It’s out of country, and everything is different. Saginaw is a good team. It’s never easy to go in there.
“It will be a battle, and then a quick turnaround with Flint. Flint isn’t going to go 0-68. Sooner or later they are going to get a win. We just hope it is not us.”
The IceDogs closed out the homestand with a 3-0 win over the Peterborough Petes Wednesday in a game Niagara controlled — for the most part — from start to finish.
Rookie Jonah De Simone scored his first OHL goal and the game-winner 8:57 into the first period with an assist from fellow rookie Jake Uberti.
The goal stood for almost two full periods before Bradey Johnson and Ivan Lodnia added insurance markers in the third. Stephan Dhillon made 28 saves for the shutout, including a couple of critical stops with the clock winding down the third.
“It wasn’t exactly how we wanted it,” said IceDogs head coach Billy Burke of the win. “We had opportunities to jump out to a bigger lead, and I’m glad the guys didn’t get too frustrated.
“We had some good chances, but instead of making that extra pass, we need to simplify things. We don’t want to be trading chance for chance.”
De Simone, a fourth-round
draft choice out of Richmond Hill, was all smiles after the game, which improved the IceDogs record to 7-4-2-0. Peterborough fell to 8-6-0-0 with the loss.
Burke said De Simone, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound winger, is playing on the fourth line and paying his dues.
“He doesn’t get a ton of ice time, and when he is out there, they aren’t prime offensive chances,” the coach said. “The rookies have to get their feet wet and learn the league. They have to realize they deserve to be here.
“It was a great play by Umberti to get him the puck, and it was a bigleague release by Jonah. He looked like a 20-goal scorer.”
Dhillon earned his fifth career shutout and praise from his coach.
“I thought he looked big and confident all night long,” Burke said.
“He came up with the big saves when we needed it. It was good to see him hold on and get the shutout.
The return from injury of two veteran defencemen, Liam Ham and Elijah Roberts, has added efficiency to the IceDogs’ game.
“It’s night and day,” Burke said.
“After goalie, defence is the toughest position to play. Getting those guys back is just a huge calming force. We are breaking out smoother, starting with the puck cleaner. They are guys you know you can count on.”
The IceDogs head out this weekend on their annual Michigan road trip, with games in Saginaw Saturday and Flint Sunday.