IceDogs hold on to win
Niagara lets Flint back into game after taking five- goal lead into third period in road game
The Niagara 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 after allowing three unanswered goals in the third period.
“It got a little hairy at the end there,” IceDogs head coach Billy 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.” Boy, can they ever.
A case underscoring Burke’s point was made Saturday night just up Interstate 75 in Saginaw, where the Spirit rebounded from a 6- 0 deficit to defeat the visiting Sarnia Sting 7- 6 in overtime.
Niagara closed out its only trip of the regular season to Michigan by playing Saginaw Sunday night.
“It’s a funny league, it’s an entertaining league,” he said. “You have to make sure you’re closing teams out.”
After outshooting the Firebirds 18- 8 and dominating play in the second period — in one stretch, scoring three goals in a span of one minute and 18 seconds — the IceDogs were outshot 12- 8 and held scoreless in the third period.
A combination of factors contributed to Flint’s strong finish.
“We definitely took the foot off the gas a little bit,” Burke said. “A rare mental mistake from Stevie ( IceDogs goaltender Stephen Dhillon) cost us, and then they get a powerplay goal and they got a scramble goal- mouth goal.
“They certainly pressed, and they had nothing to lose.
“If we want to become a mature team, we need to forget about the score.”
The win was Niagara’s fourth in a row and extended the team’s streak of earning at least one point to five games.
“I’m proud of the guys they were saying the right things on the bench,” Burke said. “We bent, but we didn’t break.
“The guys are really playing great right now, they’re playing for each other.
“In a sport like this, that’s half the battle right there
Danial Singer opened the scoring 2: 02 into the game with his ninth goal of the season for the IceDogs.
C. J. Clarke beat Dhillon on his blocker side to tie the opening game of a two- game weekend road trip to Michigan 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.
Very 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.
“There were too many momentum swings for our likely, but fortunately we were able to walk away with the win.”
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.
The Firebirds came into the game last overall in the 20- team league with an 8- 16- 2- 0 record. On Friday night, they defeated the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 4- 3 in overtime to snap a five- game losing streak.
’ Dogs Biscuits: The IceDogs and Firebirds only play each other twice in league play this season. The home- and- home series wraps up Thursday, March 8, at Meridian Centre.