IceDogs unable to tame Wolves on road
Niagara loses fourth in a row as Sudbury extends win streak to eight
Forget about the long distance between St. Catharines and Sudbury, 485 kilometres, and the different area codes.
Never mind that the round trip on a coach bus is nine hours.
When it comes to the Ontario Hockey League schedule, the Niagara IceDogs and the Sudbury Wolves are practically neighbours, close canine cousins who play each other six times during the regular season.
With the IceDogs in a four-game slump, the Wolves on an eight-game roll and the latest 3-2 home-ice victory over the ’Dogs on Sunday, the Central Division rivals are even closer in the standings.
Only two points separate divisionleading Niagara, 32-14-7-0, and secondplace Sudbury, 33-16-2-1; and the Wolves have a game in hand on the IceDogs.
Sudbury, which came into Sunday’s game leading the season series two games to one, never trailed and shut out Niagara in five-on-five play.
Jack Thompson put the hosts on the scoreboard 5:03 into the first period, with Akil Thomas replying for Niagara on the power play to knot the score at one-all heading into the middle frame.
Sudbury outshot the IceDogs 18-7 in the first period, 15-12 in the second and went up 3-1 on even-strength goals from Blake Murray, Shane Bulitka.
Shots on net in the final frame were 15-11 in favour of the IceDogs, who made it a one-goal game when Ben Jones scored on the power play with 9:05 remaining in regulation.
There were 13 seconds left on the game clock when an apparent game-tying goal, scored in a scramble in front of Wolves goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, was disallowed following a video review.
For the IceDogs, it was the second time in as many days that a comeback late in the third period fell short in a road game against one of the top teams in the OHL. On Saturday night in Sault Ste. Marie, Niagara scored four unanswered goals in less than eight minutes in a 7-6 loss to the Greyhounds, the top team in the Western Division.
Sunday’s loss in the Nickel City was not without its positives for the IceDogs.
In addition to the comeback bid, Stephen Dhillon was a standout between the pipes for Niagara after getting the hook in the loss to the Greyhounds the night before. He stopped 41 of 44 shots, earning third-star honours.
’Dog Biscuits: Head-to-head play between the IceDogs and Wolves wraps up with two games at Meridian Centre in
St. Catharines: next Sunday at 2 p.m.; Friday, March 8, 7 p.m. … Cole Candella, D, Vancouver; Adam Ruzicka, C, Calgary; Luukkonen, G, Buffalo; are the NHL draft picks in the Sudbury lineup … Jason Robertson collected an assist on Niagara’s second goal to extend a streak of earning at least a point to 12 games.