The Fish don’t flounder
IceDogs return home emptyhanded despite outshooting Steelheads 40-28
The Niagara IceDogs went fishing, but Emanuel Vella just wouldn’t take the bait.
No way. No how. No siree.
The Mississauga Steelheads goaltender, the price catch of the night, was the one that got away Friday when the visiting IceDogs attempted to win their second in as many nights.
He made 38 saves backstopping the hosts to a 4-0 victory to give Mississauga a 3-2 lead in the season series.
Niagara outshot the Steelheads 40-28, including by a 21-9 margin in the second period, but the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Vella came up big every time recording his second shutout in three games.
He was Mr. Zero in a Family Day matinee Monday against the Flint Firebirds, also won by a 4-0 score.
Nicholas Hague scored on Mississauga’s second shot of the game to open the scoring 5:52 of the first period.
On their third shot, an extra attacker was on the ice for the Steelheads on a delayed penalty when the puck deflected off Trent Fox’s skate blade into the back of the Niagara net behind Stephen Dhillon. The goal was allowed following a lengthy video review to give Mississauga a 2-0 lead.
Shots were 11-7 in favour of the IceDogs.
Niagara dominated the second period by outshooting the Steelheads 21-9 but, once again, it was the hosts who found the back of the net. Florida Panthers prospect Owen Tippett scored on the power play to give the defending Eastern Conference champions a 3-0 lead.
Cole Carter rounded out the scoring with a power-play goal for the Steelheads with 2:07 remaining in regulation.
Niagara was hoping to win its second in a row after snapping a 10-game losing streak the night before.
“It was obviously good to get that win last night,” Johnathon Schaefer he told Your TV in an interview between the first and second periods.
“Ten in a row is definitely tough for everybody, but we just got to win this one tonight and keep the streak going.”
Schafer couldn’t recall enduring a longer slump during his hockey career. He said the trick is not to let struggles overwhelm the team and to focus on moving forward.
“It’s just about trusting each other on the team, and knowing that you’ll get through it,” he said. “Everyone goes through it, it’s just a bump in the road.
“We got out of it, we just have to keep moving forward
Ontario Hockey League teams play division rivals six times during the regular season, and last night’s game was the fifth in headto-head play between the IceDogs and Steelheads.
Heading into the game, the season series was tied at two wins apiece, with the home team winning each of the previous four games in the Central Division rivalry.
Both teams were coming off wins from the night before. Niagara beat the visiting Saginaw Spirit 4-1 to snap a 10-game losing streak, while Mississauga beat the Barrie Colts 7-4 on the road.
The standings in the five-team division before last night’s action had Barrie in first place with a 3421-2-1 record, eight points head of the both IceDogs, 27-21-6-3, and North Bay Battalion, 27-22-7-2.
Mississauga, 26-28-1-2, and Sudbury Wolves, 14-36-7-0, were eight and 28 points behind Niagara, respectively.
So far Barrie is the only team in the division to clinch a playoff berth.
The IceDogs host North Bay in a 7 p.m. faceoff at Meridian Centre. Niagara is 3-0-0-1 versus North Bay in head-to-head play so far this season.
’Dog Biscuits: In their 11-year history in St. Catharines, no team has shut out the IceDogs more than the Steelheads, with eight ... Forward Kyle Langdon was back in the Niagara lineup after serving an eight-game suspension ... Mississauga has four NHL draft picks, Niagara, two ... Forward Philip Tomasino, selected fifth overall by the IceDogs in the first round of the 2017 OHL draft, is from Mississauga.