IceDogs snipers forced to play D as losses continue to mount

Thomas and Lodnia patrol blue line against Erie to wrap up weekend

Akil Thomas and Ivan Lodnia, two of the top goal-getters on the Niagara IceDogs, were counted on be goal-stoppers as well when the Ontario Hockey League team visited the Erie Otters on Sunday.

The NHL draft picks — Thomas by Los Angeles and Lodnia by Minnesota — were designated as blueliners to bolster a defensive corps that was missing three players, not including overager Drew Hunter, who was traded to Erie on Friday.

First-round draft pick Isaac Enright was in Western Canada competing at the World Under-17 Challenge, while Mason Howard and Elijah Roberts

were unable to make the trip to northwestern Pennsylvania after seeing action the night before in a home game against the Mississauga Steelheads.

At Erie, the IceDogs were outshot 44-48 and outscored 4-0 as they lost their fifth in a row, and third in less than three days. They lost 8-3 to the visiting Ottawa 67’s on Friday and were doubled 4-2 by Mississauga the following night.

The 0-3 weekend wasn’t without some silver linings for Niagara, especially in the game against Mississauga.

The IceDogs didn’t just turn the clocks back at 2 a.m. Sunday.

The team also turned them back twice the night before when they hosted the Steelheads at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.

After each period, they turned the clock back 20 minutes, starting the game again with fresh legs and a renewed commitment to team defence.

The result? A solid 60-minute performance, albeit in a 4-2 loss.

Head coach Billy Burke, though unhappy with his team’s fourth loss in a row, nonetheless was pleased with how the IceDogs rebounded from a lacklustre effort in an 8-3 loss to the 67’s the night before.

“We’re definitely proud of the guys for the effort, the team game,” he said. “They stuck together; they did it together.

“You want to win every game, but you can certainly take a couple of moral victories from how the guys battled and responded.”

Opportunity knocked early for the IceDogs, but the Steelheads were the first to the door, with Nick Isaacson scoring a short-handed goal 1:43 into the game.

Shots on net were 12-10 Mississauga, a margin that flattered the home team, which had far fewer quality scoring chances in the opening period. Niagara defenders, most notably Landon Cato and Mason Howard, either blocked or deflected several shots before they even got to the net.

Kyen Sopa, with his teamleading 11th of the season for Niagara, and Isaacson, his second of the game for Mississauga, traded goals in a wide-open second period.

Shots on net were 19-13 Steelheads, but, as was also the case in the first period, defencemen at both ends of the ice blocked shots and cleared them out of harm’s way.

Burke was impressed with how his team played without the puck and supported goaltender Tucker Tynan.

“The guys had a great attitude, a commitment to blocking shots, a commitment to defence,” Burke said. “We went over a ton of video today with the guys, more than usual on a game day, just bad turnovers from last night. I could really see a conscious effort from the guys on really trying to do what we asked.”

Niagara outshot Mississauga 15-14 in a third period that featured scoring from Thomas Harley and Isaacson, into an empty net, for the Steelheads and Lucas Theriault for the IceDogs.

One player who deserved a better fate was Thomas. The IceDogs captain did everything but score in a back-and-forth third period.

“I can’t say enough good things about this guy. Unbelievable captain, unbelievable team guy, teammate,” Burke said. “He very well could be front and centre of my IceDogs Mount Rushmore.

“He’s a phenomenal person, player and captain.”

Thomas, with two goals, and Giancarlo Chanton found the back of the night for Niagara versus Ottawa. The goal was the first of Chanton’s OHL career.

’Dog Biscuits: Drew Hunter has two assists in his three games with the Otters. … Danial Singer, who scored Erie’s third goal on Sunday, was traded by Niagara for Ivan Lodnia. … Enright, Niagara’s first pick in this year’s OHL draft with the 17th overall selection, and IceDogs associate coach Jody Hull are at the World U17 Hockey Challenge that wraps up Nov. 9 at Medicine Hat, Alta., and Swift Current, Sask.