Let’s get this out of the way: As of Friday, the Oshawa Generals have a little “X” beside their name, meaning they are officially playoff bound, and I can officially say that, yes, the regular season is indeed winding down.
Here come the IceDogs
Last week I insisted you beware of the Ottawa 67’s as the remaining weeks of the regular season wound down. I also pointed out that an Ottawa-Niagara first-round matchup would be something to mark on your calendar. Needless to say, I fiercely stand by that statement. The Niagara IceDogs just keep scoring and scoring…
ATTENTION Rogers and Shaw customers.
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I’m not sure when exactly the IceDogs adopted the #PeskyDogs nickname, only that it was some time ago, perhaps back in the Ryan Strome, Dougie Hamilton glory days. Regardless, they seem to be embodying that nickname quite well, and are coming out on top with some impressively high numbers.
Let’s take a closer look at what they accomplished over the weekend:
Thursday The IceDogs snapped the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds’ 10-game winning streak with an 8-6 victory. Maple Leafs prospect Carter Verhaeghe had a three-point night (calling all you Leafs fans looking for something positive). The likes of the Western Conference’s top team putting up a big fight is inevitable, but cheers to the #PeskyDogs for putting up a whopping eight goals. I’m not going to pin a heck of a lot of blame on Soo goaltender Joseph Raaymakers, but I’ve said it before: goaltending is their weak spot. Although four unanswered Soo goals, including one shorthanded, meant a goaltender change for Niagara.
Friday A 4-1 win over the London Knights, with the IceDogs able to hold onto a 4-0 lead until just over seven minutes into the third. It was a bit of a chippy battle, littered with fights, and was the first half of the IceDogs dancing across a home-and-home against the Knights.
Sunday Niagara comes out on top once again versus the Knights with a 9-3 thumping, including five power-play goals. Draft-eligible Vince Dunn earns a career-high four-point night, and the well-earned first star of the game. Brendan Perlini and Josh Ho-Sang are awarded second and third stars respectively, also having put up four-point performances. Oh, and the Knights have now lost five straight games.
Remember when the IceDogs were 2-13?
Sudbury gets a W
Guess what else happened this week? The Sudbury Wolves won a game, edging the Guelph Storm 4-3 Friday night and snapping an incredibly bad 18-game losing streak. I can’t even say the Wolves winning a game was inevitable at some point because the team is just that bad, but I will say I’m not surprised that Guelph is the team they finally managed to earn a “W” over. While the Storm have some consistently strong players, I find the opposite to also be true—they have some equally weak pieces. This was the first win for Sudbury interim coach David Matsos.
Three Stars
Brendan Perlini, LW, Niagara IceDogs In keeping with high praise for the IceDogs’ high-scoring ways, Perlini picked up eight points in three games. Seriously, look out for this guy.
Sam Babintsev, RW, Mississauga Steelheads I know, I know. Lots of love out of the Eastern Conference this week, but Babintsev deserves recognition for having put up eight points in three games for a team that notoriously struggles to score.
Jason Dickinson, C, Guelph Storm It wasn’t the smoothest of weekends for the Guelph Storm, but you can still proudly add Dickinson to the list of players who picked up eight points (3G 5A) in just three games.
NHL Draft Tracker
Dante Salituro, C, Ottawa 67’s Salituro put on a stunning offensive performance for the 67’s as they rallied back being down 4-1 to beat the North Bay Battalion 6-5 in a shootout.
Speaking of Sunday’s tilt, Stan Butler wasn’t happy with a few calls, one in particular apparently warranted this response:
Vince Dunn, D, Niagara IceDogs As mentioned above, Dunn put up four points against the London Knights on Sunday afternoon. I remember hoping we would see more from him as the season rolled on.
Rasmus Andersson, D, Barrie Colts Six points in two games for the Colts, and was plus-4 in their 7-1 win over those struggling Sudbury Wolves on Sunday.
And lastly, in case you were wondering (and you probably have because we’ve all been wondering), yes, Tropics is a possible name for your up-and-coming OHL team in Flint, Michigan.
Personally, I can get behind any of these five names, but I smell a big opportunity attached to one of them in particular.
