IceDogs Defeat Otters in Home Opener
Published on September 6, 2010 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Niagara IceDogs News Release
Freddie Hamilton led the Niagara IceDogs with two goals in a 3-2 victory over the Erie Otters Monday afternoon at the Gatorade Garden City Complex. The IceDogs are now 2-0 in the pre-season and had a successful home-and-home weekend with the Erie Otters.
Erie took an early penalty to start off the first, and the IceDogs wasted no time as Jesse Graham and Dominic Crnogorac set up Freddie Hamilton who let a laser go from the top of the circle to beat Otters goalie Ramis Sadikov and give the Dogs a 1-0 lead.
Niagara kept the pressure on throughout the first, with quality scoring chances coming from the Fritsch-Theoret-MacEachern line, and plenty of exciting play coming from newcomer Andrew Howes, who made some nifty dangles and let his presence be known shift after shift.
Erie took a holding penalty late in the first, and the IceDogs would take a 41 second power play and a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
The second period was scoreless until the 7:52 mark when IceDogs captain Andrew Agozzino received a pass in front of the Erie net and made no mistake as he wristed a perfect shot over the shoulder of Sadikov to give the Dogs a 2-0 lead.
The scoring didn't stop there as IceDogs Freddie Hamilton scored his second tally of the game shortly after, and Erie's Scott Mitchell followed right up with a goal off a juicy rebound in front of IceDogs netminder John Chartrand, giving the game a score of 3-1 midway through the second period.
The two teams would exchange penalties throughout the remainder of the second period, but the score would remain 3-1 in favour of the IceDogs after 40 minutes of play.
Andrew Howes continued to impress - this time in the fight department, as he took on Otters forward Shawn Szydlowski at centre ice midway through the third period to get both the bench and crowd going.
The fight was followed by several penalties by both teams, but the IceDogs ended up short-handed and Luke Cairns capitalized for the Otters with a flawless shot going short side on Chartrand to cut the IceDogs lead to 3-2.
Erie pulled their goaltender during the final minutes of the third in efforts to tie the game, but the IceDogs held the Otters off and finished the day with a 3-2 victory over the Erie Otters.
The IceDogs will host the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday, September 11 at 7 p.m. at the Gatorade Garden City Complex before heading to Guelph on Sunday afternoon to face the Storm with the puck drop set for 2 p.m.
Tickets for all IceDogs home pre-season games are available for just $5.00 and can be purchased at any IceDogs ticketing location. Please contact the IceDogs office for more information at 905-687-DOG1.
Three Stars:
1. Freddie Hamilton
2. Andrew Howes
3. Scott Mitchell
Ontario Hockey League Stories from September 6, 2010
- Spitfires Soar to 6-2 Victory Over Whalers in Game 2 of 2010 Pre-Season - Windsor Spitfires
- Otters Fall to IceDogs on Labor Day, 3-2 - Erie Otters
- Battalion edge Rangers 4-3 - Kitchener Rangers
- IceDogs Defeat Otters in Home Opener - Niagara IceDogs
- Petes Make More Cuts - Peterborough Petes
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