Majors Play One to Forget

Published on February 9, 2012 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors News Release


Whether you're a glass half full or a glass half empty kind of person, the same can be said:

It can't get much worse than that.

After taking a 6-0 first period lead, the Niagara IceDogs didn't let up as they continued their onslaught to drop the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 11-0 in Ontario Hockey League play on Thursday night at the Gatorade Garden City Complex.

Five IceDogs registered three or more points, including Alex Friesen (two goals, three assists), Ryan Strome (two goals, two assists), Andrew Agozzino (three goals), and Jamie Oleksiak (one goal, three assists).

Niagara netminder Mark Visentin wasn't called on often but was perfect when he needed to be, stopping all 18 shots he faced for his OHL leading eighth shutout.

It was the fifth straight loss for the Majors (22-24-1-5), who remain in eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with 50 points. They are four points back of the sixth place Petes, who dropped the Ottawa 67's in OT on Thursday night, and three points back of the idle seventh place Oshawa Generals, who the Majors host at the Hershey Centre for Paint the Rink Pink on Friday night.

Majors General Manager/Head Coach James Boyd knows his team will need to come up with more if they hope to retain their place in the top eight of the conference standings.

"We were just totally overwhelmed tonight, that's all you can really say about that game.

"They scored on the first shot of the game and we reacted poorly to that and it went downhill from there. We compounded that by letting our frustrations get the better of us and that led to a couple of five on three power play goals," said Boyd.

The IceDogs special teams were effective to say the least, scoring three power play goals on five opportunities, plus two shorthanded goals. The Majors had three attempts with the man advantage.

Boyd, however, didn't hesitate in giving full credit to a tough opponent in St. Catharines.

"As bad as we were, they were that good. They really have a tremendous hockey team."

Friesen gave the IceDogs a 1-0 lead just 1:33 into the game, assisted by Brett Ritchie and Oleksiak. Mississauga native Strome returned after missing nine games due to injury to give his team a 2-0 lead at 4:13 from Joel Wigle and Oleksiak. Just under two minutes later, Myles Doan gave the home side a 3-0 lead from Freddie Hamilton and Tom Kuhnhackl at 6:11 before Oleksiak picked up his third point of the night - a power play goal ? from Steven Shipley and Kuhnhackl at 14:56.

Strome struck for the second time in the period with his 20th goal of the season, unassisted, at 15:47 to put the IceDogs up 5-0. That ended the night of Majors starter Brandon Maxwell, who allowed five goals on 15 shots. He was replaced by Spencer Martin, who was also victimized early by the IceDogs, as Agozzino scored shorthanded at 18:44 from Friesen to give Niagara a 6-0 lead to heading into the first intermission. Niagara held Mississauga to just three shots on goal in the opening frame, while registering 19 shots of their own.

Friesen once again tallied an early goal to start the period when he picked up his second of the game just 1:09 into the middle frame, this time a power play goal, assisted by Strome and Freddie Hamilton. It would remain a 7-0 game until 14:17 when Ritchie would score Niagara's third power play goal of the night, from Oleksiak and Jesse Graham. The IceDogs took an 8-0 lead into the second intermission and, again, dominantly outshot the Majors during the period ? this time 18-5 ? for a two period total of 37-8.

IceDogs' captain Agozzino picked up his second of the night at the 2:48 mark of the third period from Friesen and Shayne Rover to give his team a 9-0 lead. Just under five minutes later Freddie Hamilton added a goal to his two assists with a marker at 7:39 from Strome and Shipley. Agozzino closed out the scoring by completing his hat trick with a shorthanded goal, his 33rd goal of the season, from Friesen at 15:13. Third period shots were 13-10 in favour of the IceDogs, for a game total of 50-18.

Martin played 44:13 in goal for the Majors after replacing Maxwell, allowing six goals on 35 shots he faced.

The IceDogs managed points from 12 of their 18 skaters. Just two skaters were an even plus/minus, with the 16 others finishing with a +/- plus one or more. The highest rating of the night belonged to Oleksiak, who finished with a +/- plus seven.

The Majors host their fifth annual Paint the Rink Pink game tomorrow at the Hershey Centre when they take on the Oshawa Generals at 7:30 p.m. They'll close out the weekend when the Windsor Spitfires make their one and only visit to Mississauga on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets to both games are available by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca, or in person at the Hershey Centre box office before the game.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2012


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