Marco Insam’s 2 goals along with Andrew Agozzino’s Gordie Howe Hat-trick provided the Niagara IceDogs with enough energy to pick up a 5-1 away victory over the Peterborough Petes’ Thursday night. The win gave the IceDogs an edge in holding the 8th place spot in Eastern Conference Standings, giving them a temporary playoff spot.

The IceDogs opened the scoring as Marco Insam ended his scoring drought by putting the puck past Petes’ goaltender Jason Missiaen on the blocker side –1-0 Dogs.  

Peterborough answered back just a minute later as Mike Lomas netted his 10th of the season to tie the game at 1.

Freddie Hamilton would regain the lead for Niagara after taking a beautiful saucer pass from Andrew Shaw at the 16:07 mark, giving the game a score of 2-1.

The Petes’ took a hooking penalty late in the first period, allowing power play juggernaut Reggie Traccitto to score his 16th of the season (13th on the power play), providing the Dogs with a 3-1 lead going into the first intermission.

The second period was a little tamer until midway through when Petes’ rookie Matt Puempel stirred things up in front of the Dogs net, which led to a fight between himself and IceDogs captain Andrew Agozzino.

The fight was the only action the second period would see, and the IceDogs held on to their 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.

Marco Insam played one of his best games of the season tonight. He scored his second goal of the game at the 11:01 mark of the third on an individual effort, taking the puck from his own blue line into the Peterborough zone, and snapping a beautiful shot over the shoulder of Missiaen to give the IceDogs a 4-1 lead.

Andrew Agozzino completed his Gordie Howe Hat-trick late in the third by notching his 34th of the season in an empty net to seal the deal for the IceDogs, as they picked up two more points with the win, giving them a total of 51 points. Mark Visentin also had a huge game for Niagara, stopping 28 out of 29 shots.

The Oshawa Generals lost to the Kingston Frontenacs Wednesday (which leaves them with 49 points), while the Sudbury Wolves were blanked 6-0 tonight by the Brampton Battalion (which leaves the Wolves with a total of 51 points, tied with the IceDogs).

The IceDogs will travel to Barrie on Saturday, February 27, to face the Eastern Conference leading Colts with the puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The weekend concludes in Niagara at the Gatorade Garden City Complex on Sunday, February 28, with a special start time of 12:00 p.m.

Tickets for Sunday’s game are still available and can be purchased at any IceDogs ticketing location. For more information, please call 905-687-DOG1 (3641).

- Jeff Blay, Media Relations
  GO CANADA!


Scoreboard:
1. NIAG Insam, (7) (MacEachern, Moes), 4:22     
1. PBO Lomas, (10) (Theberge, Walchessen), 5:14     
1. NIAG Hamilton, (23) (Shaw, Friesen), 16:07     
1. NIAG Traccitto, (16) (Agozzino, Strome), 19:25 (PP)    
3. NIAG Insam, (8) (MacEachern), 11:01     
3. NIAG Agozzino, (34) (Friesen), 17:13 (EN)

Three Stars:
1. NIAG - 17 Marco Insam - 2G, +2
2. NIAG - 16 Dylan MacEachern - 2A, +2
3. NIAG - 29 Mark Visentin - 28 Saves

Honorable Mention: – Andrew Agozzino - 1G, 1A, 1 Fight; Alex Friesen 2A, +2; Josh Moes – 1A, +2.