The Niagara IceDogs defeated the Brampton Battalion 2-1 in a shootout effort at the Gatorade Garden City Complex Thursday night. All three games the Dogs play this weekend are against division rivals, making tonight's win and the next two games very important for Niagara in their playoff chase.  

The first period was rather slow; both teams managed a few scoring chances, but nothing got past the goalies, and the game remained scoreless after one period of play.

Matt Baldassarra got things going for the IceDogs in the second by going toe-to-toe with Brampton’s Alex O’Neil following a pile up on Battalion goaltender Patrick Killeen.

The physical rivalry continued between the two teams as IceDogs captain Andrew Agozzino shook his gloves at Battalion captain Cody Hodgson, and the two went at it just inside the Dogs blue line, with Agozzino landing the first few punches and getting the take-down.

A separate scrum ensued while the two captains were going at it, and each team picked up coincidental roughing penalties. Niagara’s Mike Schwindt also got a roughing call, sending Brampton on a 2 minute power play.

The Battalion capitalized on the power play as Matt Clark put the puck past Mark Visentin at the 8:08 mark, providing Brampton with the first lead of the game.   

The IceDogs would not let their captain’s efforts against Hodgson go unnoticed; they took the momentum gained from the fight and tied the game 1-1. Dougie Hamilton scored his 3rd goal of the year on the power play, with Dylan MacEachern and Ryan Strome picking up the assists.

The game would stay even at 1-1 going into the second intermission.

The third was much like the first two periods, both teams played physical, and both goalies held their own. Josh Moes almost gave the Dogs a lead on a 1-on-1 break late in the third, but his shot ripped off the post and stayed out of the Battalion’s net.

Dougie Hamilton also had a chance to give the Dogs a lead and pick up his second goal of the night as he put one past Killeen, but the play was reviewed and it was determined the puck was kicked in, and the goal was disallowed.

The two chances by Niagara would conclude the third period, and the game would be taken into overtime with a score of 1-1, with both teams earning at least one point in the match-up.

Each goaltender played a phenomenal game, and neither team was able to score in the overtime period, forcing the game to go into a shootout.

Andrew Agozzino scored the first and only goal of the shootout, and Mark Visentin stopped all of the Brampton shooters, allowing the IceDogs to pick up three points in a much needed win.

The IceDogs will return to action Saturday night at the Gatorade Garden City Complex as they play host to the division rival Sudbury Wolves with the puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. Niagara’s weekend finishes on Sunday afternoon as the IceDogs and Battalion conclude their home-and-home weekend at the Powerade Centre in Brampton, with a start time of 2:00.

Tickets for Saturday’s home game against Jared Staal and the Sudbury Wolves are still available and can be purchased at any IceDogs ticketing location.

For more home game IceDogs photos, please visit www.rickdenham.com

In other news, former IceDogs’ 50 goal scorer Luca Caputi recorded an NHL assist tonight while playing his first game in a Toronto Maple Leafs uniform. Congrats Luca!


- Jeff Blay, Media Relations

Scoreboard:
2. BRA Clark, (7) (Lane, Peroff), 8:12 (PP)    
2. NIAG Hamilton, (3) (MacEachern, Strome), 12:08 (PP)

Three Stars:
1. NIAG - Dougie Hamilton
2. NIAG - Mark Visentin
3. BRA - Patrick Killeen

Honourable Mention: Andrew Agozzino - Shootout Winner, fight.