The Niagara IceDogs fell to the Brampton Battalion for the second time in as many nights, as a strong performance from Petteri Simila was lost in a 4-3 shootout defeat.  

Simila was dealt his third start of the season and had an outstanding outing, making 49 saves and giving the team in front of him a chance at a comeback as the game wore on.  

The IceDogs nearly opened the scoring early, as Chris DeSousa had a good look on the power play from the top of the circle but couldn't find the net as the game remained scoreless. 

The Battalion got on the board soon after killing off the penalty, as Stephon Thorne let go a blistering wrist-shot that found the top corner making it 1-0 at the 11:57 mark.

The Battalion extended their lead on the power play when a Matt Clark blast from the point eluded Simila to give Brampton an early 2-0 advantage.

Niagara's frustration appeared to spill-over from the outcome on Thursday night when DeSousa was handed a 10-minute misconduct for arguing a holding call, as the IceDogs headed to the locker room down 2-0 after twenty minutes. 

Andrew Shaw was robbed in the opening minutes of the second period, when Brampton goaltender Patrick Killeen continued his strong play by making a dazzling glove save to preserve the Battalion two-goal advantage. 

After the IceDogs were able to kill off a 5-on-3 power play, they were handed a two-man advantage of their own after a couple of Battalion hooking infractions.  Niagara's anemic power play continued to struggle however, as they were unable to find the net with any quality shots and remained in a two-goal hole after two periods. 

It took 46:46 for the IceDogs offence to come alive, before Josh Moes led the rush into the Battalion zone which ended in Agozzino banging it past Killeen to make it 2-1,  as Niagara was finally able to get a favourable bounce to get back into the game.  

Simila continued to be Niagara's best player, as he made a remarkable sprawling save midway through the third that kept the IceDogs within one. 

Simila's performance ended up paying off, as Alex Friesen fed Andrew Fritsch in front who beat Killeen for his second career OHL goal and more importantly the tying marker, as the IceDogs managed to erase a two-goal deficit making it 2-2 at the 16:50 mark.

It didn't take the Battalion long to regain the lead, as Sam Carrick redirected home his fourth goal in two games making it 3-2 Battalion with 1:38 remaining. 

With Simila on the bench, a scramble ensued in front of the Brampton net where Agozzino was able to swipe in second of the game with twenty second left as the remarkable closing moments resulted in bonus hockey of the overtime variety.

Both Simila and Killeen were able to stand tall in the extra time, as both netminers did all they could to pick up the extra point for their respective teams with the IceDogs heading to their first shootout of the season.

Killeen was able to Stop Agozzino, Friesen, and DeSousa as Brampton's Valery Knyazev was the only shooter to succeed giving the Battalion a 4-3 win. 

The IceDogs will have time to regroup, as they stumble into the Thanksgiving weekend before having six days to prepare for the Owen Sound Attack who they host on Thursday, October 15th at 7:30 p.m. 

Notes: Simila was the second star of the game and sits at 0-0-2-1 this season...The IceDogs are winless in their last four games...Andrew Shaw easily handled Barclay Goodrow in a marathon fight that ended with Goodrow on his back...Josh Moes has two points in as many games as an IceDog...1777 fans were in attendance.

-Brett Vancise