The Niagara IceDogs finished their Home and Home weekend against the Peterborough Petes with a much needed win. All four lines contributed in a solid effort to down the Petes infront of 2,636 fans at the Gatorade Garden City Complex Saturday night.

Niagara was off to a quick start when Freddie Hamilton scored his 13th of the season just 46 seconds into the first period.

Peterborough tied the game up five minutes later on a power play goal by Matt Puempel. The score stayed at 1-1 going into the first intermission.

The Petes took off early in the second with a goal by Ryan Spooner at the 4:11 mark, giving them a 2-1 lead.

A few minutes later, the Petes crashed the IceDogs net jamming at goaltender Mark Visentin, causing the play to go under review. It was determined the puck had crossed the line before the whistle was blown, and the Petes got away with one, giving them a 2-goal lead.

Peterborough continued to take it to the Dogs net, which lead to a fight between IceDogs rookie Keith Maisonville and Petes tough-guy Adam Sedlak. Maisonville was outsized by 35 pounds, but his solid effort got the Niagara fans and bench going.

The two teams would then exchange a series of power play opportunites, but neither team could capitalize, leaving the score at 3-1 after 40 minutes.

Niagara came out hard in the third as Andrew Shaw came up with a solid effort out of the corner, diving for the puck and putting it past Petes goalie Jason Missiaen. IceDogs captain Andrew Agozzino quickly followed up with his 19th goal of the season and second point of the game, with crucial passes by Mike Schwindt and Alex Friesen to tie the game at 3-3.

The action continued as a huge effort from the IceDogs third line provided them with their first lead of the game, as Marco Insam netted one off a faceoff win by Johnson Andrews.

Niagara's momentum did not let up, and the final score remained at 4-3 in favour of Niagara.

The win put the Dogs one point behind the Belleville Bulls in the Eastern Conference Standings.

The IceDogs next game is scheduled for Thursday December 17, when they play host to Jared Staal and the Sudbury Wolves at 7:30 p.m. This game will be the last IceDogs home game before Christmas. Tickets for this and all other IceDogs home games can be purchased at any IceDogs ticketing location.


- Jeff Blay, Media Relations.

Scoreboard:

1. NIAG Hamilton, (13) (Agozzino, Petgrave), 0:46

1. PBO Puempel, (15) (Sedlak, Doornbosch), 5:38 (PP)

2. PBO Spooner, (16) (Puempel, Daley), 4:11

2. PBO Walchessen, (6) , 6:17

3. NIAG Shaw, (3) , 3:19

3. NIAG Agozzino, (19) (Schwindt, Friesen), 3:46

3. NIAG Insam, (5) (Andrews), 10:46

Three Stars:

1. NIAG - 9 Andrew Agozzino
2. NIAG - 15 Andrew Shaw
3. NIAG - 17 Marco Insam

Honourable Mention: Alex Friesen - 1A, +2; Johnson Andrews - 1A, Several Huge Hits; Keith Maisonville - Fight, Solid Defensively.