After a convincing 3-0 win over the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors on Thursday night, the Niagara IceDogs will now pack their bags and head to Kingston on Friday night to face the Frontenacs.  The team will then travel to Ottawa for a matinee affair with the 67's.

Friday, November 18^th at Kingston Frontenacs

The IceDogs head off to Kingston on Friday for their first game of the season against the Frontenacs.  Kingston has suffered through a disappointing start to the season, posting just five wins in 21 games played, and owning the second-worst power play in the league.  The tide seems to be turning in Kingston, however, as they recorded their first three-game win streak of the season last week, outscoring their opponents by a 22-7 margin.

Leading the team’s offence during the streak, Ryan Spooner was named the OHL Player of the Week after he scored four goals and six assists, including his second-career five-point game Sunday night against the Saginaw Spirit.  Coming off of a superb season that saw him record 81 points in 64 games between the Peterborough Petes and Frontenacs, the Boston Bruins’ second round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft was one of five players who represented the OHL in both Subway Super Series games, receiving Player of the Game distinction in the second game of the series.

Defenceman Jeff Braithwaite has also been a bright spot on Kingston’s roster.  The 19-year-old has been the team’s most reliable blue-liner, logging over 25 minutes and a career-best plus-five rating in Kingston’s win Monday in Ottawa.  Also contributing to the Fronts’ recent success is overager and OHL journeyman Tyler Brown, the team-leader in scoring with 22 points.  Fellow overager, netminder Igor Bobkov, recorded his first OHL shutout in 39 career games played when Kingston won 7-0 over the Oshawa Generals last Saturday. 

Sunday, November 20^th at Ottawa 67’s

To close out the weekend, the IceDogs will head to the nation’s capital on Sunday to face-off against the East Division leading Ottawa 67’s.  It will be Ottawa’s first game versus Niagara since a 4-1 road loss on October 20^th. 

The third-ranked team in the OHL enjoyed a strong start to the season, posting back-to-back wins four times in their first 21 games.  However, Ottawa’s season has suffered a recent downturn, posting just two wins in their last seven games, including a 7-4 loss to the worst team in the Eastern Conference, the Kingston Frontenacs.  Despite the rising number of losses, the 67’s are still able to put the puck in the net with consistency, recording 27 goals in their past seven games.

Providing offence has not been an issue for Ottawa all season, as their 84 goals-scored is second-best in the OHL.  Leading the charge are the fourth- and fifth-ranked scorers in the league, Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli.  Sophomore Monahan is averaging 1.83 points-per-game while Toffoli is currently the OHL’s top goal-scorer with 19 goals in as many games. Goaltender Petr Mrazek has been stellar in net for the 67’s, winning 11 of his 19 games played and posting a 2.98 GAA.