Coming off a 5-2 pummeling of the Peterborough Petes on Thursday night, the Niagara IceDogs will direct their attention to division rival Mississauga as they pay a visit to the Hershey Centre on Friday night.  The game marks the third meeting between the two teams this season, and first in Mississsauga, after splitting the first two in Niagara, including a 3-0 IceDogs victory on November 17th.

November was unkind to the Majors after they won just two of their 12 games played, but December has brought changing tides in Mississauga and the Majors are 2-0 this month (the back-to-back wins were the team’s first since Mississauga began the season 7-0).

The Majors’ top scorer, Riley Brace has been a major reason for the team’s recent success.  Brace is currently ranked seventh in the league with 42 points, has the most game-winning goals in the OHL with six and is tied for second in shorthanded goals with five.  The undrafted left wing is in the midst of a six-game goal scoring streak, during which time he has recorded 11 points.

Sophomore Mika Partanen has also been a solid offensive contributor for the Majors recently, currently in the midst of a four-game goal scoring streak (his four goals scored during the streak account for all but one of his goals scored this season).

One of the most discussed names left off of the Team Canada Selection Camp roster was Stuart Percy.  The third-year Major recently signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team who drafted him 25th overall in last year’s NHL Entry Draft.  Despite the fact that he has missed six games this season due to injury, Percy is still producing for Mississauga, leading the team with a +15 rating, a category he also led in last season with +50, and is still managing nearly a point-per-game.