Visentin makes good on early offence
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – Goaltender Mark Visentin made 37 saves in his third shutout of the season, backstopping the Niagara IceDogs to a 2-0 Ontario Hockey League victory Saturday night over the Brampton Battalion.
Visentin made first-period goals by Dougie Hamilton and Steven Shipley stand up for Niagara’s fourth consecutive win. The IceDogs have a won-lost-extended record of 33-11-6 for 72 points, good for second place in the Central Division and the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
Matej Machovsky faced 24 shots in goal for the depleted Battalion, 21-23-6 for 48 points, third in the division and sixth in the conference. The Sudbury Wolves, who defeated the host Peterborough Petes 4-3, are three points behind the Troops, who have failed to score more than two goals through overtime in seven games since a 6-5 loss via shootout to the host Windsor Spitfires on Jan. 20.
The Battalion last was shut out in a 4-0 loss Jan. 13 at the hands of the visiting Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. The Troops’ previous road blanking came in a 4-0 setback Dec. 11, 2008, against the Barrie Colts.
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record,” said coach Stan Butler. “But this was another time when our effort didn’t result in any reward. Territorially, we played a pretty good game, and our inability to finish around the net, combined with Visentin playing as well as he did, was the difference in the game.”
Butler said the Troops did a good job of limiting scoring chances.
“They battled really hard. I’m proud of our young defencemen. They played well.”
Defenceman Hamilton opened the scoring 8:17 into the game with the Battalion’s Philip Lane serving a chintzy holding penalty. Hamilton cut hard to the net off the right wing to convert a pass from older brother Freddie Hamilton in the left-wing corner.
Shipley made it 2-0 at 12:58 after Myles Doan shoveled the puck toward the goalmouth from deep on the right wing. Shipley was credited with contacting the disc in tight to Machovsky’s left, although it appeared the puck entered the net off the Troops’ Sam Carrick.
The Battalion outshot Niagara 16-8 in the second period but couldn’t cut the deficit.
Scott Tanski broke in alone on Visentin in the first minute only to stuff the puck into the collapsing goaltender, and that set the tone for the Troops’ futility in the frame.
Visentin made a glove save against Lane in tight with the man advantage at 13:53, leaving the Battalion attacker slapping his stick on the ice in frustration.
Machovsky returned the favour at 16:17, snaring a shot by Hamilton off the right wing, but that was small consolation when Barclay Goodrow, Ian Watters and Carrick were foiled in a goalmouth scrum immediately after Shipley went to the penalty box with a double minor for spearing Domenic Alberga.
That power play was shortened when Tanski received a goaltender interference penalty, the second such call against the Troops in the period.
Butler was upset enough with the work of referees Kevin Blundell and Joe Park that he had a conference with Blundell, as Park and one of the linesmen listened in, at the bench after the period ended.
The chat may or may not have had anything to do with a two-man advantage lasting 17 seconds for the Troops in the third period, but the power-play contingent failed to beat Visentin.
The Battalion dressed 17 skaters, one below the limit, scratching Cameron Wind, Alex O’Neil and Michael Santini. Niagara scratched Dalton McGrath, Luke Mercer, Joel Wigle, Milan Doudera and Billy Jenkins.
The Battalion hosts Windsor, which has won the last two OHL championships and Memorial Cup titles, at 2 p.m. Sunday.
BATTALION NOTEBOOK: Attendance at the Jack Gatecliff Arena in the Gatorade Garden City Complex was 2,886, including a busload of supporters from the Booster Brigade … The Battalion went 0-for-8 on the power play. Niagara was 1-for-7 … The Troops are 10-13-3 on the road, while Niagara is 19-2-4 at home … Opening line combinations included Carrick centring left winger Stephon Thorne and right winger Tanski, Watters centring left winger Goodrow and right winger Lane and Jonathan Johansson centring left winger Craig Moore and right winger Matt MacLeod. Centre Alberga and right winger Andreas Tsogkas had varying linemates … Lane played his 100th OHL game. A fourth-round pick in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection, he has 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 career points … Wind and O’Neil suffered shoulder injuries in a 2-1 home-ice victory Friday night over the Belleville Bulls. Santini missed a second game with an ankle injury … Defenceman Michael Mastrangelo, who was called up from the junior A Villanova Knights, played a third game with the Troops … Niagara’s Ryan Strome was named the OHL’s player of the month for January after recording four goals and 22 assists for 26 points in 13 games. With an assist on the game’s first goal, he has one goal and nine assists for 10 points in a four-game points streak and is second in league scoring with 26 goals and 56 assists for 82 points … The elder Hamilton has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in a 14-game points streak … The game was the third of six between the division rivals, who hadn’t met since Oct. 29. They split the first two games, with each team winning on the road. Niagara visits Brampton on Feb. 13.
