GAMEDAY PREVIEW: IceDogs look to get back in the win column against Knights!

Your Niagara IceDogs are on the road tonight as they finish their season series against the London Knights. After winning their first game against the Knights 4-2 in November, the ‘Dogs are coming into this game looking to sweet the series. This time when they face the Knights, they’ll have a former their former leading scorer leading the rush. Tonight marks the first game Sam Miletic will play against his former team.

After dropping a disappointing Wednesday night game against Kitchener, the ‘Dogs will be hungry to turn things around against a team they have plenty of history with.

The ‘Dogs are being led on the scoresheet by Sam Miletic, who’s collected 7 pts in the 4 games he’s played as an IceDog. The newly named assistant captain currently sits 4th in league scoring with 61 points on the season. He also ranks 3rd in league assists, with 41, while Akil Thomas ranks 5th with 37 assists. Despite the powerplay having struggled as of late, Akil Thomas continues to rank in the top 5 of league powerplay assists, with 17. Stephen Dhillon comes into this game sitting in 4th in most wins by a goalie with 21 wins on the season. Fans can expect Dhillon to bounce back in this game.

Kirill Maksimov, Will Lochead and Adrian Carbonara are also expected, but not guaranteed, to make their return to the lineup tonight. An addition of Maksimov after struggling to score against Kitchener would be a huge boost to the ‘Dogs’ offensive efforts. He continues to rank in the top 5 in the league in scoring insurance goals, with 5 on the season.

The ‘Dogs will be facing one of the leagues’ top goaltenders tonight in Joseph Raymaakers. He ranks in the leagues top 5 in goals against averages, with 2.64, and save percentages, with .913. He also leads the league in most shutouts on the season, with 3. For the ‘Dogs to be successful tonight, they’ll need to find the holes in Raymaakers’ game.

The IceDogs have received other secondary scoring from second year forwards Danial Singer and Oliver Castleman, while the defensemen have become more active in the offensive zone, especially with the activation of defensemen Liam Ham, and Elijah Roberts, when the ‘Dogs have extended control of the puck in the opposition’s zone.

IceDogs’ Top 5 Point Leaders:

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NIAGARA: 24-13-3-2 (53 pts)

LONDON:  27-17-2-1 (51 pts)

Fans can catch tonight’s game broadcast live on 610 CKTB, YourTV Niagara, and OHL Live. Follow @OHLIceDogs on twitter for live updates!

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Tickets are still available for our next home game, Friday,  January 26th against the Sarnia Sting! Next Friday’s game is our annual Pink in the Rink game, in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. The IceDogs will be wearing commemorative pink jerseys to be auctioned live post-game. All jerseys will be auctioned in-arena. Limited tickets are available, so make sure to get yours quickly!

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