All Bark, No Bite
BRAMPTON, ON- The Brampton Steelheads overwhelmed the Niagara IceDogs in their Family Day game with a 6-0 victory. The win was made possible after Finn Harding got four points (1G, 3A) and Brayden Gillespie secured his first shutout of the season.
After coming off an impressive win in Oshawa on Saturday night, the Steelheads looked to secure another victory at home. The Trout did just that after dominating the ice for three periods. With Harding securing four points throughout the game and Gillespie’s performance between the pipes, it allowed Brampton to reign victorious.
The first period was all Steelheads as Brampton not only took an early three-goal lead but also led the shots 19-4 and maintained dominant puck possession. Extending his seven-game point streak, Mason Zebeski got the icebreaker in a similar manner to his score opener in Oshawa.
After getting the puck from Stevie Leskovar, Harding saw the traffic and fired it on goal. Standing out front, Zebeski redirected the incoming puck off his stick and into the net to give the Trout the lead.
The dynamic duo of Carson Rehkopf and Porter Martone were back in action as they scored another goal for the Steelheads not even 20 seconds later. Harding sent a cross-ice pass off the boards to Martone at the IceDogs blue line, who then set Rehkopf up for the zone entry. Rehkopf bypassed the defence with speed and beat Matthew Humphries down low on the blocker side.
Continuing their scoring trend, the Steelheads extended their lead to three on the power play after Noah Van Vilet was called for boarding. Adding another assist to his tally, Martone got the puck just inside the IceDogs zone before sending it over to Luke Misa, who fired it past Humphries down low.
Despite the three goals against Humphries, the IceDog’s rookie netminder made some incredible saves. Saving 16 out of the 19 faced in the period, Humphries held his own as he faced a shooting gallery from the Trout in the final minutes of play.
Humphries continued this performance deep into the second, making several saves to keep the score at 3-0. Despite his effort, the Steelheads were all over the IceDogs, leading Adam Zidlicky to close the period with a short-handed goal.
After Zebeski was called for roughing, the IceDogs had the man advantage and a chance to generate a scoring opportunity. Unfortunately for them, the scoring favoured the Steelheads, as Harding set Zidlicky up for a breakaway. Dangling through the defence and Humphries, Zidlicky sent it bar down to make it 4-0.
The Trout entered the third, going four unanswered, and extended their lead to six in the final frame. Zidlicky followed up his first goal with another to start the third after Misa set him up in the IceDogs zone. While Humphries had made the initial save off Zidlicky’s shot, he fumbled the puck, sending it into the back of the net.
The IceDogs put some pressure on the Trout in the remaining minutes, but it did not matter, as Gillespie stood firm in goal. Niagara’s fate was then secured as Harding got the sixth and final goal of the game on the power play.
Max Crete’s slashing penalty gave way to the Trout’s final goal. Misa started the play with a shot down to Jack Van Volsen, who was waiting out front. Van Volsen was covered off by Humphries but got the puck over to Harding, who sniped it top-shelf to secure the 6-0 score.
While the scoring had finished, the game had not. In a dramatic finish, the rising tension overflowed, resulting in 10 game misconducts across the two teams. Regardless of the eventful end, the Trout secured the 6-0 victory and extended their win streak to two.
The Steelheads continue at home on Wednesday as they take on the Oshawa Generals. For tickets, click here.
