Can’t win them all
Niagara, ON – The Steelheads suffered their first loss of the season, falling 7-3 to Niagara.
Niagara’s offence proved to be too much for a tired Steelheads team in the second half of a double-header. A stellar six-point performance from Kevin He (3 goals, 3 assists) led the way for the Ice Dogs.
The Steelheads wasted no time to start the game, as they got on the board 18 seconds in courtesy of Porter Martone. For the second straight game, the Trout’s top line scores the ice breaker in the first minute.
The Ice Dogs didn’t take long to answer as Ryan Roobroeck wrapped around the net and banked one in off Stevie Leskovar to tie the game.
Just over a minute later, Niagara found themselves on the Power Play following a check to head from Adam Zidlicky. While on the powerplay Kevin He found Ethan Czata, who made no mistake beating Gibbons to give the Ice Dogs the lead.
The Ice Dogs added another after Kevin He leveled Finn Harding, before he fired one on Gibbons. The puck sat behind Gibbons, where Max Crete jammed it home to make it 3-1.
Niagara didn’t slow down as Max Crete entered the zone and fired one by Gibbons. His second of the game furthered the lead to 4-1.
Brampton nearly found an answer when William Eggleton wrapped around the net, but he was stopped by the Sliding Owen Flores.
The intermission didn’t slow down the Ice Dogs, as Kevin He came in and rifled one by Ivankovic to make it 5-1.
Tension boiled over following a Cheynowski cross check on Jakub Fibigr, which escalated into a full on brawl where both Goalies dropped the gloves. The scrum resulted in a Steelheads Power Play.
The Steelheads struggled on the man advantage, where they allowed a shorthanded breakaway to Kebin He who scored his second of the night. The Ice Dogs almost found a second shorthanded goal of the kill but Gibbons denied Roobroeck on the breakaway.
Brampton finally answered back half-way through the frame, as Lucas Karmiris joined the rush and fired it by Robertson to cut the lead to four.
The Ice dogs didn’t take long to get it back. Just under a minute after the Karmiris marker, Kevin He broke in on a two-on-one where he beat Gibbons to complete the hat-trick.
Lucas Karmiris gave the Trout some life when he backhanded one top shelf on Robertson for his second goal of the night. The Steelheads continued to pressure in the third outshooting the Ice Dogs 19-6 in the frame, but it was too little too late. The Ice Dogs hung on for a 7-3 win.
The Steelheads look to bounce back into the win column next Friday, as they return home for Pink In the Rink night against Windsor. Grab your tickets here.