It's Not Tense for the Ice Dogs

The past, the future and the present came into the arena and things got tense!

Things have been anything but tense for Ice Dog fans these past few days as the past, future and present are all positive.

The Past:

Andrew Agozzino was recognized for his hard work this past season as he was selected as the OHL over age player of the year. With 40 goals and 48 assists during the regular season, Agozzino’s numbers are impressive. However it is not the stats which stand out for Agozzino, it is his work ethic and leadership which are noted by coaches, players and fans.

Agozzino won the award by one vote over Owen Sound Attack Mike Halmo. Both undrafted, the pair of over-agers have definitely been impact players on their respective teams this year. While Agozzino takes home the hardware, Halmo was rewarded with a NHL entry level contract with the New York Islanders. Being undrafted had its advantages as Halmo was able to field many offers and make the decision where to sign. Perhaps an NHL contract is in Agozzino’s future?

Speaking of the future…….

Ice Dog coach Marty Williamson was very busy recently in his dual role as coach and general manager. During Saturday’s OHL Priority draft Williamson was straddling positions while he led a team practice in between selecting draft picks for the future. At Tuesday’s home game three of the fourteen draft picks were introduced to the fans pre-game. (pictured above) Given a loud welcome was centre-man Brook Hiddink, a second-round choice, left winger Matt Gillard, taken in the fourth round, and right winger Brendan Dunning, a 10th-round pick.

It was also announced Anthony DiFruscia, selected in the 2011 draft, was signed by the Ice Dogs. A Thorold native, DiFruscia played this past season at Salisbury School in Connecticut where he averaged a point a game on the varsity team.

But thoughts of the future need to be set aside as the Ice Dogs right now must concentrate on the present – a solid play-off run.

The Present:

The Niagara Ice Dogs have swept the Brampton Battalion in the second series of the play-offs. Highlights have been a Dave Pacan over time goal in game one, a Freddie Hamilton hat trick in game three and a goal and six assists through-out the series from Ryan Strome. Mark Visentin in goal was incredible through out the series as uncharacteristic for the Ice Dogs they allowed Brampton to outshoot them in all but one game with the series shots 133-110 in Brampton’s favour.

The Ice Dogs now rest while they wait to see who wins the Barrie-Ottawa series to determine their opponent for the Eastern Conference finals.

The Pieces are Coming Together for the Niagara Ice Dogs

The Niagara Ice Dogs are the hottest team in the OHL with a 9-1 record in the last ten games. With a perfect week-end defeating Barrie in a pair of home and away games as well as a 5-2 win over Sudbury, on Saturday evening they were leading the Central Division and tied for first place in the Eastern Conference. An indication of how close things are in the East, by Sunday evening they were back in third place.

Ranked number two in the CHL before hitting the ice in August, the Ice Dogs had an extremely slow start and were hailed as probably the most underachieving team in the league. It seems however coach/general manager Marty Williamson has finally put the pieces of the puzzle together.

The fanfare has been all about the return of the “Team Canada four” and the reinstatement of Tom Kuhnhackl from a 20 game suspension as well as the acquisition of Brett Ritchie from Sarnia and Jamie Oleksiak from Saginaw. But it is the quiet leadership and skill of team captain Andrew Agozzino keeping the team moving forward.

With the World Junior Tournament taking place out west, the OHL continued league play. While many were concerned the Ice Dogs would falter with four key players missing, Agozzino noted during the absence rookies who previously had little ice time as well as the regular veterans stepped it up. “We found our team game since those guys were gone and since they’ve returned we haven’t missed a beat. It’s exciting we now have the final pieces of the puzzle and have the group that we know will be here to the end.”

During December Agozzino was named the OHL player of the week. At a recent home game he was recognized by the franchise for having the most “stars” during the month of December. He has continued his efforts into January as he scored a winning shoot out goal against Owen Sound as well as a short-handed highlight reel goal to tie it up against Barrie on Thursday. He extended his 10 game point streak with an empty net goal in Sudbury Friday night.

In his fifth year with the team Agozzino has been with the Ice Dogs since their arrival in St. Catharines. He was the first ever pick in Niagara Ice Dogs’ franchise history, drafted 15th overall in the 2007 OHL Priority Selection. With 23 goals and 28 assists this season he is the leading scorer for the Ice Dogs and tenth over-all in the OHL.

At 5'10 and 187lbs Agozzino is not know for his stature particularly now he is surrounded by teammates like Oleksiak at 6’ 7”. When asked if size matters Agozzino laughs and says “it doesn’t matter how big you are, if you have a lot of battle and a lot of heart it doesn’t matter - but it’s great to have Jamie on the back end!”

Highlights of Thursday's Niagara vs. Barrie game including Agozzino's short handed goal.

The Kids Are Alright

After a 7-0 thrashing of the Erie Otters Thursday night, Niagara Ice Dog fans can relax, the kids are alright.

With four key players out of the line up (Visentin, Strome and the Hamiltons with Team Canada) Ice Dogs fans were anticipating a rough ride over the next stretch of the schedule. Under the leadership of Captain Andrew Agozzino, the Dogs have proven they will be just fine.

Agozzino is in his fifth season as an Ice dog, third as team captain and according to Cogeco broadcaster Ed Burkholder is the “most loved Ice Dog of all time”. With the core of the Ice Dogs at Team Canada Agozzino’s leadership skills are being put to the test.

Agozzino admits he needed to adapt his role on and off the ice to accommodate for the addition of more inexperienced players. Prior to Thursday’s game Agozzino said it was his job to “keep guys that aren’t used to playing (in the OHL)…calm, (and) realize it’s just a game they have played their whole lives.”

Broderick Kelly, a regular call up from the Jr. B Falcons heeded Aggie’s advice which resulted in his first career OHL goal. As a St. Catharines native it was even more satisfying to have scored in front of his home town crowd. There is no doubt Kelly is now one of the boys as he was seen being initiated with shaving cream in the face on live TV during the end of game interview with Al Galloway of Cogeco.

Stepping out of the shadow of Team Canada goalie Mark Visentin was Christopher Fastarini. Acquired early in the season in a trade with the Otters, Festarini looked very confident, playing a steady game which resulted in his first career OHL shutout. He was also rewarded with the title of “hardest worker in the game” as well as the third star.

Fans were also amused/impressed with Falcon call up Adam DeSautels as he dropped the gloves against Otter’s McGuire. This was a replay of a fight during an exhibition match in September.

While the youngsters brought up from the Junior B Falcons held their own, Ice Dog fans were reminded Niagara does have depth in their roster. Aside from the four currently with Team Canada, the Ice Dogs also have an additional five players drafted by NHL teams, forwards Alex Friesen (Vancouver), David Pacan (Florida), Steven Shipley (Buffalo), Mitchell Theoret (New York Islanders), and defenceman Brock Beukeboom (St. Louis).

Agozzino acknowledged there was “extra pressure (and the) older guys have to step up…take control.” And take control they did with a second period barrage of six goals. Agozzino scored the seventh in the third just missing on duplicating a hat trick like the one earned the last time he faced the Otters.

Thursday also marked the return of Frank Schumacher after finally passing the concussion test. Schumacher did not need any easing into the line up as he provided strength on the blue line with no hesitation.

With the recent display of depth, along with the support of youngsters waiting in the wings, Agozzino may be right when he assures the team still plans to be in Shawinigan in the spring. “it’s a long season……doesn’t matter what you come in ranked it’s how you come out. " When asked about being in the Memorial Cup his quick response is “absolutely!”

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The Ice Dogs head into the Christmas Break after defeating Sudbury 3-1 Saturday evening.

Brock Beukeboom scored his first goal as an Ice Dog and was named first star of the game as he faced his father as coach behind the opposing bench.

All 3 Ice Dogs goals were on the powerplay.

A New Spectator Facility For St. Catharines and the Ice Dogs

This week Niagara Ice Dog action moved from the ice surface to Council Chambers in St. Catharines City Hall. On December 5^th the St. Catharines city counsel voted 9-3 in favour of building a new spectator facility……a new home for the Ice Dogs!

While the action in the chamber may have been a much slower pace than a typical hockey game, the final vote resulted in cheers, high fives and hugs for Ice Dog owners Bill and Denise Burke.

For months the “Let’s Build It” campaign has been heating up to lobby city counsellors to go forward with the building of a new spectator facility for the city of St. Catharines. The Jack Gatecliff Arena, home to the Niagara Ice Dogs was built in 1938 and is the oldest and by far most dilapidated in the OHL.

http://intheobloggers.blogspot.com/2011/10/honeymoon-is-over-at-jack.html

Leading up to the much anticipated vote Ice Dog owner Bill Burke made it clear it was not feasible for the Dogs to stay in St. Catharines if a new facility was not built. This was not just an idle threat from a disgruntled owner but a fact backed by the Ontario Hockey League.

The most surprising part of the “Let’s Build It” campaign was how the Ice Dog players themselves became involved in the process. While current Ice Dogs will never enjoy the new facilities by the time construction is completed, many players became active in supporting the “Let’s Build It” campaign. Team captain Andrew Agozzino, Niagara-on-the-Lake native Alex Friesen and coach Marty Williamson made video clips to promote the campaign and encourage councillors to support a new arena. The night of the vote city hall was packed with Ice Dog players and team staff.

After the vote was finalized the twitterverse heated up in response to the news a new facility was approved.

Glad to hear st.catharines has decided to build a new rink for the #icedogs the city deserves it.. The #jack will always be my fav rink tho! –Chris Desousa

WOOOHOOOO, new arena for my IceDogs. I want it named the Ryan Strome Entertainment Center on Mitchell Theoret Avenue #imahappypandanow – Johnny Super Fan

But like with most good news there is a catch…..the motion to build a new arena came with a friendly amendment to change the name of the team from Niagara to St. Catharines Ice Dogs.

So while the decision of building a new facility has been decided, debate starts about a possible name change. Some people still have not got used to the change from Mississauga to Niagara, will fans, and most importantly, the Burkes, accept a change of Niagara to St. Catharines?

The next chapter of the Ice Dog off ice drama continues…………

Dog Bytes:

• Saturday night’s game against Kingston began with Mayor Brian McMullan and St. Catharines city councilors dropping the puck
• Saturday night’s game against Kingston was the beginning of a seven game stretch missing four players at Team Canada
• Ice Dogs lost 3-2 to Kingston Saturday evening with almost half of their roster filled with Jr. B players to replace regulars hurt or at the Team Canada Camp
  
• This week Dougie Hamilton signed an Entry Level Contract with the Boston Bruins
• Rookie Broderick Kelly racked up his first (and second) OHL career points this week-end with two assists
• They can't build the new arena soon enough.....during the first period, it took referee Rob Langdon and the two linesmen an extra minute or two to catch a mouse that made its way onto the ice.

Great Expectations in Niagara

Even as the Niagara Ice Dogs were eliminated from the OHL Eastern Conference finals last spring, the buzz began. As the summer went on the buzz became louder. The 2011-12 OHL season might just be “the one” for the Ice Dogs. When the CHL announced last Wednesday the Niagara Ice Dogs were ranked number two in Canada the buzz became an explosion. Ice Dog fans have even begun to speak the words “Memorial Cup” - in September.

The pressure is on.

While expectations for this season’s team are high, Coach Marty Williamson is trying to keep the team contained. He states the ranking is “a compliment to the players, but rankings don’t mean a lot when you haven’t won a league game yet. Our guys know that when you are ranked number two you are going to have to prove yourself every night. We’re not talking about Memorial Cup we’re talking about winning the first game of the season.”

Team Captain Andrew Agozzino also acknowledges it is “neat to see” the number two ranking, but later in the year “no one looks back at the rankings in September -there’s a lot more to be done.”

And there is much work to do for the Ice Dogs following a 3-3 tie Thursday night in exhibition play against the Oshawa Generals. Coach Williamson acknowledges there was lackluster play at times with not a “lot going on” with the specialty teams. Agozzino was impressed with the work ethic of new comer Carter Verhaeghe while Williamson noted McGrath did a good job in net for the second half of the game. The rookies will need to be more comfortable with the systems and focus on where to be on the ice. With eleven regulars out of the line up it was an opportunity for younger players to show off their stuff and try to make a spot on a team with limited openings.

Williamson wishes those at NHL training camps well but obviously he hopes they all return to Niagara. “Dougie Hamilton at Boston and Ryan Strome with the Islanders and Friesen with Vancouver and Pacan in Florida, those are the guys that will determine if this is a good team or a great team or a team that might have to do some different things - acquire a player or two. If we get them all back we sure like this team an awful lot. It’s got good chemistry, we can score, we play hard defense it’s a good carry over team from last year.”

With 2113 in attendance at an exhibition game with the marquis players missing, you can feel in the air the high hope fans have for the Ice Dog this season. With the season opener on September 22^nd we will soon find out if the pressure is going to be the team’s number one nemesis.

IceDogs Captain Andrew Agozzino vs. Majors Captain Casey Cizikas

Niagara IceDogs Captain Andrew Agozzino takes on Mississauga Majors Captain Casey Cizikas after Agozzino lays a big hit on one of the Majors defenders. Spirited battle between two competitive captains.