IceDogs goaltender Owen Flores stopped 49 shots but he needed the 50th save, as the home team fell 4-3 in overtime to visiting Peterborough.
Ryan Kuwabara’s team jumped on the Petes early, with Zak Lavoie netting a power-play goal 1:13 into the contest. Ryan Roobroeck’s 3rd of his rookie campaign made it 2-0 before the game was 5 minutes old. The Dogs outshot the Petes early by a 9-1 count but the defending OHL champions would register 25 more before the first would come to an end, with late goal making it 2-1. The shot clock read, Peterborough 26, Niagara 11, with Owen Flores making a number of tough stops.
Penalty trouble would allow the Petes to take the lead in the second at 3-2, on a pair of man advantage markers. Shots favored the visitors 15-11.
In the final 20 of regulation, the IceDogs would continue to put in the work, firing 14 of the period’s 25 shots. The effort would be rewarded with Andrew Vemeulen scoring his first career goal with 6:56 left. Chris O’Flaherty would notch the only assist with Mathieu Paris helping to provide a much needed boost. The Petes would lead the shot count 52-36.
The only shot of overtime would be the winner as the IceDogs prepare to hit the road. A 3 in 3 weekend will conclude Sunday in Sarnia, with the Windsor Spitfires hosting Niagara Saturday night. The pre-game gets underway at 6:45 on Niagara’s New Country 89.1.
(photo courtesy of Vivid Eye Photography)
