IceDogs look good in loss

But unable to compete for 60 minutes with Hamilton

A loss on home ice that dropped the Niagara IceDogs to last place in the Ontario Hockey League was not without some positives.

Unlike their previous three losses, head coach Billy Burke came away from Thursday night’s 6-3 setback to the Hamilton Bulldogs impressed by the way the struggling team played in stretches against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

“I thought we competed better for most of the game,” he said, after Niagara lost its fourth in a row to fall to 5-13. Unfortunately, the IceDogs weren’t able to sustain that intensity and focus for a full 60 minutes.

“We still have little letdowns. It’s like, if our compete level is here, we have to get it up to here a little bit more consistently,” he said, raising his hand from elbow to shoulder height.

“We get flashes, then we drop down a little bit.”

While there remains a “little bit of fragileness” on the team, the players are saying the right things and the coach is seeing some growth.

“I know we don’t want participation medals, stuff like that, but I definitely saw some growth,” Burke said. “It’s going slower than we want it to, no doubt about that. We’re not where we want to be.

“But we are going, and it is a process. Hopefully, we can just speed things up a little bit.”

That doesn’t always mean reading the riot act. Burke pointed out coaching staffs tread a fine line dealing with a “fragile team” in the midst of a slump

“It’s a fine line of corrections, tough love, but also pats on the back, as well,” the fourth-year head coach said. “We have to remember that it’s tough to play with a gun to your head, but we have to make sure that we’re toeing that line of accountability and pats on the back.

“We need to make sure, if nothing else, we’re competing for the guy beside us.”

Another bright spot from Thursday night’s loss was rookie Ryan Struthers scoring a goal for the second time in as many games.

“He’s not a guy we’re going to look at for a ton of goals, but he is proving he has talent,” Burke said. “It’s not easy to score in this league, it doesn’t matter who you are. He’s one of those guys. Everyone who plays with him seems to play well. That’s a huge compliment for him.”

Burke confirmed overage defenceman Mason Howard is no longer with the team

“It’s a tough situation, unfortunately, but it was a bit of a mutual decision to part ways,” Burke said. “He’s gone home and we’ll do our best to facilitate a trade.”

The 20-year-old from London, Ont., was named an alternate captain at the start of his third season with the team. Before joining the IceDogs, Howard spent 2017-18 with the junior B Thorold Blackhawks of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

The Bulldogs’ Ryan Humphrey and the IceDogs’ Daniil Gushchin traded power-play goals to open the scoring in Round 4 of the Canine Cup.

Montreal Canadiens prospect Jan Mysak put the visitors up by one with a power-play marker, but Hamilton’s second lead of the game was short-lived. Pano Fimis tied the game 14 seconds later.

Shots on net in the first period were 13-11 in favour of the visitors.

Hamilton outshot Niagara 13-9 in the middle frame and took a 5-2 lead on goals from Lawson Sherk, Nathan Staios and Mark Duarte, on the power play.

Niagara outshot Hamilton 16-15 in the third period, but only Struthers was able to find the back of the net for the IceDogs.

Mysak rounded out the scoring in the game with an empty-net goal.

Hamilton opened the 2021-22 Canine Cup series with back-to-back 4-0 wins and improved to 3-0 with a 6-4 victory Oct. 29 at home.

Niagara was seeking to end a three-game losing slide and return to the win column for the first time since edging the visiting Oshawa Generals 3-2 on Nov. 13.

Hamilton, winners of two in a row, came into the game third in the Eastern Conference with a 10-5-1-1 record. Niagara (now 5-13) was last in the 10-team division, and is now 15 points back of the North Bay Battalion (12-7-0-1) and 14 behind the Mississauga Steelheads (11-41-1) and Hamilton.

■ ’Dog Biscuits: Juan Copeland, LW; Joey Costanzo, G; Alec Leonard, D; Cameron Snow, LW; and Declan Waddick, C, were out of the Niagara lineup. Brendan Anderson, C; Lucas Moore, D; Navrin Mutter, LW; Alex Pharand, C; Noah Roberts, D; and Ryan Winterton, C, were the Hamilton scratches … Artem Grushnikov, D, Dallas; Jan Mysak, C, Montreal; Chandler Romeo, D, Ottawa; and Ryan Winterton, C, Seattle, are the NHL prospects on the Hamilton roster. San Jose picked Niagara’s Gushchin in the third round of the 2020 draft.