17吃瓜网

Mission accomplished.

The Niagara IceDogs dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Kingston Frontenacs in Ontario Hockey League action Sunday afternoon in St. Catharines, but in the process earned a point and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2018/19.

The loss was the third in a row for the club and 13th in their last 14 games, but that didn鈥檛 seem to matter to IceDogs coach Ben Boudreau, who was thrilled with the appointment with the post-season.

鈥淚 want to quote our owner, Michelle DeDobbelaer, here at Fan Fest. She had two words to say, 鈥楶layoffs, period.鈥� 听That was something I remember and that was the assignment given to us as coaching staff at the beginning of the year, find a way to get this organization in the playoffs by the end of the season.

鈥淭hat was our goal from Day 1 and today we just accomplished it so even though it鈥檚 with a loss in overtime it was a great way to battle and you feel good. We鈥檙e going to look back on this as a collective 68-game season and even though the stretch that we have been on hasn鈥檛 been great we still think it鈥檚 over the tenure of the year that we鈥檒l find out what this team is made of.鈥�

The IceDogs last qualified for the post-season in 2018/19 when they made it to the second round before being eliminated by the Oshawa Generals.

There were no OHL playoffs in 2019/20 or 2020/21 due to the COVID pandemic and the team failed to qualify in the last three seasons.听

Boudreau said it was imperative the team break that cycle and get back to the playoffs.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no question about it and I think it鈥檚 really important for a lot of people. We talked about putting Andrew Wycisk out there. He鈥檚 a 19-year-old and it鈥檚 the first time he鈥檚 going to have playoffs but he鈥檚 the most tenured IceDog, so I think it鈥檚 great for him. Same thing when it comes to development, we get our first-year players playoff success, and it鈥檚 something hopefully that they can expect.鈥�

Boudreau said the playoff experience extends beyond the organization into the community.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something that you only know when you鈥檙e out there and listening to the mayor (Mat Siscoe) address the city and the Chamber of Commerce, how much it鈥檚 going to mean to downtown and the restaurants and the city and the fans that have been loyal for so long.鈥�

The IceDogs, who have six regular season games remaining, can now turn their attention bigger things.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting when we leave this building that we can officially start to prepare for playoffs,鈥� Boudreau said. 听

Niagara took a 1-0 lead after one period before Kingston re-grouped and dominated the second period, scoring twice and outshooting the IceDogs 21-8.听

Niagara managed to escape the period tied 2-2 thanks to a penalty shot goal by Noah Van Vilet late in the frame.

The Fronts grabbed a 3-2 lead early in the third before the IceDogs tied the game in dramatic fashion when Mathieu Paris scored with 17 seconds remaining. Kingston then won it when Joey Willis scored 1:02 into OT.

Boudreau did not agree with the assessment his team lacked energy.

鈥淣o, I wouldn鈥檛 say that it was listless. I think when you look back, sometimes it鈥檚 a lack of execution,鈥� he said. 鈥淜ingston is a really good hockey team over the course of the 60 minutes. I think we won the season series, if I鈥檓 not mistaken, five out of eight points out of the four games. They only beat us in regulation once and all three times we found a way to come back at them.鈥�

Hayden Jeffery got the start once again between the pipes and was outstanding, kicking out 41 shots.

Jeffery played Wednesday in Sudbury, backed up Thursday in North Bay and then started Friday and Saturday for the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons, helping them secure first place in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

鈥淚 think Hayden was playing really sharp and can鈥檛 fault him on any of those goals,鈥� Boudreau said. 鈥淗e was a part of games for the last five days straight so it was pretty impressive for him to turn in that performance.鈥�听

Boudreau said he expects starting goaltender Owen Flores, who last started Feb. 14, to be back soon.

鈥淲e should find out tomorrow with his doctor鈥檚 appearance. I would plan to expect to see Owen Flores in net by next weekend.鈥�

Ice cubes: Owen Flores, Charlie Robertson, Rafek Dianov, Charlie Hotles and Nick Frasca did not dress for the IceDogs . . . Nolan Buttar and Landon Wright were scratched for Kingston.

STATS PACK

Frontenacs 4 IceDogs 3 OT

Niagara goaltender Hayden Jeffery and Kingston鈥檚 Joey Willis.

Niagara IceDogs: Ivan Galiyanov (10); Noah Van Vilet (7); Mathieu Paris (6).

Kingston Frontenacs: Jacob Battaglia (38); Joey Willis (22); Matthew Soto (17); Ben Pickell (12).

Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Charlie Schenkel (31), by Kingston on Hayden Jeffery (45); Power plays: Niagara 0/2, Kingston 0/1; Penalty minutes: Niagara 4, Kingston 6.

Attendance:听4,010.

Next up: The IceDogs are home Tuesday to face Barrie at 7 p.m.

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