17吃瓜网

It was a weekend the Niagara IceDogs would just as soon forget.

The IceDogs dropped a 9-1 decision to the Kitchener Rangers Saturday night at home, just 24 hours after a 7-3 loss to the Sudbury Wolves at the Meridian Centre.

Toss in Niagara went scoreless in 11 opportunities with the man advantage, that they have now dropped four in a row and are 2-5-1-2 in their last 10, and it鈥檚 clear the IceDogs are headed in the wrong direction with the playoffs coming up quickly.

鈥淲e鈥檙e at a loss for words,鈥� IceDogs head coach Ben Boudreau said. 鈥淚 loved the way we played as a team to be honest with you through 40 minutes. I mean a five-goal period is never going to be good but I really thought our effort level and compete was there through the first 40 and then they got that fifth one early in the third and that鈥檚 the straw that kind of broke the camel鈥檚 back and you could kind of see our give-up in the third.

鈥淚 really appreciated the effort level tonight but that team was bigger and better and faster and stronger. They executed a lot better than us.鈥�

Rookie goaltender Matthew Humphries made his first home start of the season and permitted all nine goals on 25 shots, including one just 19 seconds into the game.

鈥淚t鈥檚 tough,鈥� Boudreau said. 鈥淵ou have a goaltender making his debut and you don鈥檛 want go to the media and curse him. He had four really good periods but it was a tough game.鈥�

Boudreau defended his power play which is operating at 23.7 per cent 鈥� Branford leads the league at 27.7 per cent 鈥� despite their recent struggles.

鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 been an issue,鈥� Boudreau said. 鈥淲e were eight-for-14 on the power play in the last week-and-a-half. We were phenomenal on the power play. It鈥檚 the best it鈥檚 been in two-and-a-half seasons when we were averaging almost one every five goals but there听wasn鈥檛 anything positive about tonight. The power play wasn鈥檛 good. We didn鈥檛 score goals, we gave up a lot. It鈥檚 a really bad recipe.鈥�

The IceDogs, who sit eighth overall in the Ontario Hockey League at 27-17-3-3, have 18 games remaining.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any choice but to come back here on Monday and go to work,鈥� Boudreau said. 鈥淲e can give up or keep finding a way. One thing we know right now is that we鈥檙e deficient with our defensive game. We鈥檙e trying everything we can right now. That鈥檚 a tough one, especially doing this interview and listening to another team (down the hall) clinch the playoffs. There鈥檚 no question about it.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been on the right side of things and right now we’re on the wrong side of things. It鈥檚 tough right now. So like I said, you take it on the chin and try to wake up tomorrow and see what you can control.鈥�

Boudreau said it鈥檚 time for the leaders on the team to step up.

鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely important. We need everybody and you can鈥檛 turn on each other,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we turn on each other, that鈥檚 going to be tough, but you know, it hasn鈥檛 been good. We鈥檝e been getting games that haven鈥檛 been close and it feels like after Christmas we鈥檝e really been going downhill. So it鈥檚 on the players in that room to decide whether they can turn it around.鈥�

Ice cubes: Charlie Robertson, Alex Assadourian, Mathieu Paris and Nick Frasca did not dress for the IceDogs . . . 听 Luke Ellinas, Matheas Stark, Andrew MacNiel, Evan Headrick and Jack LaBrash were scratched for the Rangers . . .听Former St. Catharines Falcon Matthew Hlacar scored for the Rangers听 . . . Ryan Roobroeck (35), Kevin He (27), Sean Doherty (12) scored Friday in the loss to Sudbury.

STATS PACK

Rangers 9听IceDogs 1

Niagara’s Ivan Galiyanov and Kitchener’s Andrew Vermeulen.

Niagara IceDogs: Ivan Galiyanov (7).

Kitchener Rangers: Andrew Vermeulen 2 (10,11); Cameron Arquette 2 (4,5); Luca Romano (19); Jack Pridham (17);听 Chris Grisolia (9); Matthew Hlacar (5); Christian Humphreys (4).

Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Jackson Parsons (24), by Kitchener on Matthew Humphries (25); Power plays: Niagara 0/6, Kitchener 1/3; Penalty minutes: Niagara 10, Kitchener 18.

Attendance:听4,412.

Next up: The IceDogs head to Erie Wednesday, Brantford Friday and are back home next Sunday afternoon to face the Bulldogs at 2 p.m.

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