Special to Bullet News
Brett Ritchie
PETERBOROUGH – Brett Ritchie continued his tremendous weekend, scoring five times as the Niagara IceDogs came from behind to defeat the Peterborugh Petes 6-4 Sunday afternoon.
With his five goals, Ritchie finished the three-game weekend with 10 goals and three assists for 13 points, helping the IceDogs to a perfect 3-0 weekend.
The first period saw Peterborough get on the board first, beating Christopher Festarini 12:03 in to make it 1-0. Ritchie answered back on the powerplay for the IceDogs at the 15:00 mark, sending the game into the first intermission deadlocked at 1-1. Shots in the period favoured the IceDogs 16-13.
Ritchie scored his second of the afternoon to make it 2-1 early in the second. That would be the score for much of the second until Peterborough tallied with just over four minutes remaining in the frame to send things into the break tied 2-2. Shots after 40 minutes were 27-20 for the visitors.
Peterborough scored twice in the first half of the third frame to take a 4-2 lead and steal much of the momentum until Ritchie tapped in a second powerplay marker of the afternoon to complete his second straight hat trick and cut the deficit to 4-3. That took the momentum back in Niagara’s favour and Ritchie made it back-to-back four goal nights just over a minute later, tying things up once again at 4-4. Then with just under three minutes remaining, the IceDogs kept the offense rolling as Ryan Strome would rip one home off of a pass from Dougie Hamilton to give the IceDogs a 5-4 lead. Ritchie then add his fifth goal of the day into the empty net.
The IceDogs visit the Mississauga Steelheads on Friday night in a Central Division battle. They will then return home next Saturday night, Nov. 10, when they will play host to the Petes for the first time this season.
On Saturday, the IceDogs downed the visiting Guelph Storm in a 9-4 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 3,145 at the Jack Gatecliff Arena.
Ritchie got the IceDogs off to just the start they were looking for, striking on the powerplay only 2:30 in. The lead would not last however as Guelph answered right back less than a minute later to make it 1-1.
The scoring kept coming as the IceDogs reclaimed the lead barely a minute after that, as Ritchie scored his second of the night to make it 2-1. The IceDogs did not stop there as Jesse Graham kept things rolling ripping home a point shot to make it 3-1.
Guelph cut the IceDogs lead to one once again to make it 3-2 before Ryan Strome got in on the goal scoring to make it 4-2 after one period.
Guelph once again cut the IceDogs lead to one, striking 6:18 into the second to make it 4-3. The IceDogs were unfazed however as Mitchell Theoret scored the second power-play goal of the night to make it 5-3. The IceDogs kept things rolling as Ritchie completed the hat trick, making it 6-3 IceDogs after 40 minutes. Shots after two favoured the IceDogs 27-25.
Guelph would open the scoring in the third, cutting the IceDogs lead to 6-4. Theoret would then keep the IceDogs offence rolling, scoring his second of the night to make it 7-4.
The offence did not stop there either as Mack Lemmon scored his first of the season and first as an IceDog to make it 8-4. Ritchie rounded out the scoring, picking up his fourth of the night to make it a 9-4 final. Final shots were 41-35 for the IceDogs.
SUNDAY
SCORING SUMMARY
1. PBO A. Quine, (1) (F. Menard, S. Koekkoek), 12:03
1. NIAG B. Ritchie, (10) (R. Strome, D. Hamilton), 15:00 (PP)
2. NIAG B. Ritchie, (11) (R. Strome, M. Theoret), 6:01
2. PBO A. Quine, (2) (F. Menard, G. Betzold), 15:50
3. PBO D. Mathers, (2) (S. Varga, S. Trojanovic), 4:19
3. PBO B. Findlay, (3) (S. Koekkoek, C. Seymour), 7:33
3. NIAG B. Ritchie, (12) (S. Shipley, D. Hamilton), 12:43 (PP)
3. NIAG B. Ritchie, (13) (R. Strome, L. Mercer), 13:52
3. NIAG R. Strome, (12) (D. Hamilton, M. Lemmon), 17:16
3. NIAG B. Ritchie, (14) (R. Strome, M. Theoret), 19:53 (EN/PP)
SATURDAY
SCORING SUMMARY
1. NIAG B. Ritchie, (6) (M. Theoret, D. Hamilton), 2:30 (PP)
1. GUE R. Fabbri, (1) (S. Kosmachuk), 3:19
1. NIAG B. Ritchie, (7) (A. Haydon, R. Strome), 4:22
1. NIAG J. Graham, (1) (R. Strome, B. Ritchie), 7:07
1. GUE S. Kosmachuk, (12) (T. Richard), 12:36
1. NIAG R. Strome, (11) (D. Hamilton, B. Ritchie), 14:41
2. GUE R. Fabbri, (2) (J. Dickinson, B. McGinn), 6:18
2. NIAG M. Theoret, (5) (S. Shipley, D. Hamilton), 8:51 (PP)
2. NIAG B. Ritchie, (8) (M. Theoret, R. Strome), 14:12
3. GUE R. Fabbri, (3) (S. Kosmachuk), 6:32 (SH)
3. NIAG M. Theoret, (6) (R. Strome, D. Hamilton), 11:24
3. NIAG M. Lemmon, (1) (T. Petersen, C. Verhaeghe), 12:18
3. NIAG B. Ritchie, (9) (M. Theoret, S. Shipley), 14:50 (PP)
