Special to Bullet News
Saturday night hockey in St. Catharines saw the Niagara IceDogs top the visiting Mississauga Steelheads 4-1 at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
The first period was characterized by fast paced play and strong goaltending. After 20 minutes, neither team was able to find the back of the net.
The second period got off to a great start for the IceDogs as Brett Ritchie capitalized on a power-play situation to score his 30th of the season, with Luke Mercer and Jesse Graham getting the assists. Ryan Strome, made it 2-0 seconds before the buzzer assisted again by Jesse Graham and Steven Shipley.
Mississauga scored their first goal at 7:27 of the third to cut the IceDogs lead. The IceDogs were undeterred however and responded quickly, as Carter Verhaeghe netted the IceDogs third goal of the night barely three minutes later to make it 3-1. The IceDogs strong offensive play continued with a fourth goal as Ritchie would pick up his second goal of the night.
The IceDogs will return to action next Friday when they head to Mississauga for a rematch with the Steelheads.
SCORING SUMMARY
2. NIAG B. Ritchie, (30) (J. Graham, L. Mercer), 5:28 (PP)
2. NIAG R. Strome, (28) (S. Shipley, J. Graham), 19:56 (PP)
3. MISS R. Brace, (17) (S. Percy, S. Cobbold), 7:27
3. NIAG C. Verhaeghe, (12) (J. Maletta), 10:05
3. NIAG B. Ritchie, (31) (S. Shipley, R. Strome), 14:08
