Brandon Caputo
@BCaputo_AGM
After a heartbreaking defeat in Game 2 of their first round playoff series just a night prior, thanks to a late Colts game-winning goal despite four goals in the third period to tie the game, the IceDogs returned to home ice in front of a hungry Meridian Centre crowd looking to experience their first taste of playoff action in five seasons.
The underdog IceDogs found a way to open the scoring thanks to star second-year forward Ryan Roobroeck, stealing the puck from Edmonton Oilers highly-touted defensive prospect Beau Akey, going in on Ben Hrebik and score his first career OHL playoff goal. Ben Hrebik started in place of Sam Hillebrandt for Barrie in this contest.
Niagara would hold that 1-0 lead going into the middle frame when Barrie scored a trio of goals from Riley Patterson, Owen Van Steensel and Emil Hemming, sandwiched in with a Blake Arrowsmith rocket wrist shot, to hold a 3-2 lead.
Late in the middle period, after returning to the game after taking a puck in the face that required stitches, veteran Alex Assadourian was able to get one past Hrebik to even the game up going into the third period.
Anthony Romani would score his sixth goal of the series, giving Barrie a 4-3 lead, looking to take a stranglehold 3-0 lead in the series, before Kevin He in a blink of an eye spun around on the left faceoff dot and wristed one top shelf on Hrebik, evening the game up once again on the IceDogs first of two powerplay goals.
Minutes later Alex Assadourian would find a loose puck in the blue paint behind Hrebik, who was scrambling around after chances from Mathieu Paris and Andrei Loshko, before shovelling it in the open net sending the Meridian Centre crowd into a frenzy with a 5-4 lead on the powerplay.
Barrie would call a late timeout and have the extra atacker on looking to tie the game, but a missed shot high and wide from Anthony Romani on a sharp angle rimmed around the boards and IceDogs captain Kevin He would turn on the jets and beat his man to the puck, before sealing it in the empty-net for his second goal of the contest.
Starter Owen Flores was sensational when called upon to come up with the big timely saves and stopped 35 of 39 shots in a well-earned playoff victory and his first as an IceDogs goaltender. Ben Hrebik stopped 27 of 32 in the loss with a likely switch back to Sam Hillebrandt being a major possibility for Game 4 on Thursday night back at the Meridian Centre.
Multi-point nights for Alex Assadourian, Kevin He, Andrei Loshko and Mathieu Paris, who has five points over the last two contests.
Niagara will look to even up the series after two close losses in Barrie and being able to persevere through Game 3 and earn a victory in front of 3000+ fans in downtown St. Catharines, their first playoff victory since April of 2019.
