Matt Piva IceDogs Breakout Player of the Year?

Matt Piva had to clear league waivers to become a member of this year’s version of the Niagara Ice Dogs.  Life in the Ontario Hockey League has never been easy for this over-ager.  He spent 21 games with the Oshawa Generals in 2004/2005.  But he had to split the season with the Wellington Dukes of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League.

 

The following year, he played 59 games with the Gens and got 13 points and 58 minutes in penalties.  But then, in 2006/2007 he seemed to be on his way great things with 38 points and 69 minutes in penalties with Toronto St.Mike’s Majors.  Last year in Mississauga, he again produced respectable numbers with 35 points in 47 games.  But, rumors persisted around the league that he and the coaching staff were on different pages.  Whatever the issues, it was apparent that Piva and the Majors were headed for an irrevocable split at the end of last year.

 

Fast forward to 2008/2009 and just 4 games into this young season he already has 5 goals and 4 PIM.  In two TVCogeco interviews so far, Piva has gone to great lengths to sing the praises of his coaches, the management and his teammates.  He is playing with the man advantage, while shorthanded and in pretty much every conceivable situation the team can put him in.  And given his success thus far, this young man seems destined for a career year.

 

General Manager Dave Brown is no stranger to offering players second chances.  Witness the Aaron Snow experiment last year.  And as with Snow, when they fail, they can fail big time.  But every so often, one can be a huge success.  If the early indications mean anything, Piva is playing like a man possessed and who will do anything to prove he is indeed worthy  of one last chance.  One can only wish Matt every success as he sets out on his final year in the OHL!

 

Finally, one last thought on Saturday’s visit by the Brampton Battalion.  Matt Duchene is giving early indications that he might just very well be the next “Great One”.  With his speed, deft moves and soft hands he looks like his NHL Draft Year will be nothing less than spectacular.  A word to the wise to the Ice Dogs faithful fans.  Get out and see this young man play every chance you get this year.  It may be your last opportunity to see him outside of the NHL!

Deja Vu All Over Again

 

Last year the Ice Dogs administered several self-inflicted wounds with their undisciplined play.  Players like Jordan Foreman, Michael Swift, Stefan Legein and even Luca Caputi walked that fine line between playing on the edge and over the edge.  The vow for 2008-2009 was to stay out of the box, or at least eliminate some of those needless penalties.  Two games are in the books and it is apparent that this part of the Ice Dogs game is a work in progress as the team had a steady parade to the sin-bin.  Last night the Dogs gave a dangerous Oshawa power play far too many opportunities with the man advantage, paying for it twice with John Taveres being the lynch-pin, counting with 1 goal and 1 assist.  

 

Though the crowd was quite vociferous in their disapproval, if you look at the replays, you can clearly tell the Ice Dogs were guilty on most of the offenses. Now , on the flip side it is clear that early in the season the rule book is being called rather tightly and the Ice Dogs also benefited, getting what amounted to a seven minute power play that resulted in the tying goal.  

 

Ch-Ch-Changes

It is nothing new to see the Ice Dogs employ four forwards on the power play.  Mario Chicillo did it a number of times last year, occasionally using the five forward approach when the Ice Dogs were two men up.  This year the coach has given the forward point position to Mathew Sisca, mainly a checking/energy type forward last year.  The results have generally been positive and the elevated offensive expectations have paid off in the early going with Sisca looking composed on the point and chipping in with a nice goal on Saturday and an even better dish to Thomas Middup last night.

 

A Word About JT.

It is a real shame that Oshawa will only make one visit to the Gatorade Garden City Complex this year because this has the potential to be a terrific rivalry.  Plus the Ice Dog fans will only get one opportunity to see John Tavares live.  Like my friend and broadcast colleague Al Galloway, I am miffed at the number of people who seem to think that the ultra-talented forward has taken a step backwards or levelled off. I broadcasted a few of the Generals games two years ago when JT had his 72 goal season.  Though the goal total slipped last year, he has become a more well-rounded and mature player, killing penalties and being the focal point of the power play.  When we interviewed him last night he is a well-spoken articulate young man with one important criteria: perspective. Being in the limelight at such a young age cannot be easy.  Tavares handled the spotlight admirably.  He is a franchise player in my book.

 

Steve Clark

TV Cogeco Play-by-Play 

Dogs Go Down in OT

  Niagara will head into Oshawa tonight to take on the General in the second game of a home and home. I know a lot of people may be disappointed with lat nights 3-2 loss in overtime, but I think there were some positives that came out of that game. First, the team got down 2-0 and battled back. Young teams sometimes make more mistakes trying to take chances and get back in the game. The Dogs stayed patient and stayed with the game plan. Mathew Sisca showed he's ready to take the next step and be a guy that Mario Cichillo can count on. Overager Matt Piva, Thomas Middup and Andrew Agozzino all had strong games. As for the young defense, they had some growing pains last night but overall they played well as a group. It was nice to see Drew Schiestel back in Niagara. I don't know that I have ever seen him log so many minutes in a game before. As for the goaltending, everyone will remember the last goal that went in, but keep in mind he did stop 28 of 31 shots on goal against an offensively talented hockey team. As the season goes on and he gets more comfortable I think Mark will be just fine. 

  If you can't make it down to the arena, you can catch all the games this weekend on TV Cogeco or on the OHL Action Pak. 

The Ever Disappointing John Tavares

As the old comedian Rodney Dangerfield used to say:

 

"I get no respect.  No respect at all!"

 

Niether, it seems,  does John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals.  He and his teamates invade the cozy confines of the Gatorade Garden City complex on Thursday evening.  And his coming appearance got me to thinking.  Who gets less respect than JT.

 

All he has accomplished during his first three years in the OHL was to enter the league as an underage 15 year old who chalked up 77 points as a rookie.  He branched out at 16 and scored 72 goals enroute to 134 points.  In return, he was rejected in his bid to make the Canadian National Junior Team.  He made Team Canada last year and saw only spot duty.  Despite this he scored on 19% of his shots on goal as he got 4 goals (3 on the power play) and 5 points.  His time away with Team Canada saw him play 12 fewer league games and yet despite this, he still scored 118 points.  Yet some fans labeled his season, "disappointing" because he only recorded 40 goals.

 

Wow!  We should all be such a disappointment!  There are some fans out there who already feel he is no longer the "Next One".  Can any one of us imagine what it must be like to be written off by some before you are even 20 years of age. Some are even populating blogs and fan forums with the notion that the Generals should trade JT while they still can.  They have even anointed the London Knights as his next destination.

 

Who knows?  These fair weather fans might be right.  The Gens may deal Tavares before the January trade deadline.  But not because he has disappointed the team in Oshawa.  But rather, because he might be enough to lead a team (such as London?) to playoff success, while at the same time repopulating Oshawa with a prospect or two for the future.

 

And before anyone else writes this young man off, he has much to prove this season, even if he finishes the year in Oshawa.  He should figure prominently in Team Canada's line up this Christmas.  And, thanks to the NHL rejecting the notion that he should have been granted special status to be selected in the 2008 Draft, he has to wait until this summer to see if he is still regarded as the best prospect in his graduating class.  Or, might he get no respect again by slipping to number 2?

 

All I know, is that just one game into this new season, is that this young man has 2 goals and 2 assists.  How disappointing is that?

Dogs Take Opener

 The Niagara IceDogs opened the 2008/09 season with an impressive 6-3 win over the Ottawa 67's on Saturday night. The three questions surrounding this team coming into the season were, goaltending, scoring and how would the young blueliners do filling in for the guys away at camp. It is just one game but, I think all of those questions were answered last night. 

 John Cullen played a strong game and made a couple key saves late in the contest the keep the two goal advantage until Andrew Agozzino salted the victory away with an shorthanded, empty net goal. Cullen faced 35 shots in the game, 14 of which came in the third period. 

 Niagara managed to hit the mesh six times and could have easily netted a couple more if not for a few outstanding saves by Ottawa goalie Chris Perugini. Agozzino started what may be an impressive sophomore season by scoring a pair of goals while Mike Schwindt and Joe Sarracini popped in their first career OHL goals. Matt Piva also scored for Niagara. The IceDogs a a group looked very good in the offensive zone, staying poised with the puck and making good decisions. 

 The young defenceman on the team each played well for the most part, chipping in on the offense and playing a good physical game. The lone concern the coaching staff may have with the group in the amount of turnovers in their own end as well as missed opportunities to clear the puck. It didn't cause to much damage last night but it is certainly something they need to improve. It may have been a lack of experience and the speed of the OHL game that caught them off guard, hopefully after a week of practice it gets better. 

 All things considered a very good start to the new season. 

What's in a Prediction?

As the Ice Dogs get ready to open their season Saturday, I like many of you wonder just how they will fare this year.  Gone are Swift, Legein and Caputi.  There is a very good chance that Pietrangelo could be missing for at least part of the early going, if not the entire year.  They lack OHL experience between the pipes.  So who knows, the Kitchener-Waterloo Record could be right when they predicted recently that Niagara could be headed for last place in the East.

 

But that type of thinking may be selling this team short.  In the 2005/2006 season, the Mississauga Ice Dogs finished 9TH in the East with only 49 points.  Young Stefan Legein had only 7 goals while Luca Caputi had a mere 3 points.  Goaltending was a huge question mark.  There were many more questions than answers as MIssissauga headed into 2006/2007.

 

Then, a funny thing happened on the way to the rink.  Pietrangelo arrived.  Andrew Loverock grew into an OHL calibre goaltender.  Michael Swift developed into the leader we all saw on the ice last year.  Luca and Stefan became front line players.  The team left Mississauga with a 90 point season and playoff experience under its belt.

 

My point is this.  Nothing is as constant in Junior Hockey as changing lineups.  Count on the likes of DeSousa and Friesen to become front line players this year.  Piva and Middup should lend solid experince to the forwards.  Freddie Hamilton will get a good look this year to prove he was worthy of a first round pick.  Day and Schiestel should be back to anchor the blueline.  Provided the team plays with some discipline I would say 4TH place in the East is not out of the question. And who knows, maybe the Erie Times prediction of 1ST in the Division and 2ND in the Conference is not out of reach.  After all, the great thing about pre-season prognostication is that we can't all be wrong.  I am, after all, just a humble TV Host.

 

Finally, a quick note as Killer gets set to bid adieu to OHL Coaching.  Over 2100 games coached in the OHL and over 1100 wins to show for it.  This is a record we are not ever likely to see equaled, let alone broken.  Brian Kilrea is one of a kind.  Take it from someone who has interviewed him several times, he is known to be gruff and not to tolerate fools easily.  He has however, carved out a career worth of the utmost respect and admiration.  As a league where most coaches (like the players) are looking to move on to the next level, nobody has ever lasted as long as Brian.  And probably, nobody ever will again.  All the best Brian as you move on to the next phase of your career.  At 73, you have earned it!

The Season Begins!

So the exhibition season is in the books and all focus can turn to the regular season which gets underway on September 20th at 7:05.  The expected to be a sell-out and if folks don't get to the game, we will have the live call on TV Cogeco/OHL Action Pack.   Stay close to your TV on Saturday because, really, what other options are there on Saturday night TV in September?  Big Brother? Reruns?  Some new show that will be gone by the November sweeps?
 
We had the last two home games of the exhibition season on TV Cogeco, and well, it was the pre-season for us too.  It took a little while to get into the flow of the game because as a play by play broadcaster, you really do not have time to look at your line-up sheets much when the action is on.  During pre-season everyone's numbers are different and typically the numbers are not on the back of the jersey.  Plus there are a ton of new guys on both teams.   Like riding a bike, you never really forget how to do play by play, but it sure takes a bit to shake off the rust.  From our perspective the games went well and when the bright lights of live TV shine down upon us on Saturday, we will all be ready, providing we stay away from the always raucous Tailgate Party. 
 
The biggest challenge for Ed Burkholder and I is to not get the giggles on-air.  Anything can happen on live TV and once we lost it completely last year and it made for the longest ten seconds of our broadcasting career.  After the game we were laughing about it, but at the time it was not that funny.   Obviously there was too much time before the game on Thursday because Ed and I spent a good 5-10 minutes regaling GM Dave Brown with classic Happy Days and Brady Bunch episodes.  I'm sure the last thing on the GM's mind was discussing the Brady Bunch episode with Peter's fake moustache or the evolution of Fonzie's office.  All good fun though and even better,  the pre-game meal has been changed to Boston Pizza sandwiches and pizza! Nice, (at least until December!).  
 
On Ice Quick Hits:
Cut down day saw Steven Ceccanese,Vladimir Bessenov, Jason Bergeron and Max Englbrecht move on.  All but the German net-minder saw time with the Dogs last year, with Bergeron being a regular last year.   Bergeron will catch on with another team.  He's got the skills and talent, but never got quite acclimated with the Dogs last year.  
 
Andrew Aggozino and Matt Piva have some definite chemistry and should anchor one of  the top two lines
 
Scott Fletcher looked poised, composed and even showed some offensive flair on defence.  Though he could have value as a wall crashing forward, he is a much improved D-man and that is where I would keep him
 
Mike Schwindt looks to have a lot of potential.  He's long and can cover the ice.  He spent a fair amount of time in the box during the two home games, which is part of a steep learning curve for  a young defensemen
 
Mike MacIsaac looks to be much improved from last year and looks to be counted upon for more than checking and spot shifts
 
Looking forward to Saturday night.  It is not often that a home opener can be overshadowed, but a big reason to come out to The Jack or watch it on TV Cogeco/OHL Action pac is because there won't be be many more times to see the legendary Brian Kilrea behind an OHL bench.
 
Steve Clark
TV Cogeco play by play
Stephen Clark
Niagara Ice Dogs TV Play-by-Play (TV Cogeco and the OHL Action Pack)
York Lions Basketball TV Play-by-Play (Rogers Varsity Sports Rogers TV) 

Was it really April 13th that the inaugural season of the Ice Dogs ended?  It does not see that long ago that we saw the Ice Dogs raise their sticks in salute to a boisterous sell-out crowd that gave them a standing ovation even though they were eliminated from the play-offs.  It was that sort of passion that made every Ice Dogs game fun last year.   I was thrilled to meet and communicate with some of the fans of the Ice Dogs and this blog will give me another forum to communicate with the fans of Niagara.
 
I'll try and blog as regularly as possible giving insight on the team, the broadcasts and anything else that springs to mind.  These will be all my thoughts and my thoughts alone.  I will not pass along "inside information" or anything like that.  It will just be a somewhat rambling stream of consciousness. 
 
 With that in mind, lets take a look at how the 2008-2009 Ice Dogs stack up with the rest of the competition.   We know that a whole lotta goals left the building with the graduation of Michael Swift, Jordan Foreman and Sebastian Dahm.  The only way we'll get those guys back will be if we decide to adopt the Chinese gymnastics team disappearing birth certificate.  When you add Luca Caputi and Stefan Legein to the graduation list the Dogs lost over half of their goal production (141/272 goals were scored by them).  How will those goals be replaced? Andrew Agozzino has had a year under his belt and he had to emerge from his freshman campaign a tougher hockey player.  Injuries and illness really hurt Andrew towards the latter part of the year and he was even tailing off before the injury bug hit him.  Aggozino, I anticipate, will be more of a factor.  Same goes from Chris DeSousa who is a throwback player- tough as nails and with a decent touch around the net.  I expect him to improve on his 24 goals from last year.    Guys like Alex Friesen, another youngster who really developed last year, and newcomer Thomas Middup will need to chip in and I like the move that brought veteran Matt Piva in. Freddie Hamilton will be looked to contribute right out the gate.  Still, the Ice Dogs won't be filling the nets this year with the same regularity as '07-08, so they'll have to play a disciplined and defensive game.  Discipline really was the undoing of the Ice Dogs last year in some of their defeats.    The Ice Dogs appear to be very strong on the back end, assuming that all of Alex Pietrangelo, Drew Schiestel and Josh Day return.   I'm really pulling for Josh Day to continue his career beyond the OHL.  He is a steady, solid defender and was the most consistent D-man on the Dogs last year.  
 
Goaltending will be interesting this year.  Max Englbrecht, John Cullen and Mark Visentin are the goalies still at camp and it will be interesting to see who emerges as number one or whether or not Dave Brown will continue to monitor the goaltending market.  John Cullen should be at home in Niagara.  I see his favourite food is chicken parmesan and pasta and they served chicken and pasta in the media lounge every single game last year.  Don't get me wrong it was better than the media room in Oshawa in which they dumped four pizzas in the middle of the room and left.  Around game 32 the chicken and pasta started getting a little monotonous! Ok, there was my first (of many) blog tangents!
 
Some quick hits:
 
--Alex Pietrangelo just signed his entry level contract.  He will gain a ton of experience at the Blues training camp and will likely return to Niagara at some point.  Petro is a stud and extremely popular in Niagara, but I would think that he would bring a handsome return on the open market should Dave Brown explore that route.  Again, just my opinion. 
 
--Everyone and their uncle has weighed in on Stefan Legein.  Remember, he is only 19 years old and is entitled to take time and re-focus.  If he chooses to step away and try something else, so be it. Heck, I switched careers at age 27 from media to teaching and at 36 I'd move back into the media field if the opportunity arose.  I do take issue with some of the reports that he tailed off after his shoulder injury. Was he a different, less rambunctious player after the injury?  Absolutely!  Don't forget that he was one of the best Ice Dogs in the post-season
 
-- I was reading the Hockey News season preview and was suprised to see that Drew Schiestel was not listed among Buffalo's top ten prospects this year.  This will be a big year for Drew.  I expect him to make an impact
 
Don't forget that our first broadcast will be next Thursday when the Otters are in town and then Saturday when Saginaw is in.  Both games are tape delayed (hey its pre-season for us too!) and we'll get a chance to knock off some of the summer rust.   Seeing as the Ice Dogs are wearing the red warm up sweaters for their exhibition games, maybe Ed, Al and I can utliize that warm up approach and wear tuxedo t-shirts in the pre-season rather than the suit and tie.  It will be great to work with Ed Burkholder and Al Galloway again.  Both of those guys are a joy to work with.  I also can't say enough about the rest of the Cogeco team who work hard to make out broadcasts the best in the league!
 
 I'll check in with some thoughts after our first pre-season broadcast, if not before.
 
Steve Clark- Niagara Ice Dogs Play-by-Play on TV Cogeco.
 

IceDogs v Generals Pre-Season

August 31 pre-season game