Niagara IceDogs kick off inaugural season with success

In front of a ballistic Niagara crowd last Friday, assistant captain Stefan Legein and the recently relocated IceDogs set out to play their first regular season home game in their new house.
Fresh off a mid-summer move from Mississauga to St. Catharines, the Dogs knew just how big the game against the St. Michael's Majors would be, and did not disappoint.
The 4-1 result, in favour of the newly appointed homeside, bodes well for the team's future in the Niagara region, as fans could be seen jumping, screaming and losing their minds (in the good way) all game long.
The Gatorade Garden City Complex, as it goes by now, formerly the Jack Gatecliff Arena, was stuffed with fans thirsting for their first taste of Ontario Hockey League (OHL) hockey since the Niagara Falls Thunder left in 1996.
"It was amazing coming in here, hearing the introductions, hearing the fans hollering for the guys," said Legein, whose two goals and an assist helped the Dogs steam roll the club that now calls Mississauga home. "I'm looking forward to playing 34 games in this rink, with these fans yelling and screaming every week."
But Legein, less than 48 hours removed from training camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets, was not the only one who appreciated the constant fan-fest.
"It's like having a sixth player out here," said assistant coach Mike McCourt, filling in as head coach for the suspended Mario Cicchillo. "I think our guys just fed off the energy and enthusiasm, and obviously it's fun to play in front of a full house."
When a first period struggle for the puck in the neutral zone ended well for Niagara, the IceDogs struck first. While killing one of their 38 penalty minutes, team captain Michael Swift tracked down the bouncing puck en route to the Majors' zone. Swift forwarded a wobbly pass to a streaking Legein who dinged a one-timer off the top cross bar and behind Majors goaltender Wayne Savage.
Minutes later, Legein returned the favour. With 28 seconds left of the first period, and once again short-handed, Legein whipped a bullet of a pass to Swift who put away his first goal of the season.
"We've played together for four years now, so we're going to click pretty well," said the 18-year-old Legein. "We know each other's strengths and we try to play to those."
The two would connect for one more point each just four minutes into the second period, when a masterfully executed powerplay presented an abundance of scoring opportunities for the IceDogs.
It took him three shots, one of which beat the goalie while missing the net entirely, but Legein finally caught and directed another one-timer pass into the left of the net.
Soon after the Dogs widened the gap to three, the Majors struck back. Left-winger Mike Pelech netted the only goal for the Majors, but their lack of scoring was no indication of their presence on the rink.
The physical game saw tempers flare, with five players receiving 10-minute misconducts for their roles in a number of mini-brawls.
"Yeah, we've had a rivalry with them for the last few years," said goaltender Andrew Loverock who's active glovehand helped keep 30 of 31 shots at bay. "And then them taking our rink added to that."
The Dogs' final goal came with just under two minutes left in the second period, when tough guy Chris DeSousa pounded a slap shot off Savage's chest, grabbed his rebound and zipped the puck into the back of the net.
At the end of the day, the crowd was screaming, the players were beaming and all was well in Niagara, perhaps an indication of the team's forthcoming success.
And what better opponent to defeat than the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors.
"There will be a little bit of a rivalry, because they did steal our rink," said an exhausted Legein after the game. "But we'll just beat them every night and that should be good enough.