IceDogs Earn Pure Michigan Road Sweep: OHL Week 2 Takeaways - Dog Pound Podcast - The Armchair GM's Sports Network

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
This is Rod Mahood, your in game voice of the
Niagara Ice Dogs, and you're listening to the Dog Pound Podcast.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
On the Armchair GM Sports.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Network, your podcast hourse for all game analysis, team interviews,
and up to date news regarding the Niagara Ice Dogs.

Speaker 4 (00:50):
Over Time, Ice Dogs, Wind the Brush a Pace, also Jima.

Speaker 5 (00:58):
It's a power play, gol Many Ice Dogs.

Speaker 6 (01:01):
Headley scar Host seg for school as an ice Dog,
Trump Stop Shipley, Gritchie.

Speaker 5 (01:07):
Scarf, It gets it to a kill.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Thomas Thomas has the.

Speaker 5 (01:10):
Ankle coming, Get b stop.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Welcome into another Dog Pound Podcast, the official podcast of
your nag or Ice Dogs, right here on the armshair
GM Sports Network, proudly brought to you by Global Pet Foods,
where pets are undeniably part of the family, and their
three great nag Region locations and Niagara Falls, Scott's, Frieda
and Saint Catharine's and in font Hill. Thank you to
those that are tuned in on the video version on YouTube.
Make sure to hit like, hit subscribe and smash that

(01:39):
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Putto and Christian Simmons are with you to break down

(02:00):
the Pure Michigan sweep for the Niagara Ice Dogs up
in Flint and Saginaw this last weekend, improving to three
and one on the ohl season, completing their second full
week of the twenty twenty twenty six Ontario Hockey League
regular season schedule. We're gonna hear from Ice Dog's head
coach Chris BArch with his wrap up thoughts from the

(02:20):
weekend earning all four points. We're also gonna quickly discuss
some news regarding one of the Ice Dog's players. It's
gonna be showcased and spotlighted on a national stage later
in November. We're also going to touch on the goalie
situation in Niagara because it is quite the topic of
discussion right now for a lot of people. That also

(02:40):
is still part of the over age situation that we've
been talking about for quite a while, and as well,
we'll talk about the three NHL play affiliated players being
back in the lineup and that immediate impact they had
this past weekend. So Christian, as we kind of start
we get going here, let's start off with the news,
because I think that's what everybody wants to hear about.
We weren't able to talk to the young man last

(03:02):
week when we did our practice availability that's up on
our YouTube channel. We spoke with newcomers Ish Hayden, Reid
ardam Frolov and Cole Cooksy. Great to talk to those
three gentlemen. But Ryan Robrick named to Team CHL. He
was actually the first forwards selected and the first player
for the Ontario Hockey League chosen. The other two were

(03:24):
defenseman from the Q and the WHL. And obviously this
is a big news for Ryan Robrick, the Ice Dogs
now third year player with the extra year of eligibility
because of his late birth date, to have this opportunity
in November to show scouts that he you know, potentially
is a top five pick in the National Hockey League.
Just you know, your thoughts on him being announced to

(03:45):
this Yeah, man.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
The CHL is letting the Dogs out. Somebody wants to
play that song in the background. But great news for
Ryan Robrick. Excited for him and for this season. I
think it's it's really exciting for him and his family
to have him there to showcase his skill sets and
what a player he is. He's going to do exactly that.
He's going to have a great season for the Ice

(04:09):
Dogs as well. I think it's fantastic for the nig
Rice Dogs as well to showcase one of their own,
and I think we're all really excited to see what
he's going to do there at that Prospects Challenge and
playing against some of the best in the chl and
of course in the United States as well, So a
great opportunity for him.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
Really excited for him.

Speaker 4 (04:29):
Congratulations to Ryan Robrick and his family and to the
nig Rice Dogs family.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
Another one of our own leaving the nest, so to speak.
It's sad in a way, it's bittersweet, but I think.

Speaker 4 (04:43):
Very well deserved for Ryan Robrick, a guy that you
know one hundred percent belongs there. But it's just it's
kind of like packing the car on the way to
college and your mom is already crying from the front door,
watching you, like on your way out this he's like
kind of similar to that. You know, he's he's he's
back in the car. He's submitting applications right now, right

(05:06):
he's picking out where he wants to go, what program,
and like we're just kind of standing here like this
is it like they were shedding a tear kind of
in a way. But we got one more season left,
maybe two, you know, but I think, yeah, not nothing
but good things from me to say about Ryan wrote
Brick very well deserved and I can't wait to see

(05:27):
what he's got in store.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
And that's the luxury, right Like we talk about it
all the time with those three NHL's that were gone
for the first week. I mean, that's what happens when
you start developing really good players, is that they're gonna
be away at showcases, away at NHL teams, away at
tournaments like they're gonna be away at these these bigger
showcase events, and you're gonna have to have that organizational
depth that Frankie Bola you can see with the fourteen

(05:50):
forwards currently still on the team, that you know you
have to overcome some of these things when when you're
a really good team, and not every team is the
London Nights you know in you know, in history, where
they're able to overcome when they've got five or six
guys away at these things every single time, it seems,
and they're still able to keep their head above water
until they get their full complement of players back. But

(06:11):
you know, again, this is the double edged sword of
junior hockey, right. It's a special players and special showcase
for not only the player but the organization that he
plays for in junior hockey and then elevating to next
year's NHL Draft just going to be exciting, and we
have the luxury of him having that extra third year
as you mentioned that some players don't get, but being

(06:31):
being a late September birthday and he just celebrated his
eighteenth birthday, yeah last weekend, So a shout out and
happy birthday to number twenty five. Ryan Robrick finally turned
eighteen on.

Speaker 4 (06:42):
The twenty fifth too for number twenty five storybook in
that way, but yeah, happy birthday to Ryan Robrick.

Speaker 3 (06:49):
And what a birthday gift?

Speaker 4 (06:50):
This is hey, one final go, one final kick at
the can and an opportunity to show his best and
brightest in front of NHL scouts at the Aspects Challenge.
But yeah, really excited for him. I mean, what else
can you say. It's gonna be exciting to say the least.
And to your point, it's what happens. You got a
good team. Those players belong to other teams as well.

(07:14):
They belong to Team Canada, they belong to the World Juniors,
They're they're gonna belong to you know, at the NHL
for for a period of time, you know, in training camp.
So this kind of stuff happens, and it's just a
testament to the team that Frank Evila has built and
for Chris Bartsch to you know, kind of come into
an opportunity like that. And we'll talk about Chris later

(07:34):
in the show. But it's just it's exciting all around
that you have a guy that you know is selected
to be in the conversation with some of the best
and brightest.

Speaker 3 (07:44):
So what are you gonna do.

Speaker 4 (07:46):
It's the same as in the NHL, like if you
got if you got four or five superstars on your team,
those guys are probably going to the Olympics, right, They're
gonna go play in the Four Nations and then you know,
whether there's a break or not, like it's still you know,
parable this stuff happens, and it's just nice to have
one of our own in that conversation.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
It's great, absolutely, So again, all the flowers well earned
and deserve for for Ryan Roebrick that are gonna come
this season for him and the the Ontario Hockey League.
So we'll move on. We've got our show topics there,
as you can see up on the video version on YouTube.
We're gonna talk about the the Michigan sweep two and
oh Christian.

Speaker 3 (08:24):
Oh yeah baby.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
They have done this before. I believe it was twenty
twenty one, twenty two. Somebody's probably gonna correct me if
I'm wrong, but they did do this. But again, right now,
that that was a little bit I think unexpected. But
I think for this group to be able to come
away with four points, you get Patterson back, you get heback,

(08:45):
you get Ethan Zada back, and all three of those
guys coming in from those NHL camps, you could tell
they had a little bit extra juice having to elevate
their games to those levels and to be able to
start off the season three and one. I mean, we're
gonna throw that that game against Brampton out the window,
because that was the first game for a lot of
a lot of players playing together. They didn't have the

(09:06):
full lineup either. Brampton was only missing one player, I believe.
And and again, like that was the first time a
regular season game for the coaching staff. There's so much
turnover everywhere that like you can kind of give them
a pass for that first game, even though it was
against a team that they most likely should beat on
most nights. But to start off three and one, Christian,
I know we had a postgame show following the Sun

(09:28):
the home opener, which was electric as well. But you know,
being three and one at this point through two weeks,
can't be much more pleased.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
Than that, really can't.

Speaker 4 (09:38):
And yeah, to go back to the Brampton game, like
that's just another preseason matchup for me. You know, it's
like you said, first game for the coaching staff, first
game for some of these players, Like, let's kind of
figure things out. Some of these guys probably still you know,
relearning how to tie their skates at this point.

Speaker 3 (09:53):
It's it's, you know, it's very early stages.

Speaker 4 (09:56):
But for this road trip, and like you said, to
be three and one at this stage at the top
of the Eastern Conference and looking you know or sorry,
second in the Eastern Conference and looking that good is
really encouraging. And it was sad this weekend to not
have any hockey at the Meridian Center, but I was
still waving my rally towels from home.

Speaker 7 (10:17):
Baby.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
Anybody on the video podcast can see right here, you
got my Niagra ice dog's towel.

Speaker 4 (10:22):
I was waving it high and proud in my living
room watching these two games.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
And what a display hockey it was.

Speaker 4 (10:28):
Michigan was treated to the best version of the niagraa
ice Dogs that I think we're gonna see now. You
see some of those NHL caliber players and drafted players
come back.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
They had immediate impacts.

Speaker 4 (10:41):
You know, Ethan Zada's got five points already in two games.
Riley Patterson seems to be an apple tree. He's got
four assists. You know, Kevin he comes back, gets gets
on the board. You know, it was still without Brady
Wasslon and that and that that's probably the most exciting
part for me. They played some really really good hockey
over these this past weekend, and you know, obviously lots

(11:05):
of bonding happening, and then we'll talk about the goaltender situation,
which has me over the moon with the way Charlie
Robertson played this past weekend. But just fantastic hockey for
two games. There's so much to like and there's so
much to talk about, it'd be tough. I could just
go on and on. And you know, I loved Ben

(11:25):
Reesenecker fighting in back to back games once again. One
of them was against Chris Barch's son, which is incredible.
Like jud Knapp gets his first in the OHL in
his home state of Michigan. Like it was just a
storybook weekend. There's so many things that kind of played

(11:45):
into just an excellent one hundred and twenty minutes of hockey.
The Ice Dogs pull out two wins, wanted to shootout,
and then one in a shutout performance. It just you know,
you couldn't have asked for a better road trip, and
I'm excited to see them do it again next week.
They're right back on the road, so you know, the
the bus and the seats, you know, stay hot in

(12:07):
a way. You know, nothing's kind of going to change,
and I think that'll serve them well as they kind
of approach the next road trip, and then you know,
as we progress down the schedule for this season, I think,
you know, the fact that they found so much success
in their first road trip is going to be a
fantastic spot for them to build upon. It's going to
make it easier for them to play at home and

(12:28):
easier for them to play on the road. There's a
good feeling, you know, you get on the bus with
the guys. You just swept a series in Michigan. We'll
go to Sarnia, no problem. I got no issues with that.
It's one of those situations where it's just kind of
a perfect case scenario for this team to find success
in the way they did in Michigan. And you know,
taking a look here at the leaders, if you are

(12:48):
watching on the video podcast, all the guys that you
want to be right at the top are there. Ethan
Zoda five points in two games. Edgar's got four of course,
with that magical performance in his home debut, three goals
and an assist to go along with it. And then
Roebrick a little bit of an assist man. So far,
he's shot the pucket ton just finding the back of
the night. Once he's got a goal as well four points,

(13:10):
and Riley Patterson with four assists and Kevin he scores
once adds an assist as well. He was also a
goal scorer in the shootout, which was incredible to watch too.
They went four for four in the shootout, which like
it just perfect, like just perfect. There's really nothing to
complain about past, you know, with this past week in hockey,

(13:33):
I think you know a couple of notes for me,
just the odd man rushes against Saginaw. I think defensively
they gave up maybe a few more than they would
have wanted. And we'll talk about that when we get
into the goaltending situation with Charlie Robertson and how I
thought he played over the last couple of games. But
I do think that would be my only concern. There

(13:54):
was a lot of neutral zone positional issues, players kind
of coming in on odd man rush I didn't really
love to see that. But beyond that, nothing but flowers
to hand out to this Niagra Ice Dogs team. After
a successful road trip in Michigan.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
I will say you interpreted everything eloquently, and I will say,
but again, thirteen minor penalties in two games is still
I just can't get it out of my mind. And
I know I'm gonna like, we're gonna hear from Chris
BArch about that a little bit later, but yeah, I don't.
And they took like Saganaw had nine power plays. I
think that's what makes Niagers win in that game a

(14:30):
little bit even more impressive. I'm gonna pull up for
you guys watching on YouTube just the game stats you
can kind of follow along. Well, we're kind of generally
talking about these two games. We're not gonna go over
everything here, but we're just gonna kind of talk about
the two games as a whole. But like Saganaw's two
for nine on the power play, if they score you know,
one or two more, they win this game. Like you
got to think of it that way. They even had

(14:52):
a four on three advantage in the overtime as well.
And it's again like you don't want to put yourself
in that scenario where you have to your penalty killers
have to do an amazing job every single night. And
John Judzy's done an incredible job with that group so far.
But to be seven of nine against a potent Saganaw
team who I know is still doesn't have Zane Perrek

(15:13):
and Michael Misa, and those are two dynamic players. But
to be able to be on the road and come
away with a seven of nine on the penalty kill,
that's big for a group as far as the momentum
and them trying to build respect and camaraderie between teammates
with so many new guys, especially on the back end,
and obviously Charlie Robertson played a big deal into that

(15:33):
as well, but just the collective unit and the team
buy in, I think was important for them to be
able to come away with the two points in the
shootout after you know what was a very undisciplined game.

Speaker 4 (15:45):
Yeah, and just kind of an undisciplined weekend as a whole.
They went eleven for thirteen on the penalty kill across
the entire weekend, which is pretty impressive to do on
the road. Two games outside of your building, you got
you know, packed barns. I think Saganaw was something around
like thirty four hundred people and Flint was even more.

Speaker 3 (16:05):
It was like thirty nine hundred, so it.

Speaker 4 (16:08):
Yeah, so so two buildings that are absolutely rocking, Like
the top is just coming off of those places, you know,
like a can opener and then you throw these guys
on the power play nine times and they only scored twice.

Speaker 3 (16:23):
That's pretty impressive.

Speaker 4 (16:24):
And I think, you know, the penalty kill was was
definitely shining right. They scored a shorthanded goal in this
game as well. Like you know, they had a strong
performance on those special teams, not the one that you
want to see out on the ice as much as
they were, but I do think that they roasted the
occasion when they needed to. They killed seven penalties, seven
penalties in a game on the road and still won

(16:46):
the game in.

Speaker 3 (16:46):
A shootout like That's that.

Speaker 4 (16:48):
It doesn't get any better than that, and then in
Flint to kill another three penalties. They gave up the
one there, but you know, still impressive. So I think
special teams and particularly the penalty kill is is shin
a shining start right now for the ice Dogs in
their orbit.

Speaker 3 (17:05):
I do think the power play needs some work.

Speaker 4 (17:08):
If you want to kind of flip over to the
other side fifteen percent right now, the power play it's
an absolute mess, which is hard to believe given the
talent that they have. But just to focus on this
Saginaw game while we have it up on the screen
for our viewers. Ethan Zada comes back in his first
game on an absolute heater. This guy is as hot
as the sun is in Tampa Bay. He brought it

(17:28):
right back with him. Two goals and an assist in
that game, one coming shorthanded. Some of the plays that
he was making this weekend were incredible. I saw one goal.
It was Grayson Tiller's first as an ice dog. He
made that incredible play in the high slot. Got Tooken
out on a scary looking knee on knee play, but
his edgework to find Tiller was incredible. He finds Ryan

(17:52):
Robrick for his first goal the season. He scores one
short handed and then barries one in on the rush.
Like beautiful goals this weekend he had. You know, he's
shooting fifty percent. Fifty percent, he's shooting. He shot the
puck six times. He's got three goals this weekend. So
Ethan z Odda has been incredible for me. In the

(18:13):
face off god, he's been great too. He's won seventeen
face offs over two games, which is pretty impressive as well,
and of course killing penalties. He's a plus six, which
is also you know, a fantastic stat Chris Barks and
company will like that. But I think for me, Ethan
Zotta was great not only in Saganaw but in Flint
as well. But yeah, a great performance. They were out

(18:34):
shot in both of their games this weekend, which is
a little bit interesting. If you take a look at
the box score here, Saganaw out shot them thirty seven
to twenty one. And that goes to again some of
the things that I'm gonna have to say later when
we get to the goalie situation. Charlie Robertson stood on
his head in this game, stood on his head again
in Flint, and gave them every opportunity to win. But

(18:55):
I do think offensively, you know, they were were given
some chances that were just hard to miss. And that's
that's the kind of luxury, you know, going back to
talking about the luxury of having a great team and
having a team like you know, the or the top
six that the Nigri Ice Dogs do, this is the
kind of stuff that's gonna happen. You get twenty one

(19:16):
shots on goal and you put six or seven zero
shots in the hands of some of your superstars, they're
gonna score, right, They're gonna score, and that's what we
saw this weekend. They were out shot, but they still
found a way to come away with with two big victories,
and I think it's definitely character building. Scored four goals
in the second period in Saginaw, so a nice kind

(19:38):
of recovery after a first period that saw them go
down by two. They came back and the second woke
up a little bit through four in the back of
the net, and then of course went all the way
to the shootout to take this one in convincing fashion.

Speaker 3 (19:51):
So just a fun.

Speaker 4 (19:52):
Weekend and I think for that game in particular, another storyline,
Hayden Reid gets his first as an aigra ice dog.
That's that's great for him and you know, for him
and Ardham for love to kind of go on this
Michigan road trip early in the season is definitely a
storyline for sure, and for Reid, a big way to
get on the board and you know, a nice little

(20:14):
kind of rebound comes right to him and no mistake,
he buries it in the empty cage. But lots of
like for this this weekend for me brand anything else
you want to add on the box score here in Sagina.

Speaker 1 (20:25):
Well, I will say I think the power play numbers
right now that first game in Brampton where they went
like zero for seven, I think is inflating that, and
that's because they didn't have for their top five forwards
in the lineup. So again, I think the power play
percentage can be a little bit misconstrued right now. But
I will say, like, even though they are getting out shot,
like you mentioned, you want to, I would rather have

(20:46):
twenty one quality shots than have fifty just flunkers from
the blue line that have no chance of going in
unless somebody's gonna tip it like Joe Pavelski in the
slot and you know, roof it over top of somebody.
But like, I think the the amount of danger scoring
chances the Ice Dogs have this year is something that
is more so than we've seen in the past you

(21:08):
mentioned because of those top end players coming back and
putting themselves in those snares, making those right plays, being
able to get guys open in the in those grade
A scoring opportunities that they wouldn't usually get. Like, I
think that's to me, I'd rather have twenty one quality
shots that I'm just gonna say that. But to echo
your point on ethan Zada. I mean, he was somebody
I wanted to bring up because not only was he scoring,

(21:29):
he was not only was he, you know, playmaking. Not
only was he killing penalties, winning faceoffs, he was drawing penalties.
He was getting under the teams the other team's skin.
He does such a good job of those, of drawing
the line but not going over it as far as
being able to, you know, lure other players into making
mental mistakes around him because he's such a hard player

(21:53):
to play against and he's able to draw those penalties.
I think there was twice when teams when Sagan on
Flip were on the power play and Ethan Zoda drew
a penalty to get them off the power play. So
he does such a good job of that, and that's
something that's not going to show up on the on
the box score as well. And you know, just you
can see his immediate impact coming back in so many

(22:14):
ways on this team. And that's why to me, like
Ryan Robrick quietly has a point of game right now,
and I'm not going to take anything away from him,
but what we've seen from Ethan Zada through two games
is the reason why I projected him to be one
of the most valuable players to this team this year
because of everything he does in the middle of the
ice and in two games you mentioned all the accolades

(22:36):
and the statistics so far, it's it's just incredible how
much of an impact he's made. Along with Patterson and Kevin,
he all coming back into the fold at the same
time this weekend for the first time playing with this
new group. It's just really exciting to see what could
be the possibility of these guys really gaining some momentum
and some chemistry together. You get Roebrick and Zada back

(22:58):
together that were so good, you know, tie at the
hip last season, the last two seasons since they were
drafted in together, and you can really see the progression
in Ethan Zada's game. And I know you gave a
shout out to Mike Zada in the last podcast, but
I want to give a showow to his mom as well.
Jenny's Ada a big fan of the show as well.
So not only is mister Zada a big fan, but
Missus Zada is also a big fan of the program

(23:21):
as well. And that's not to say that we are
just gonna cater to Ethan or anything. Like that. But
he really deserves he really deserves his flowers this weekend
for how he's played in the first two games back.

Speaker 4 (23:32):
Absolutely, and to both Mike and Jenny, Mister and missus Zada,
you guys have done a fantastic job of raising that
young man. He's turned into not just an exceptional person,
but a fantastic hockey player. And to your point, Brandon,
to mine, we've talked about this before. I called him
an onion. I'll call him a layer cake today. Whichever

(23:52):
makes sense, all right, Well, keep looking for these references
to describe this guy's play, because he just he's got
that style of hockey that you just don't see from
a lot of guys like he. He plays all these
different roles, he brings all these different things that you know,
you don't really have across this across the board here

(24:14):
in this top six and Nigro. It's really exciting to
your point to see kind of what he's going to
continue to bring for the rest of the year. And
obviously it's why Tampa Bay likes him so much. You know,
they signed him right away as a second round pick,
and you know that's rare in the NHL to see
a guy come straight in, you know, and sign an
ELC after being drafted in the second round. You don't

(24:37):
see that a lot, and you know there's a reason why,
because he plays a two hundred foot game. It's not
just the points, you know, and it's not just the
flashy stuff. Everybody can see him blocking shots on the
penalty kill. Everybody can see all that kind of stuff.
But there's the other stuff that you mentioned, the things
that happen outside of the box score and kind of

(24:57):
quietly under the radar, the you know, the behind the play,
the chirping, the getting under your skin, the little things,
the positioning. He's a chess player, the Bobby Fisher then
Igara ice dogs. He just knows how to position himself
in his team in the right spots at the right

(25:19):
time to make this team successful.

Speaker 3 (25:21):
He's a gamer.

Speaker 4 (25:22):
A kid's a gamer right top to bottom, every zone
of the ice, in every situation. Ethan's odd as a gamer,
and he's gonna give him a chance to win every night.
So to your point, into Tampa Bay's position and to
mine as well. You know, I'm really happy to see,
you know, kind of him getting off to a fantastic

(25:42):
start in Michigan this season, and.

Speaker 1 (25:44):
That goal, to me there was the goal of the weekend.
Winning a defensive zone draw on the penalty kill with
ten seconds left in the period. Him and Patterson being
able to spring away a two on one there and
be able to score on a breakaway shorthanded as the
literally with one second left on the clock, I think
was a huge momentum boost for the team and just

(26:04):
shows the game breaking ability that the Ice Dogs have
within their lineup, even you know, on a penalty kill
with ten seconds left, they somehow come down and score
on the other end, and just really fun to watch.
And before we hit the break, Christian just quick thoughts
on obviously Riley Patterson's we talked about signing his entry
level contract with Vancouver. Big boost for him, well deserved
and earned over the last few years of him since

(26:27):
he signed there or since he was drafted there rather.
And then captain Kevin he everything that he brings on
and off the ice as well, those two players being
back along with Zada.

Speaker 3 (26:37):
Yeah, no, it's great.

Speaker 4 (26:38):
It's gonna be good for Riley Patterson for sure, to
come back with an ELC.

Speaker 3 (26:43):
In his back pocket.

Speaker 4 (26:44):
Can kind of just tuck that in there, close the
zipper and kind of forget about it and just play
with a little more confidence. For him, I think that's
gonna do him nothing but wonders this year. You know,
it puts him in a spot where he doesn't have
to worry about that. You know, let's just focus on
this season. Let's let's go try and win a mem Cup, Like,

(27:04):
let's try and put up as many points as we can.
And I think maybe that's gonna allow him to be
a little bit more comfortable this season, a little bit
more focused on his game and not anybody Else's just
gonna play Patterson hockey. We're gonna go out there every night.
We're gonna do things like block shots on the PK
and feed Ethan Zada for a short handed goal like
that was an incredible play. And then he you know,

(27:26):
he scores in the shootout. Beautiful goal keeping that shootout alive.
I might add Miriley Patterson all the pressure on him,
speaking of him being cool as a cucumber and coming
in with a little more confidence this season. That's a
pretty confident play from a young man in Saginaw in
another building. All of it, you know, the game basically

(27:47):
on his stick and he puts that one away, no problem,
didn't even break a sweat, and then to move on
to the next one or the next shot, and the
next player on the list, Kevin, he comes in right after,
right right after sorry and ice is the game, you know,
wins it for the Ice Dogs and for him also
a similar situation coming back from the Winnipeg Jets camp,

(28:09):
and you know, getting some of that experience under his belt,
made an incredible no look pass that we've all seen.

Speaker 3 (28:17):
We've all seen viral.

Speaker 4 (28:19):
If you guys haven't seen it, get to the Niagara
Ice Dog social media, the Winnipeg Jets social media.

Speaker 3 (28:26):
He is him.

Speaker 4 (28:28):
Captioned all over the place on the Winnipeg Jets social
media page. But yeah, I got some experience in some
of those preseason games in the big.

Speaker 3 (28:37):
Building in Winnipeg.

Speaker 4 (28:39):
Is going to do nothing but add to his confidence
and to his maturity as a player.

Speaker 3 (28:44):
And it's really exciting to see him coming back as well.

Speaker 4 (28:46):
So the top six is starting to round out, and
boy is it's scary. And I think they really alerted
the rest of the chl not just the OHL, but
some you know, some players across the some of these
borderlines maybe in the queue and in the WHL to say,
you know what, these guys are coming this year.

Speaker 3 (29:07):
They're coming. And we saw it in the power rankings.

Speaker 4 (29:09):
And a couple of people were looking at it, like
what do you mean the Ice Dogs are number five
in this eight.

Speaker 3 (29:14):
Like who's talk?

Speaker 4 (29:16):
Because you take a look at kind of the last
couple of seasons, it's hard, you know.

Speaker 3 (29:19):
And then you bring in these pieces.

Speaker 4 (29:21):
You bring in a Patterson, you bring in, you know,
a more mature Ryan row Brick and a Brady Wastl
and who's looking to take a step. You bring in
a Ryosh and Edgar. You're bringing the guys on the
back end, and then to get goaltending like they did
this weekend. If those things can come together, this team,
mark my words, will be at the top of the
Eastern Conference at the end of the season. So yeah,

(29:44):
Kevin E And that's a hot take.

Speaker 1 (29:48):
Our boys in Branford aren't gonna necessarily like that one.

Speaker 4 (29:50):
But whatever you send him my way, I will I
will deal with those conversations. Anybody in Branford is a
problem with what I just said. My AT's on the screen,
all right, we can go after it in the direct messages.
I got no problems with that. The Ice Dogs are
looking good. Branford, all right, I get I get it.
You got Jcobrien, you know whatever. We got seven bona

(30:13):
fide top six players, seven bona fide line one players.
If you look at our top six, any one of
those guys could be on a first line, any one
of them.

Speaker 1 (30:24):
Branford's got probably the best top six in the league.
I would say, as much as I don't want to
give them credit on this show, I don't pay.

Speaker 3 (30:30):
Attention to their top six.

Speaker 1 (30:31):
It gonna be so much fun. The Bulldogs and Ice
Dogs matchup this year is going to be so much fun.
I can't wait.

Speaker 4 (30:35):
Yeah, so they're gonna be fun games to watch. Highly offensive,
for sure, but I think our boys got it.

Speaker 3 (30:41):
We got it.

Speaker 1 (30:42):
I like the optimism for sure. But the Ice Dogs
are ranked number four and last week's power ranking will
see I guess by the time this comes out. I
think they come out on Tuesday, So the day after
this comes out, they'll they'll have the new updated list.
But number four looking pretty good right now. With the
Ice Dog sitting second in the Eastern Conference, going to
have more reaction. We're going to hear from Ice Dog's
head coach Chris Barts just wrap up on the weekend

(31:04):
as well on the other side, So stay right here,
but right back on the Dog Pound Podcast, the official
podcast of your Niagara ice Dogs. Right here on the
arm pure GM Sports Networks, stay with us.

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Speaker 10 (34:34):
Hey's Ryan Roebroke.

Speaker 4 (34:35):
This is ethan Zider, This is Brady Woslin, and this
is Ivan Galiana.

Speaker 3 (34:37):
This is Kevin he and.

Speaker 10 (34:38):
This is the Dog Pound Podcast, the official podcast with
the Nagara Ice Dogs.

Speaker 1 (34:57):
Welcome back to part two of today's Dog Pound Podcast
episode right here on the Armchair GM Sports Network, the
official podcast of your nag or Ice Dogs, proudly brought
to by Global Pet Foods. Where pets are unnaily part
of the family. And there's three great Niagara region locations
and Niagara Falls Fon Hill and Scott Street in Saint Catharines.
Brandick Putto and Christian Simmons are continuing to break down
the ice Dogs three and one start after two weeks
the twenty five twenty twenty six OHL regular season. Thank

(35:21):
you to those that are watching us on the YouTube
version today, make sure to hit like get subscribed to
Smash that Belts. They update with all of our video
coverage here on the network. And to our audio listeners,
do we want to give you a show out as well.
Thank you very much for listening to us in your
favorite on demand audio platform Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you
get in your podcast from. Thank you very much for
listening to us on your glorious Monday afternoon by the

(35:44):
time this comes out, so make sure you give us
a follow on x at Dog Palm podcast. Today. Update
with all of our Ice Dogs coverage and updates there
as well. So Christian on the I guess the next
topic of business here and again I labeled it as
a dilemma, but it's not really a dilemma. It's more
so a luxury. The Ice Dog's goaltending right now. Charlie Robertson,

(36:06):
as you mentioned in the in the first part of
today's show, great weekend for him to be able to
come back, and Chris BArch will also give him Miss
Flowers a little bit later when we hear from him
on the other side as well. But for a guy
to have double surgery this offseason on his hips and
to be able to he hadn't even got on the
ice when we had talked him a training camp. He'd

(36:27):
only been on the ice for like two weeks before
because he's still recovering from that long offseason and for
him to be able to get in there and last
week didn't play. It was Humphreyes that started and then
got taken out early. And you're Malenko got all the
attention last week coming over from Belarus, the the the
the impoor player and the great performance he had in
the ice Dog's home opener, almost had a shutout, and

(36:49):
we kind of forgot about Charlie Robertson still in this
goaltending in over age situation because they've they've got four
overragers right now, they've got three goalies, and Charlie Robertson
being part of both just makes it a little bit
more murkier of waters for him to be able to
get through here. But again, no decision on any of
those things have been made by GM Frankievola, and it
might not be made for a while. But regardless, Charlie

(37:12):
Robertson let's in his goal in his first shot in Saginaw,
and you're thinking, oh boy, let's hope Robo can get
this thing back. And not only did he come back,
he was the reason, one of the biggest reasons they
got the four points because they battled back. He made
the stop in the shootout when he needed to when
both teams were going back and forth, made those big

(37:33):
saves on the penalty kill, and then comes back with
a great performance against the Flint Firebirds earns that for nothing. Shutout.
What more can you say about number seventy seven the
ice Dog's overage goalie.

Speaker 3 (37:45):
Speechless.

Speaker 4 (37:46):
I've never seen two games where a goalie just comes
out and against all odds, adversity staring him in the face.
There's all these storylines like is he healthy. There's two
other younger goalies, maybe hungrier goalies, and he's kind of,
you know, in the eyes of some of the fans
and some of the analysts and people like, you know,
idiots like you and me are kind of looking at

(38:08):
him like, oh well, maybe it's you know, maybe it's
time for you know, us to you know, think about
some other always let's bring in some other guys. He
basically said, screw all that comes in in his two
games and just lights it up like he lights up
everything but the goal light behind him.

Speaker 3 (38:26):
He was incredible this weekend. I want to know.

Speaker 4 (38:30):
Who the doctors were that performed that surgery this offseason,
because whatever they did to him is I don't know,
maybe he's living up to his name as a robo.
He's got he's got a robo hip, he's a robot. Well,
he was stopping pucks like he was a robot this weekend.
It wasn't is incredible to me, and I think you
know it really you know, you were saying it's not

(38:52):
a dilemma. Well, well now it kind of is in
a way because I don't think anybody was expecting Charlie
Robertson to play that level of hockey, to to you know,
to goaltend in the way that he did this weekend.

Speaker 3 (39:04):
It's it's a good problem to have, you know, first
world problems.

Speaker 4 (39:07):
You know, you have a guy, you know, like Charlie Robertson,
who maybe wasn't supposed to be that good this year,
to come in and play the way that he did
so in a in a way, it is kind of
a dilemma. You know, let's figure out, you know, who's
the backup going to be, and what happens with the
overage forward. You know, what does cold cooks he? You know,
so there's all these other these other variables. But I

(39:30):
think he played well enough this weekend to have two shutouts.
And I was watching that Saganaw game, the goals that
he gave up. You know, credit to Saganaw. They were
able to generate a ton of odd man rushes. They
put themselves in positions to score. There was a lot
of backdoor passing happening. Robertson didn't give up any high

(39:52):
danger direct shots. He didn't give up a single one
of them. There was two goals in that first period.
Both of them were back doors, right. One of them
was an odd man rush work he made the first save.
Like they come in, they go back and forth. It
was Klepov and Barabanav. Those two, those two guys in Saganaw.
They're like Yin and Yang. I don't know, like they

(40:13):
got they share a brain and they've been moving the
puck around really well so far this season. And in
that rush they went back and forth and back again,
threw it on goal. Robertson made the first save, and
then the follow up was not his responsibility. A defenseman
missed a coverage puck came right back to Barabhav and
he roofed it. And you know, those two goals not

(40:34):
Robertson's fault. The third goal was a triple screen in
front of him. He's got two ice dogs trying to
block a shot, and then a Saganaw spirit cast member
standing right in front of him. And then the fourth
goal was a tap in right in front of the goal.
Puck comes right out front in the blue ice and
a Saganaw guy's standing there with his stick out like this,
and he just right in the net.

Speaker 3 (40:54):
I could have I could have scored that, right, So
I don't look at this as.

Speaker 4 (41:00):
As as you know, Charlie Robertson had a shut out
and that's it. He played incredible against Saginaw. He played
well enough to shut out that one as well. There
was a couple of saves. He flashed the leather like
he came across like he looks physically in fantastic shape
and it's really exciting.

Speaker 3 (41:19):
But I thought he was phenomenal.

Speaker 4 (41:22):
I cannot say enough good things about his game this weekend.
And for me, I'm like, now I'm at somewhat of
a loss, Like I don't know where we go from here,
like what happens now? Like if you asked me a
week and a half ago, I was like, Okay, well
you got you know, your you're over agers up front,
you got uh, you know, Cole Cooksie. Then you got Tiller,

(41:43):
and you got Wisik. Okay, I'm okay with that. We
got your Malenco coming in, we got Matt Humphreys. I'm
okay with that. Now I'm not okay with that. I
do not think I'm okay with that after what Charlie
Robertson just did. Look at his stats here if you're
watching on the video podcast, if you're listening, will narrate

(42:03):
for you hit a one nine to two goals against
average and a nine to four to three save percentage.
Your Malanco comes in a little bit hotter one seven
zero goals against average and a nine to four to
eight save percentage, But he did not see as many shots.
Charlie Robertson saw seventy shots. He made saves on sixty
six of them. And mind you, going back to what
we just broke down, he could have stopped all of them.

(42:25):
You know, those goals were not his fault. He could
have stopped sixty nine on seventy. And then you know,
in the shootout, had a great performance, you know, gave
them a chance to win. So it's tough. And you
look at it. He's big, he's six four, like he
he's got all the tools.

Speaker 3 (42:43):
If he's healthy, like I, I see him.

Speaker 4 (42:46):
As the starting goalie this year and then and then
where do where do the other guys slide in?

Speaker 3 (42:51):
So for me, it is a dilemma.

Speaker 4 (42:53):
And I hate to kind of counter you, Brandon in
that way and to go back on what you just said,
but it very much is still a dilemma in the
sense that now you have a guy playing playing, you know,
a level of goaltending that we just did not see coming.
I mean, granted it was one weekend. Maybe the water
is different in Michigan. Like who knows, you know, I

(43:16):
don't know, right, we're gonna We're gonna wait and see here.
Let's not get up on a high horse and ride off.

Speaker 3 (43:21):
Into the sunset. Just yet, there's two games, lots of
hockey left to play.

Speaker 4 (43:25):
But I do think he looked incredible, Like he looked
he looked on it.

Speaker 3 (43:29):
He was he was focused, he was engaged.

Speaker 4 (43:31):
Chris BArch will talk a little bit about his mindset,
you know, coming off this offseason.

Speaker 3 (43:36):
In the interview.

Speaker 4 (43:38):
Sorry that Brandon him had post game, but I think
there's just so much to like, you know, because he's a.

Speaker 3 (43:45):
Little older, brings the maturity.

Speaker 4 (43:46):
Has the physical capability, is a guy that kind of
maybe a little bit more proven than Humphries in your
Malenco He's been around a little bit longer, and I
don't know, it's just I'm excited, but I'm also like
now what so like it's it's a little bit of
a question mark still for me, but a good question mark,

(44:09):
a question mark and an exclamation point at the same time.
Really exciting to see what Charlie Robertson did this week
and anything from you, Brandon on Robo.

Speaker 1 (44:18):
Yeah, I mean, I was just really impressed with everything
he was able to do coming off a double hip
surgery in the off season, Like just just incredible to
be able to have him play at this level and
with all the pressure of being you know, labeled as
an overager and and one of the three goalies, Like
it's he's really making it a tough decision right now

(44:40):
for management, for the coaching staff, And right now, I
think that's what this team needs. They need, They need
that comp they need that inner competition within their own
guys to elevate each other. And I think that's exactly
what this goaltending room is going to do. Young guy.
And Matt Humphrey still, you know, learning and seasoning as
far as becoming an HL goalie, and he's gonna be

(45:01):
the goalie of the future in Nagor, you would assume
in the next couple of seasons. Charlie Robertson the over
ager and you're Malenko coming in as a Belarussian import. Like,
I just think they're elevating each other in that goalie room,
and Ryan Ludzick's really trying to get the most out
of these guys in a healthy, constructive way. You don't
want these guys, you know, butting heads and saying like
this is my job.

Speaker 9 (45:19):
No.

Speaker 1 (45:20):
I want them to have the healthy competitive competition where
they're encouraging each other, but they also know that not
one of them is going to be given the night.
Given the net on any given night, they're gonna have
to earn it. So to me, this is a great
problem to have. Got the projected lineup well for their
last game against Flint up and obviously Robertson started. Humphreys

(45:40):
was back up. Your Malenko didn't dress in either of
the games. I don't even know if he traveled with them,
who knows. You know, maybe that was for precautionary reasons,
trying to get over the US border, who knows. But
we're not here to get into a political uh.

Speaker 5 (45:55):
Alone.

Speaker 1 (45:55):
I would just be cross my mind. You never know.
But again, Robertson Humphreys with the goalies this weekend up front.
You even saw Riley Patterson play some center throughout the
two games as well, which was nice. He's got that versatility,
can move into the center ice position if he needs to.
But you know, Hayden Reed and Ethan Zada down the
middle with Ivan Gallianov Mattoe's spaith and Cole Cooksy switched

(46:16):
for the two games. Coming in and out there. Judd
Naft got the the Flint hometown bump there getting up
to the first line. We'll hear from Chris Bartsia about
that in a little bit here, and then Kevin he
being back Roebrick, you mentioned just how much better this
top six looks. You've got Ryerson Edgar scored a hat
trick and his home opener on the third line with
Ivan Gallianov was a draft eligible player and just everything

(46:39):
sort of on the on the forward group just looks
so much better for Chris Barch's lineup card and just
us looking at it right now as opposed to what
the lineup look like on the opening night. And that's
also with guys like Brady Wasslin out of the lineup,
no Cole Cooksy in there, no Alexander Hage as well.
So they've got some good players that aren't even listed here.
So it's a great problem right now for the Ice

(47:01):
Dogs to have this many players that can go in
the line up and do a good job every night
for Chris BArch and just looking at it, it gives
you a lot of hope and possibility for what could be.

Speaker 4 (47:13):
Yeah, and to go back for a second just to
the goalie conversation, and in a way it's also an
overager conversation. We've had that conversation on this on this
podcast many many times. But if you look at this
lineup here, not a ton of overagers out.

Speaker 3 (47:28):
There, right, are there?

Speaker 4 (47:30):
I don't see a Cole Cooksy, I don't see and
Andrew WEISSI. So you see it Charlie Robertson, and you
see a Grayson Tiller, And this is a lineup that
shut out the Flint Firebirds. So you know, it's in
that sense, it's also exciting that you don't really have
any concerns over that overager too too much. You know,

(47:53):
it's we're gonna find a way to win regardless of
which way we go. Right if one of these guys
doesn't have a job, were going to have another guy
next man up mentality that's gonna come in and play
just as well, and we're gonna find a way to
win games. And to your point, that's awesome, Like it's
great to have that. You know, when you have, you know,
fourteen fifteen guys that you know can play ohl hockey,

(48:16):
it puts you in a position to really game plan.
And for a coaching staff that has a guy like
Luke Israel, And this is where I think Luke Israel
is really gonna come in and really gonna shine. He's
a guy that brings a little bit of a creative
coaching staffs. You know, he's a creative coach. He likes
to you know, kind of a chess player as well

(48:37):
in his own right. You know, he's everybody else is
playing checkers and he's playing chess. You know, it's a
it's a copycat league, and it's been that way for years.

Speaker 5 (48:45):
You see.

Speaker 4 (48:45):
The NHL is similar, but Luke Israel brings a fresh
and dynamic approach to hockey that I think will allow
this team to be successful.

Speaker 3 (48:56):
When you have all.

Speaker 4 (48:57):
These different moving pieces, he can kind of kind of
like almost like a football team. It gives me like
football team vibes, where you know, you have all these
different you know, strategies and game plans and and lineups
that can you know, fill different roles.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
And for me, I.

Speaker 4 (49:14):
Feel like that's really exciting as well, when you have
a coach like Luke Israel alongside a lineup that's just
so fluid and so manipulatable, with so many different good
versions of you know, I feel like, you know, the
Niagara Ice Dogs is like a MacBook. You got like
a pro Air and a Mini and they got all

(49:37):
these really fantastic versions of what they have, they can
just throw them out there and and win on on
any given night. So that's really exciting obviously, you know,
going back to the lineup here, you you pointed out
Judge jud Naft gets the odd on the first line.
Really exciting for him, the broadcast team and Flint. We're
sure to mention that the guest the guest area was

(50:01):
like filled with one hundred and fifty jud naffed family
and friends there to see him put one in the
back of the net.

Speaker 3 (50:09):
No Caleb Monks though, which is interesting.

Speaker 4 (50:12):
Also a hometown guy didn't get to play in Michigan
or sorry no he was on. Sorry I didn't see
you at the bottom on the fourth line, but another
guy that's a Michigan native, so great to have him
get to start. Mittoe Speth and Sean Doherty fill out
that fourth line, and then the third line just kind
of an interesting crafty mix of Raith Smith, Ivan Galianov

(50:36):
and some young skill and speed on the wing in
Ryerson Edgar.

Speaker 3 (50:40):
So that that's an interesting third line.

Speaker 4 (50:41):
Well have to see if you know, that's a combination
that Chris BArch goes to with more consistency this season.
Ryan roebrick Ethan Sada and Riley Patterson is probably the
best second line I've ever seen in my life.

Speaker 3 (50:53):
I I yeah, that was that.

Speaker 4 (50:56):
And those are the guys that made the difference in
that game against Flint. And that's the luxury you have
with a team like this. Those guys can play on
the second line. Like what the heck is Flint gonna
do about that? What is any team gonna do about that?

Speaker 1 (51:10):
And there's no sixty six Brady Wasslin either right now exactly.

Speaker 4 (51:14):
It's so encouraging, it's so exciting for me and and
scary for the rest of the league to say, you
know what, Like, if that's a second line that can
match up against our second line, we're in trouble.

Speaker 3 (51:25):
Like we're in trouble.

Speaker 4 (51:26):
We're gonna be walking down the boulevard with a sign
that says, can you play defense? We need defensive forwards
because the ice Dogs are in town. Like this, top six,
the bottom six, the goal attending, the coaching staff. It's scary.
It's scary, it's exciting, and I think we got a

(51:49):
taste of it in Michigan. They put together some of
their best hockey and it's I'm happy to have them
coming home next weekend.

Speaker 3 (51:56):
It'll be fun to see them on Sunday.

Speaker 4 (51:59):
I miss, I haven't been at the Meridian Center in
what feels like a year, so it'll be nice to
see them come back and see some of these top
guys back home at the Meridian Center this upcoming weekend
for weeks to come as the Ice Dogs look to
continue to build on what they did or what they
accomplished story in Michigan this past weekend and.

Speaker 1 (52:17):
Shout out to the decor they fly under the radar
and still trying to work in progress. There were so
many new names, but an amazing job in the penalty
kill with those guys as well. So I will see
how that sort of rotation works when y Sick is
back in there as well. But before we end the
show today, we're gonna go to Ice Dog's head coach
Chris BArch with his wrap up thoughts on the weekend.
That is brought to you by the Nagar Employment Health

(52:37):
Center helping people find work in niagress is nineteen eighty three.
Check out throught to date job on a EHC dot
C to find your next work opportunity. Today, here's what
the Ice Dog's bench boss had to think I had
to say about the two and oh Michigan road sweep.
And we're backing inside the coach's room with niagri Ice
Dog head coach Chris BArch. Chris, gotta be pretty pleased
with the Michigan sweep for your first road trip with

(52:59):
this group. Could you have story booked it any better
to come away with four points this weekend?

Speaker 5 (53:04):
Yeah? No, I thought that the group came together. I thought,
you know, what we've worked on over the last three
weeks and uh, you know, getting the three players back
in the mix was was a huge bruise for us.
And you know what I think, just you know, first
and foremost, you know, it's nice getting on the road
with a new group. You know, you got some of
those times where you know, at home you don't always

(53:24):
get to spend that, you know, that amount of time
together as a group. So I think it was it
was a nice growing experience for that. And then again,
you know, a real big bonus coming out of here
with Toller points. And again, you know, to win on
the road is different than winning at home. And hopefully
we'll give us a real good conference going in the
next weekend, so.

Speaker 1 (53:45):
You went with Charlie Robertson on both nights, and both
nights he gave you a really good chance to win.
I think he let in his first goal on his
first shot last last night in Saganaw but then fought back,
got you guys the shootout victory and then comes back
tonight with the shutout up in Flint. How proud were
you of your overage goaltender being able to come away

(54:06):
to the four points for you and coming off of
what was a long recovery process for him this offseason.

Speaker 5 (54:11):
Well, I think you just you know, you just spoke
of it. I think that the recovery from the hip surgeries,
you know, I mean, there is a mental fortitude to
coming back from injury, and an injury of that magnitude
and is honestly, it's just great to see a young
man of high character, you know, be rewarded. And it's
not rewarded. I think it's more of a return on

(54:32):
investment for himself and in regards to the work that
he's put in both physically and mentally, and and you
know it shows in his play. Like you stated last night,
you know, goal on on that first shift doesn't deter him.
You know, he stays focused, positive and puts a real
solid effort forward last night and again it continued again.

(54:53):
You know, it continued again tonight. I think it's you know,
he's a he's an individual that our players, you know,
really proved us they really wanted to play hard in
front of them.

Speaker 1 (55:04):
I know you're not going to be pleased with taking
thirteen minor penalties over the two games, but your penalty
kill stepped it up and was eleven of thirteen on
the penalty kill this weekend, and obviously it was a
big deal in the in the win against Saganaw as
well last night. So what can you say about your
penalty kill just being able to do such a great
job and really give you an opportunity to remain in

(55:24):
these games when other teams have the advantage.

Speaker 5 (55:27):
Well, they always say first off, practice makes perfect, So
we had enough of that. But I think, you know,
John Yetsi, my d coach, has done a great job
with that KK unit. A lot of you know, those
goals to him, I think also to you know, the men,
the soldiers that go out there and put their body

(55:48):
in front of pucks. You know, it's not a sexy
part of the game. But it is a huge doctor
in regards to you know, our success, our success this
weekend and then also so successful and forward. I think
you know, you look at all those you know men
that played on that p K. You know, it gives
us a huge momentum coming out of those great kills

(56:09):
and it translates the five on five. So you know,
I can't say nothing.

Speaker 1 (56:13):
About it and about some individual performances here, coach. First off,
do you know if Ben Reisenecker took any boxing lessons
when he was out in Chechia? Fights on back to
back nights, and I know one was against your son
as well, so I'm sure that was awkward for you
behind the bench. But what are your thoughts on your
checky and import fighting on back to back nights.

Speaker 5 (56:30):
Well, he's he's very good at us. Yeah, so but no,
you know what, it's just an element and just shows that,
you know, how these guys want to play for each other,
support each other, you know, for him jumping in there
when another teammate was in a vulnerable situation. Uh again,
actions are are louder than words, and you know, seeing

(56:51):
that and and him and endearing himself to his teammates.
It's a you know, it's a huge conference, number one
for himself, but also number one for our group and
the cult sheet that we want to build.

Speaker 1 (57:03):
I know, the three NHL players being back from from
their camps here and being engraved engraved into the lineup,
I'm sure was big for your lineup card. But they
made an immediate impact. Kevin he with the shootout winner,
scored a goal as well, Patterson got on the score sheet,
and Ethan Zada I think was one of your most
impactful players on both nights with everything he brought on
a two way game and and you know, really having

(57:23):
a good performance. So what would you think of what
would you say to having those guys back in the
lineup and obviously even without guys like Woslon right now,
still being able to be three and one after this
first four game stretch.

Speaker 5 (57:35):
Yeah, you know what, I just you know, those three
players coming back that they they've got the experience. You
don't mean, they've got the experience of being the OHL
for a number of years, They've got the experience of
going to NHL camps and bringing those experiences back to
our group, and then I think they just make players
around them better, you know, as you see, you know,
it just raises the level of our team, raising the
level of our work, our execution, and in the end

(57:57):
gives this great opportunity to win. So I can't say
enough close three.

Speaker 1 (58:00):
And then lastly, just on the the three players that
sort of returned to Flint tonight. You had Judd Naftak,
he had one hundred people in the crowd, friends and
family that they said on the broadcast being able to
score his first goal in the Ohl. Couldn't storybook that
any any better for the young Michigan native. And then
fro Love and Reid playing in their first game against
team that they came back against, and even Reid got
a puck in the face there but came back later

(58:22):
in the game. So what would you speak to the
guys going back to Flint tonight?

Speaker 5 (58:25):
You know what, we started, all three of them, and
after being from from Flint and Red and Trolovs, you know,
coming back to their old team. It was nice to
give them that opportunity to you know, take the helmets
off and stand on the ice and probably hopefully get
a good photo op for the family. But no, hey,
going back and playing their old team and it's always
nice coming out on top. Honestly, you know, Frolov has

(58:48):
been a great contributor in terms of moving box key zone,
that sense and read. You know, he took a shot
to the face today you know comes back returns. Know
the energy and speed and effort that he's brought. You know, again,
this great performance from all three of them, and again
you touched on it. Knock scoring in front of family

(59:10):
and friends, individuals that have supported him through his journey. It's,
you know, a nice feather and all three of their chaps.

Speaker 1 (59:16):
Ice Dog's head coach Chris BArch and inside the coaches room, coach,
thanks so much for the time. Safe travels back to
Niagara and I know you guys are back in Windsor
and Sorny next weekends too, so you're right back at it.
But congratulations in the four points and look forward to
seeing the team again next week.

Speaker 5 (59:28):
Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Speaker 1 (59:30):
Well, Christian. There were the thoughts from Ice Dog's head
coach Chris BArch and inside the coaches room, pretty pleased. Obviously,
they were pretty pumped up. You could hear a little
bit of background.

Speaker 7 (59:39):
Noise there, pretty excited about things. I don't know where
he was recording that from, but definitely, but it was
just great to hear some excitement in the background. How
excited the guys were, the coaches, the players that you
love to hear that obviously for their first road trip
of the week of the of the season. They got
another big one co up with with Windsor and Starny

(01:00:01):
this week. But you know, just your your quick takeaways
from what he had to say.

Speaker 4 (01:00:05):
Yeah, no, for sure, I think he loved Charlie Robertson
as we all did. He loved Ben Reesenecker fighting. Gave
him some a tip of the cap for sure, said
you're pretty good at it, which is a little strange
considering his son was on the other end of some
of those punches. But you know, and for me, Ben Reznecker,
the way that he fought and the way that he
stepped up for his teammates this weekend was really inspiring.

Speaker 3 (01:00:27):
Gave me goosebumps.

Speaker 4 (01:00:28):
I watched that hit in the corner against Flint Galianov
took a little bit of a spill and Reznecker, with
no hesitation, none whatsoever, comes in from the blue line,
didn't give the other guy, any any decision what at all,
just dropped his gloves and said, ye know, we're going
like this is happening. He lost the fight, I mean

(01:00:49):
technically lost the fight. He went and he came down after,
you know, the Flint guy. But still, I mean he
threw some some haymakers there.

Speaker 3 (01:00:55):
So for me, that's a big takeaway.

Speaker 4 (01:00:58):
It sounds like bartch loves that from his you know,
it's a tight knit team right now, and following that
road trip, it's only gonna get better, and that's really
exciting to see and to here to your point. You know,
obviously a whole lot of chaos happening in the room
after that victory. I was like, have a hard time listening.
I was like, I could have sworn I heard Sean
Doherty in the back. I was like, just so like

(01:01:20):
a lot of stuff happening there in that interview. But
it sounds like the bench boss is happy with what
he saw from Charlie robertson what he saw from his
NHL guys coming back. They had some great performances coming
back in their first couple of games, and then of
course just the chemistry and the team coming together as
a unit and showing some flashes of brilliance in Michigan.

(01:01:42):
So for me, lots of positives top to bottom. The
coach is happy, the team's happy, the team's moving up
in the East. I'm happy, you're happy. Let's do it
again next weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:01:53):
And jud Knaft, Hayden, reid Art and fro lev All
returning to Flenny rewarded the all three of those guys
being in the opening night lineup. I'm sure that was
big for them, and it's nice to see a coach
do those sorts of things. But again we mentioned it,
we've gone over everything on today's show. Can't have much
better of a start obviously, other than the first game
that they played being three and one. Going to Sarnia

(01:02:14):
and Windsor is always a tough road trip as well,
especially how you know, potent Windsor looks like they're gonna
be this season. So it's just what we'll see how
they are. Coming back to Sunday, the Barry Colts come
in a team that the Ice Dogs are gonna be
battling for the Central Division title, a team that still
looks like they've got another run in them like last season,
and they always played the Ice Dog's hard, So Christian,

(01:02:35):
I'll definitely look forward to another postgame show live on
our YouTube channel and the next Sunday that's gonna be
another good one. And like you said, can't wait to
be back at the rink. It's feels like it's been
three weeks now, but it's only been four games. But
the two road trips, I.

Speaker 4 (01:02:51):
Know, feels like it's it's just not happening fast enough
the season started.

Speaker 3 (01:02:56):
But we've been there once. It's like, what's going on?

Speaker 4 (01:02:59):
I want to see somewhere hockey the Riddy said, But
lots of it come in and I'm excited to be
there with you and alongside Steve Clark for the pregame
show on Sunday, and then we'll have the postgame show
as well. So you guys have to be sure to
follow Dog Pound Podcast Armchair GM Sports Network for all
of the Ice Dog's content. I'm stealing Brandons mind right now.

Speaker 1 (01:03:21):
I love it. I love it on the script, picking
it up, picking it up already. That's that's that's why
you're you're brought in as the as the Ryerson Edgar
rookie here on the show.

Speaker 4 (01:03:33):
Yeah right, yeah, right, if I could do a podcast
as silky as that kid could put the puck in
the net. Yeah, you know what, I'd be proud. I'd
be proud. I'm going places.

Speaker 1 (01:03:45):
That's a good way to end it. So again, that's
gonna wrap it up for today's Dog Pound Podcast right
here on the Armchair GM Sports Network. Again, thank you
to those that watched us today on the video version
and those who chose to listen to us in your
favorite on demand audio platform. The official podcast of the
Niagara Ice Dogs is probably brought you by Global Pet Food,
where pets are unappley part of the family. They're three
great nag or Region locations. After every Ice Dog's home win,

(01:04:05):
you can go to one of those locations the day
after get a free dog treat for your pup as well,
so we will be promoting that starting in October as well.
So great stuff there. Go check out our merch store there,
as Christian's pointing to as well, get all your Dog
Pound Podcast merch for the season or maybe some Christmas
gifts for those in your family as well. To wrap
the swag for us this season, especially with this Ice

(01:04:26):
Dog's team looking to be you know, exciting one to
watch all season. Long, so let's gonna wrap it up
for Christian Simmons minus Brandon Caputo. Enjoy the rest of
your week and we'll talk to you again after Sunday's
game against the Barry Colts. You're listening to the armchair
GM Sports Network.

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IceDogs Earn Pure Michigan Road Sweep: OHL Week 2 Takeaways - Dog Pound Podcast

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}IceDogs Earn Pure Michigan Road Sweep: OHL Week 2 Takeaways - Dog Pound Podcast