Ice Dogs stuck in a rut

Sports & Recreation — 20 October 2010

The Dryden Ice Dogs’ frustrations continued this past week as the local SIJHL club added a pair of home-ice losses to what is now an eight-game losing streak.

The team posted a 5-2 loss to the Fort Frances Lakers, Oct. 13, followed by a 3-1 loss to the visiting Wisconsin Wilderness, Saturday.

While it may seem overly obvious to say goal-scoring and goaltending lie at the heart of the the Ice Dog’s ever-deepening rut, the scoresheet shows no lack of effort, if only a lack of a will to seal the deal.

Against Fort Frances, Dryden outshot their visitors 35-26, on Saturday, they put 29 pucks at the Wisconsin Wilderness net to their opponents’ 23.

“We’re outshooting teams and losing,” said Ice Dogs’ Head Coach Clint Mylymok. “And that really makes you bang your head against the wall in frustration. The bottom line is that the only way we’re going to get out of this is to focus, work hard in practice. When we get the opportunity again we have to shut the door on teams and not let the referees or any outside distractions dictate how we perform.”

On Saturday, Ice Dogs netminder Ian Perrier held off the Wisconsin Wilderness for two-and-a-half periods before crumbling in the last ten minutes of the game, allowing three Wilderness goals.

Mylymok describes his club’s struggles in putting together all the elements of a successful performance.

“We need a game where the goalie steals one for us, or maybe one day it might be your powerplay that gets you through,” says Mylymok. “Sometimes you put it all together. Good teams always find a way to win. We’re always missing a component.”

Top of his list of concerns may be goal scoring department where he says he’s expecting far more offensively.

“When you’re having trouble scoring goals, you really have to simplify your game.” says Mylymok. “Just throw pucks at the net — anything you can. Just chop away until the ref blows his whistle. We’ve got a couple of guys really gripping their sticks, guys that were expected to be goal scorers. I just don’t see it right now. At times I think they’re trying to do too much.”

Distraction, he says has also been a factor in the past eight games — one of which, in Spooner, Wisconsin, featured 17 Ice Dog penalties.

“I never point to the ref when it comes to wins and losses,” he said. “They don’t dictate the outcome of a game. We have to stay out of the box. There’s a lot of ‘not moving your feet’ penalties — hooking, slashing. These guys have got to suck it up and play the game.”

The Dryden Ice Dogs return to home ice, Friday, Nov. 5 following a three-game stint on the road to Fort Frances and Thunder Bay.

By Chris Marchand

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