The Big Rig came up big, as the Owen Sound Attack handed the Niagara Ice Dogs their first loss of the season.
Konnor Smith scored his first hat trick in the Ontario Hockey League as the Attack rallied from an early 3-1 deficit to knock off the Ice Dogs 6-4 at Meridian Centre Friday evening.
Smith was beaming after the game – and laughed as he realized that wasn’t just his first hat trick as an OHL player.
“Never scored one, not even in minor hockey. And never thought I’d score one,” the Attack captain chuckles. “Obviously, it’s a great feeling.”
Jake Crawford added a pair for the Attack (2-3-1-0), and Harry Nansi scored as well.
Ryan Roobroeck had two for Niagara (4-1-0-0). Kevin He and Andrei Loshko added singles.
Smith picked up a puck in the neutral zone and backhanded it from near centre ice into an empty net with nine seconds remaining, completing his hat trick and sealing the 6-4 win for the Attack.
A four-goal outburst in the second period by the Attack turned the tide in the game.
Niagara jumped out to a 2-0 lead eight minutes after the opening faceoff on goals from Roobroeck and He, before Crawford scored his first of the game to cut the lead to 2-1.
Loshko restored Niagara’s two goal advantage at 15:04 of the first period.
The Attack took over in the second. Nansi and Smith scored within the first 3:18 of the period to tie the game 3-3.
Then it was the power play going to work past the midway mark of the second. Landen Hookey from behind the goal put a pass in front to Crawford, who whipped a shot past Charlie Robertson at 13:18 of the second to give Owen Sound its first lead of the game, 4-3.
Less than two minutes later the Attack captain had his second, skating into the offensive zone on the left wing and firing a wrist shot from just inside the blueline that beat Robertson glove side. Smith’s second of the game – and fourth unanswered goal for the Attack – made it 5-3.
Niagara would make it a one-goal game midway through the third. He put the puck ahead and it bounced into the Owen Sound zone, and Roobroeck managed to coral it while driving through defenders, before beating Carter George to cut Owen Sound’s lead to 5-4.
Smith’s empty-netter with nine seconds left ended it – and there wasn’t really any threat from Niagara in the final minute, as they struggled to get into the Attack zone and get their goalie pulled. The Ice Dogs even heard the whistle sound to stop play for having an extra attacker join the play too early when Robertson dashed to the bench, resulting in a faceoff at centre ice.
Smith’s hat trick and Crawford’s two goal performance headlined a big offensive night for several Attack players. Sam McCue had three assists, Tristan Delisle and Hookey each booked a pair of helpers, and Nansi finished with two points – a goal and an assist.
George made 21 saves in the win, while Robertson stopped 28 taking the loss. The Attack outshot the Ice Dogs 34-25 while going 1 for 5 on the power play; Niagara finished 0 for 4.
Next up for Owen Sound is a home game against the winless Peterborough Petes (0-6-0-0) Saturday evening at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. Game time is 7 p.m.
The three in four stretch for the Attack over the Thanksgiving long weekend concludes with a trip to North Bay to face the Battalion Monday afternoon. You can hear that game live on Kia of Owen Sound-Terry’s Trailer Service Bear Radio on 560 CFOS, beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m.
ATTACK CONTINUE DOMINANCE OF ICE DOGS
Friday’s win was the seventh straight victory for Attack teams over Niagara dating back to the 2018-19 season. Owen Sound hasn’t lost to Niagara since Feb. 24, 2019. And the Attack have put up some numbers in the seven straight wins since then, outscoring the Ice Dogs 52-20 in those games.