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April 23, 2012

Round Three: Visentin Goal Caps Off 5-2 Ottawa Loss

The past two days have been wild for Niagara Ice Dogs goaltender Mark Visentin, but it appears as though he's redeemed himself for an otherwise rocky performance in Games Two and Three. He scored the final goal into Ottawa's empty net, a shorthanded goal that he sent the length of the ice for his first career goal, putting the finishing touches on a 5-2 Ice Dogs win as the visitors take a 2-1 series lead.



This came after Visentin's rough show of goaltending. On Sunday, he was pulled after allowing five goals on 13 shots. Tonight, Visentin's horrible giveaway subsequently lead to Dalton Smith scoring from center ice to give the 67's a 2-1 lead at the time. Tyler Graovac had the only other marker for the home side, the first goal of the game. Visentin made 22 saves to close out the win.

Game Three was also marred by the abscence of the other starting goaltender that should have been playing. On Monday, Petr Mrazek informed coaching staff that he was too sick to play, battling from flu-like symptoms. Michael Nishi was solid in the first two periods, making 26 saves after fourty minutes, but a quick burst from the Ice Dogs in the third couldn't be stopped by Nishi.

Mitchell Theoret and Andrew Agozzino had goals in the first minute and thirty-nine seconds of the final frame to silence the building and set the stage for Visentin's marker. Theoret's second tally of the night came 13 seconds into the third, with his first goal of the game coming just 20 seconds into the second period to tie the game at one. Dougie Hamilton had the second Ice Dogs goal.

Final Notes
This game didn't flatter either team's powerplay, with neither team scoring on a combined seven chances with the man advantage...Nishi finished the night with 31 saves...Mrazek is expected to return for Game Four, which goes Wednesday in Ottawa...announced attendance was just under 4,400 with the Senators taking center stage in the Nation's Capital...those fans almost didn't see a game - referees met with both team's coaching staffs and phoned OHL officials to ask if leaks in the roof should cause another game at the JBCC to be postponed.

The game sheet can be found here.

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