Wednesday, January 30, 2008

1/30 Recap: Schiestel strong into break

Niagara D Drew Schiestel continued his fine play of late with an assist in the IceDogs' 6-2 win over the Majors. A deft skater with a solid 6'2 190-pound frame, Schiestel is currently +6 with four assists over the past five games - all IceDogs wins. At Peterborough tomorrow then off until next Thursday, the steady defenseman is on the verge of completing his best statistical month since his arrival in the OHL with 1-8-9 +9 in twelve January games. His two assists on January 12th pushed him over his previous season's point total (21). With nineteen games remaining in the season, Schiestel has six goals, 27 points, and a healthy +8. The latter is particularly impressive, considering his -6 was last on the team through mid-November. Somewhat of an unknown commodity when tabbed by the Sabres with the 59th pick in the 2007 draft, the Hamilton-born defender looks to carry on effectively as the second-place IceDogs look to catch Brampton for the Central Division title. In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Dennis Persson missed his fourth straight game for Nykopings (neck, fever) in their 5-0 blanking of Oskarshamn.