10/23 Recap: Schiestel chastised, keeps producing

Drew Schiestel (-1) picked up another assist, yet the IceDogs continued their plummet to the bottom of the OHL's standings with an uninspiring 5-1 loss to Erie. Registering a point in 11 of his 13 games, the Sabres 2007 second rounder continues to contribute despite a difficult situation in St. Catherines. Niagara has won just three of 14 games this season, and the gentle rumble in head coach Mario Cicchillo's pot is nearing full boil. Schiestel has endured the hard road before, playing on a last place Mississauga club as a rookie in 2005-06. One would hardly think that he's OK with sitting back and letting the Dogs get outplayed on a nightly basis. In the final minute of Saturday's loss at Saginaw, the defender exercised some frustration when he took a run at Spirit defenseman T.J. Brodie (CAL). Schiestel earned a minor penalty on the play, but Mark Constantine of The Saginaw News clearly disagrees with the call.

Defenseman T. J. Brodie will miss the three road games the Spirit have in Erie, Niagara and Guelph on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with an injury to his mouth sustained in the final minutes of Saginaw's 4-2 win over the IceDogs last Saturday.

Brodie was viciously slammed into the end boards from behind near the back of the Spirit goal by Niagara's Drew Schiestel, who was given a minor penalty for checking from behind.

That was a terrible call. Schiestel did more than check Brodie from behind, he took three or four strides before launching himself into Brodie and deserved a five-minute major for boarding. The league also should look at the tape and suspend Schiestel for the kind of play that is totally uncalled for in the OHL or another league, for that matter.

Either way, it would seem there's a guy ready to help lead the charge if fan whispers of Ted Nolan ever come to fruition in St. Kitts. In other action Thursday, Jacob Lagacé notched an asisst in Chicoutimi's 4-1 loss to Saint John. The Sags, who have now dropped four games in a row, will close out a three-games-in-three-nights road swing Friday night at Halifax. Meanwhile, the Sea Dogs set a club record with their seventh straight victory.