Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

Darren Archibald | RW/LW


avelanch

Recommended Posts

When it comes to leadership, Niagara IceDogs general manager and head coach Marty Williamson sets the bar high, but the role has been filled by three players Williamson couldn’t say enough about.

“They all have that natural leadership quality, and each guy is a bit different, some a little more fiery than others, and other guys who just work their rear end off in practice and lead by example, ” Williamson explained. “As a coach, you look for an extension, that’s what you want from your team, you need some emotion, hard work and you need guys that are consistent, that buy in.”

And that’s exactly what they do. Led by captain Andrew Agozzino, is the trio that also includes IceDogs veteran Alex Friesen, and newcomer Darren Archibald.

“These three guys are fantastic,” Williamson commented. “Aggy (Agozzino) has done a great job as captain; Archibald, since coming over, has been just a warrior for us, and we know what Friesen has done for this franchise.

“As a coach, to have great leadership in the dressing room is extremely important, and I’m very lucky.”

Serving as a captain means much more than wearing a letter on your jersey. It’s keeping your team in-check, communicating with the coaches, players and referees, as well as contributing to all sides of the game.

“You have to be professional and be ready to work everyday, if guys see the leaders coming in and doing everything in their power to get better, everyone will follow suit, so it’s not so much the things you say but the things you do,” Agozzino said. “It can be hard, but as a captain you have to try to stay level headed on the ice.

“If we get a couple bad calls or things aren’t going well, it’s easy for guys to get on the ref or get on each other, so you have to be the one to tell the boys that we have to worry about controlling what we can control, to keep composed and stick to the game plan.”

In his rookie season, Agozzino had quite the plethora of leaders on the IceDogs club to help him find his way.

“My first year, we had a really good team and as a young player I learned a lot from guys like (Luca) Caputi, (Michael) Swift and (Alex) Pietrangelo, as it progressed I got a bit more comfortable every year and got a bit of a leadership role in my second year being an alternate captain, and I grew into more of a leader. As I got older, I just felt more comfortable with that role.”

Agozzino and assistant captain Alex Friesen have been teammates in Niagara since the 2007-08 season, and being ’91 births, looked up to the same aforementioned players, taking a similar view on what it mean to be a leader.

“I looked up to the older guys in my first year, and I think that’s what I’m trying to do now for the young guys on our team,” Friesen explained. “Just try to be a good role model and lead by example, do the right things and hope the guys will follow.

“It’s not just the A’s and C’s that need to step up, everyone needs to be on board and I think that’s a big reason our team is successful.”

The two players have progressed into some very successful forwards during their time with the team; Agozzino’s resume reading 112 goals, 92 assists, 204 points and 287 penalty minutes in 234 games, while Friesen has racked up an impressive 62 goals, 98 assists, 160 points and 256 penalty minutes in 220 games.

The newest face among IceDogs’ captains is former Barrie Colt, Darren Archibald. With Marty Williamson coaching the 21-year-old power forward last season, it made it easy to make the selection when the ‘Dogs needed another alternate captain.

“It was a pretty smooth transition for me coming over to Niagara from Barrie,” said Archibald. “I was with Marty for the past two years, so there wasn’t much adjustment, but obviously getting the A is a huge honour, being fairly new to the team, but I feel I bring strong leadership to the rink and I’m here to help.

“Along with my veteran experience, being that it’s my third year in the league, we had a pretty strong team last year in Barrie so I know what it takes to win, and I can offer my experience to some of the young players we have on this team.”

As far as leadership beyond the OHL goes, Archibald and Agozzino share the same role model, long-time Calgary Flames captain, Jarome Iginla.

“My favourite player growing up was always Jarome Iginla,” Archibald said. “I wore the C a lot in minor hockey, and always looked up to him; I wore number 12 back then too so he was definitely a role model for me.”

“He’s a hard-nosed player, and he can play in any situation on the ice,” Agozzino added. “He sticks up for teammates, sticks up for himself and scores some big goals, so he was always one of the guys I looked up to.”

Another connection between the Niagara captains comes in the Vancouver Canucks, the NHL club that signed Archibald as a free agent and drafted Alex Friesen in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

“Now that Archibald signed with Vancouver, it’s obviously an exciting thing, you want everyone on your team to do well and move up,” Friesen commented. “He is a great player and a successful leader, and hopefully in the future we can continue to play with each other.”

Prior to the signing, Archibald had been to two NHL camps with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings.

“It’s definitely a load off the shoulders, being in two previous NHL camps and not getting signed, but I know it doesn’t stop here and there’s still a lot of work ahead of me,” Archibald expressed. “Having Fries with Vancouver too, he knows what it’s like to go to that camp so I’m sure he’ll be able to help me out; it’s always nice to have a buddy going to the same team.”

But for now, Archibald and Friesen will remain with Agozzino and the IceDogs to continue what has been an exceptionally successful season. With a 33-11-2-4 record, the IceDogs are ranked 7th in the most recent BMO CHL MasterCard Top Ten Rankings.

Each captain had something to say about the team’s success and what the group needs to do to continue it for the remainder of the regular season and through the playoffs.

“It’s been a great year so far, and I think we’ve still yet to hit our best, we want to be playing our best hockey come playoff time, so we’re working towards that,” said Agozzino. “But overall I can’t complain, it’s been a great season so far and we’re hoping for big things.”

“We have a good group of guys here, it’s definitely the best team I’ve played on with the IceDogs,” Friesen said. “I think if we keep on the same path that we’re on now, we can really do some damage in this league.”

“I think the three of us have a good hold on the group and a solid bunch of guys behind us,” added Archibald. “We’re all on the same page, it’s a close-knit group of guys here, and that’s what it takes to win.”

So far this season, the captains have combined for 159 points. Agozzino leads the team in goals with 32, while also adding 23 assists, 57 penalty minutes and a +27 rating. Archibald comes in at a close second in the goal-scoring column with 29 goals in addition to 22 assists and 31 penalty minutes. Alex Friesen caps off the squad with 23 goals, 30 assists, 42 penalty minutes and a +21 rating. All three players have over 50 points, and currently sit among the IceDogs’ top five point-scoring leaders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ice Dogs Skills Competition Day and Archie wowed em.

91 mph slap shot and a team high five goals in the three on three game.

Second fastest skater on the team while contributing to the winning puck relay team.

Alex mus t be out with injury as no mention of him at Family Day.

Team Denise Takes Third Straight IceDogs Family Day Skills Comp!

February 21, 2011

Team Denise continued their Family Day dominance, knocking off Team Bill to win their third straight IceDogs Skill Competition 25-22 in front of approximately 1500 fans at the Gatorade Garden City…

Share facebook-small.png twitter-small.png rss-small.png close-newser.png open-newser.png Team Denise continued their Family Day dominance, knocking off Team Bill to win their third straight IceDogs Skill Competition 25-22 in front of approximately 1500 fans at the Gatorade Garden City Complex.

The results of the events were as follows:

Puck Control Relay

Team Denise got the first point of the day as her Puck Control Relay team of Darren Archibald, Andrew Agozzino, Luke Mercer, Nik Knezic and Mitchell Theoret defeated Team Bill's team of Dougie Hamilton, Freddie Hamilton, Mike Schwindt, Joel Wigle and Steven Shipley. Team Denise's final time of 1:33.25 bested Team Bill's time of 1:39.16 when a showboating Steven Shipley lost control of the puck during his anchor leg of the relay, allowing Team Denise to take away what looked to be a sure Team Bill win, making it 1-0 Team Denise.

Fastest Skater

Team Bill quickly got back into the competition with a pair of victories in fastest skater heats as Jesse Graham beat Billy Jenkins and Jason Wilson beat Simon Gronvaldt. Team Denise would quickly tie things back up however as Team Denise's Darren Archibald would edge Myles Doan in the final heat to make it 2-2 after the fastest skater competition.

Team Denise Time Team Bill Time Billy Jenkins 13.30 sec Jesse Graham 12.46 sec Simon Gronvaldt 13.50 sec Jason Wilson 13.33 sec Darren Archibald 12.57 sec Myles Doan 12.59 sec

Breakaway Challenge

Next, the players brought out a little originality and they certainly didn't disappoint. The judging panel of Alex Friesen, Ryan Strome and Dalton McGrath saw fit to award a pair of perfect 30s in competition. The first 30 would go to Team Bill's Freddie Hamilton for an amazing one handed, between the legs deke, beating Mike Gallardi for the goal. Team Denise's perfect score would come from a surprising source in defenceman Tim Billingsley who wowed the crowd with a great puck on a string prop that allowed him to pull off some amazing moves before throwing puck, stick and all by Mark Visentin for the goal. With the scores tied, it was decided there would be a head to head showdown for the point. Freddie Hamilton would pull off a great soccer style goal kicking the puck back and forth between his feet before pull a beautiful move for the goal. The judges were not overly impressed however awarding a score of only 24 for the effort. Billingsley would answer back with a falling pool shot attempt that would not even go in, but draw a score of 25, giving Team Denise the point and the 3-2 lead.

Team Denise Score Team Bill Score Andrew Agozzino 29 Freddie Hamilton 30

(24 in tiebreaker) Billy Jenkins 18 Myles Doan 18 Tim Billingsley 30

(25 in tiebreaker) Dougie Hamilton 16 Shayne Rover 25 David Pacan 22

Shooting Accuracy

Team Denise would keep things rolling in the accuracy shooting competition, picking up two more points to make it 5-2, as Mitchell Theoret would take the individual most accurate shooter for Team Denise going 4 for 5, while Team Denise would also prove to be the more accurate team going 15/29 to beat Team Bill's 5/34.

Team Denise Score Team Bill Score Andrew Agozzino 4/10 Steven Shipley 3/10 Mitchell Theoret 4/5 Victor Terreri 0/8 Luke Mercer 4/6 Jesse Graham 1/8 Nik Knezic 3/8 Mike Schwindt 1/8 Total 15/29 Total 5/34 Shooting Accuracy (Goalies)

Team Bill would begin to get back on track with the goalie accuracy shooting as Mark Visentin (2 for 8) would best Mike Gallardi (0 for 8) to close the deficit to 5-3.

Hardest Shot

Team Bill would continue their comeback, tying things up at 5-5 with a pair of points in the hardest shot competition. The first point would come for individual hardest shot, as Jason Wilson would put up the top shot of the day, clocking in at 95 mph. Team Bill would also take home the point for hardest average shot, with a 90.75 mph average beating Team Denise's 89.5 mph.

Team Denise Speed Team Bill Speed Shayne Rover 81 mph Jason Wilson 95 mph Simon Gronvaldt 92 mph Joel Wigle 87 mph Tim Billingsley 94 mph Dougie Hamilton 93 mph Darren Archibald 91 mph David Pacan 88 mph Average 89.5 mph Average 90.75 mph Elimination Shootout

The final individual event before the 3-on-3 game was the elimination shootout where all skaters participated in a shootout, where if you scored you survived and if you missed you were eliminated. Both teams would have three shooters advance from the first round, with Agozzino, Rover and Theoret scoring for Denise, while Doan, Hamilton, and Wilson scored for Bill. Rover and Wilson would make it one more per side to score in the second round and after both being stopped in the third round, Wilson would score again to give Team Bill the two bonus points and an 11-9 lead heading into the 3-on-3 game.

Team Denise Score Team Bill Score Simon Gronvaldt 0 Jesse Graham 0 Luke Mercer 0 Mike Schwindt 0 Andrew Agozzino 1 Steven Shipley 0 Shayne Rover 2 Myles Doan 1 Billy Jenkins 0 Freddie Hamilton 1 Mitchell Theoret 0 Joel Wigle 0 Darren Archibald 0 Jason Wilson 2 Tim Billingsley 0 Victor Tererri 0 Nik Knezic 0 David Pacan 0 Mitchell Theoret 1 Dougie Hamilton 0 3-on-3 Game

After seven initial events, it would ultimately come down to the always enjoyable 3-on-3 game. Consisting of two 15 minute run time periods with one minute shifts, it was certainly anybody's event with a two goal lead meaning little heading in. Team Bill would get off to a good start, extending the lead to four on multiple occasions, before Team Denise would pour it on late adding six straight goals late to build a 25-21 lead, before a final goal by David Pacan goal for Team Bill would make it a 25-22 final in favour of Team Denise. MVP of the game went to Shayne "Sweetness" Rover with three tremendous goals in helping lead Team Denise to victory. Darren Archibald also starred for Team Denise with five goals.

Team Denise Goals Team Bill Goals Archibald 5 Wigle 2 Rover 3 F. Hamilton 2 Agozzino 3 Pacan 2 Mercer 2 Shipley 1 Gronvaldt 1 D. Hamilton 1 Billingsley 1 Schwindt 1 Knezic 1 Doan 1 Graham 1 Total 16 Total 11

While Team Denise took home the bragging rights once again, the entire IceDogs organization would like to thank the true stars of the day, the fans. The IceDogs appreciate all the fans support and thank all fans who came out to join us for a great day of Family Day fun. We hope to see you back at the rink for a game soon and look forward to seeing everyone back next year as Team Bill looks to snap Team Denise's winning streak again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archie pots #32 on the year in a 6-3 Niagara victory but Freezer is still missing out of the lineup.

At the approach of the midway mark of the period Myles Doan took a hooking penalty to give Erie a power play, but Darren Archibald didn't let up offensively as he broke free in the neutral zone, sped past an Otters defender and made a beautiful highlight-reel move to beat Festarini shorthanded to give Niagara a 3-2 lead.

Mitchell Theoret stepped up his play in the absense of Alex Friesen and Ryan Strome as he played a solid game on the first line notching two assists, while Jason Wilson, Andrew Agozzino, and Freddie Hamilton also had multi-point games.

The first period was scoreless although both teams created some good scoring chances, with the Otters leading the shot clock 13-9 after 20 minutes.

The IceDogs came out strong in the second and created some heavy traffic in front of Erie netminder Chris Festarini which led to a few quality scoring chances.

Eventually, the IceDogs would score at the 7:42 mark as Danish defenseman Simon Granvaldt sped in from the point and let an absolute laser go to beat Festarini high blocker side for his first goal of the season, giving the 'Dogs a 1-0 lead.

Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Greg McKegg followed up with a goal of his own in front of his potential future general manager, Brian Burke, who made the trip to Niagara to take in the action at the Gatorade Garden City Complex.

Anthony Luciani then followed up 32 seconds later to give the Otters their first lead of the game.

Erie would take their 2-1 lead into the second intermission, while also leading in shots 32-16.

Niagara got down to business in the third period, as Freddie Hamilton found an open spot around the Otters goal line and after frantically tapping his stick on the ice, Mitchell Theoret answered his call and fed Hamilton with a beautiful pass allowing him to snap the puck into the open net and tie the game 2-2 at the 3:46 mark.

At the approach of the midway mark of the period Myles Doan took a hooking penalty to give Erie a power play, but Darren Archibald didn't let up offensively as he broke free in the neutral zone, sped past an Otters defender and made a beautiful highlight-reel move to beat Festarini shorthanded to give Niagara a 3-2 lead.

Moments later the Otters tied it up once again, but the tie wouldn't last long as Jason Wilson regained the IceDogs lead by letting a rocket go from the top of the circle on the power play for his 15th of the season at the 15:21 mark.

IceDogs' captain Andrew Agozzino then followed up with his 35th of the season after accepting a beautiful drop pass from Mitchell Theoret, who recorded his second assist of the night on the play.

The fast-paced third period continued as David Pacan took a turn scoring for the 'Dogs late in the frame to boost the IceDogs to a 6-3 victory over the Erie Otters.

The IceDogs will return to action Saturday as they host the Peterborough Petes at 7 p.m. Tickets for this game are still available, and can be purchased at any IceDogs ticketing location. For more information, please contact the IceDogs office (Mon-Fri, 9-5) at 905-687-DOG1.

- Jeff Blay, Media Relations

Scoreboard:

1. NIAG Gronvaldt (1) Unassisted

2. ER McKegg (39) (Cazzola) 14:22

2. ER Luciani (24) (Hostetter, Thompson) 14:54

3. NIAG F. Hamilton (30) (Theoret, Agozzino) 3:46

3. NIAG Archibald (32) Unassisted 9:48 (SH)

3. ER Holden (4) (Szydlowski, Pelech) 14:21

3. NIAG Wilson (15) (Shipley, D. Hamilton) 15:21 (PP)

3. NIAG Agozzino (35) (Theoret, F. Hamilton) 16:18

3. NIAG Pacan (16) (Wilson) 17:09

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archie nets #33 of the campaign.

In the first period, after the Petes killed off the first minor penalty of the game, Darren Archibald opened the scoring even strength at the 11:03 mark to tally his 33rd goal of the season with the help of Steven Shipley and Myles Doan.

Niagara IceDogs rookie Joel Wigle scored the first two goals of his OHL career to lead the 'Dogs to an 8-2 victory over the Peterborough Petes in front of a packed house at the Gatorade Garden City Complex Saturday night.

Wigle, along with Myles Doan, Steven Shipley, Mitchell Theoret and Freddie Hamilton all had third point games, while Victor Terreri and Ryan Strome each had two point games for Niagara.

In the first period, after the Petes killed off the first minor penalty of the game, Darren Archibald opened the scoring even strength at the 11:03 mark to tally his 33rd goal of the season with the help of Steven Shipley and Myles Doan.

After missing the past four games due to an upper body injury he suffered last Thursday against the Owen Sound Attack, Ryan Strome showed he hasn't missed a beat as he picked up his 28th goal of the season with just under 19 seconds left in the first to make it 2-0 IceDogs.

Freddie Hamilton and Mike Schwindt picked up the assists, and the IceDogs led the shot clock 22-5 after 20 minutes of play.

At the six minute mark of the second period, Freddie Hamilton scored his 31st goal of the season for his second point of the night with the help of Tim Billingsley to make it 3-0 IceDogs.

After the goal, the penalty kill went to work twice and killed off both penalties, but at the 13:24 mark, Austin Watson picked up his 31st of the season to break Mark Visentin's shutout and cut the 'Dogs lead to 3-1.

The two goal gap wouldn't last for long as IceDogs' rookie Joel Wigle let a wicked shot go to beat the Peterborough netminder and pick up his first career Ontario Hockey League goal. It was a solid effort by the fourth line, as both Mitchell Theoret and Victor Terreri added assists on the play.

Just under two minutes later, Myles Doan continued with his solid game as he notched his 8th of the season and second point of the night, while Mitchell Theoret recorded another assist to give him back-to-back multi-point games.

Niagara would take a commanding 5-1 lead into the second intermission, outshooting the Petes 36-14.

The IceDogs fourth line continued to put the pressure on early in the third as Mitchell Theoret proceeded with his stellar weekend by scoring his 8th of the season with Terreri and Wigle picking up their second points of the game on the play.

Shortly after Theoret's marker, Joel Wigle followed up and put home his second goal of the night (third point) to increase the Niagara lead to 7-1, causing the Petes to change goalies.

The change in net wouldn't do much for the Petes as Freddie Hamilton immediately picked up his second tally of the game to make it 8-1 with the help of Ryan Strome and Jason Wilson.

Peterborough would however get one more goal at the 11:16 mark of the third as Luke Hietkamp beat Visentin unassisted to give the game a final score of 8-2.

The IceDogs will play their final game of the weekend Sunday afternoon as they will pay a visit to the Brampton Battalion with a 2 p.m. puck drop.

Fans are encouraged to make the short drive up the QEW and support the 'Dogs in person as tickets are still available, but the game can also be viewed on TVCogeco, The OHL Action Pack or heard on 105.1 The River.

- Jeff Blay, Media Relations

Scoreboard:

1. NIAG Archibald (33) (Shipley, Doan) 11:03

1. NIAG Strome (28) (F. Hamilton, Schwindt) 19:41

2. NIAG F. Hamilton (31) (Billingsley) 6:00

2. PBO Watson (31) (West, Gottzmann) 13:24

2. NIAG Wigle (1) (Theoret, Terreri) 16:54

2. NIAG Doan (8) (Theoret, Shipley) 18:48

3. NIAG Theoret (8) (Terreri, Wigle) 3:11

3. NIAG Wigle (2) (Doan, Shipley) 4:37

3. NIAG F. Hamilton (32) (Strome, Wilson) 5:18

3. PBO Hietkamp (6) 11:16

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't realize this, but he and Chris Tanev actually played together (only for four games) back in 2007-08 with the Stouffville Spirit of the OPJHL... interesting random fact.

He should get some time learning with the Moose next year... I don't know much about him, but it would be nice if he could make spend a few years there and turn out to be a little better than Eric Walsky, Prab Rai, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't realize this, but he and Chris Tanev actually played together (only for four games) back in 2007-08 with the Stouffville Spirit of the OPJHL... interesting random fact.

He should get some time learning with the Moose next year... I don't know much about him, but it would be nice if he could make spend a few years there and turn out to be a little better than Eric Walsky, Prab Rai, etc.

I wonder if thats where he was first noticed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't realize this, but he and Chris Tanev actually played together (only for four games) back in 2007-08 with the Stouffville Spirit of the OPJHL... interesting random fact.

He should get some time learning with the Moose next year... I don't know much about him, but it would be nice if he could make spend a few years there and turn out to be a little better than Eric Walsky, Prab Rai, etc.

Rai has been injured all year...he hasn't even gotten a chance to show what he can do in the AHL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...