Troops Blank Barrie in Series Opener
April 4, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release
NORTH BAY, Ont. - Alex Henriksson scored at 15:28 of the third period and goaltender Jake Smith made 21 saves as the North Bay Battalion blanked the Barrie Colts 1-0 Friday night in the first game of their Ontario Hockey League playoff series.
A sellout crowd of 4,159 saw Smith record his second shutout of the postseason for the second-seeded Battalion, which hosts Game 2 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal at Memorial Gardens at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood faced 26 shots for the fourth-seeded Colts, who were without Aaron Ekblad and Zach Hall, who led the team with four goals in a five-game first-round ouster of the Sudbury Wolves. Ekblad has a lower-body injury suffered in Game 4 against Sudbury, and Hall is reported to have a leg injury.
"I was pleased with the result," said Battalion coach Stan Butler. "There were parts of our game that I didn't like. We turned the puck over a little too much. Our guys worked and battled hard, and in these types of games you have to find a way to win and that's what the guys did. We tracked the puck well from behind. There ' s no doubt they ' re a very offensive team, and we have to do our best to eliminate their chances.
" I thought Smith was outstanding tonight. He made some great saves. Their goalie made some good saves, too."
After battling through 40 scoreless minutes, the Central Division rivals traded chances in the third period until the Battalion broke the stalemate.
Henriksson took a pass from Brett McKenzie, carried the puck over the blue line and, while dueling with Mac Clutsam, wired the disc to beat Blackwood high to the glove side. Zach Bratina had the other assist on Henriksson's fifth goal of the playoffs, tying Nick Paul for the team lead.
"Alex is gaining confidence," said Butler. "Hockey is all about confidence. He ' s been an outstanding player for us in the playoffs and, as exciting as it is for us now, it ' s exciting for next year too, because he has another season with us. He ' s scored some big goals for us and he ' s getting better and better every game."
Blackwood headed to the bench for a sixth skater with a minute left to play, but the closest the Colts came to scoring was when Jake Dotchin forced Smith to stretch his left pad on a drive from the blue line.
Barclay Goodrow and Barrie ' s Brendan Lemieux received misconducts at 19:59 after a wrestling match at the Battalion net in which, Goodrow complained, Lemieux tried to scratch his opponent.
North Bay outshot the visitors 13-5 in a first period that opened up after a few tentative minutes for both teams.
Blackwood, who faced tough early chances by Henriksson and Connor Jarvis, came out to challenge Bratina from the deep slot in the 13th minute. Blackwood found a Brenden Miller shot from the top of the left-wing circle through a screen in the 14th and kicked aside a Miller offering off the left wing in the 19th.
Barrie's best scoring chance came in the fifth minute when Andreas Athanasiou drilled the puck off the right post. Smith grabbed an Athanasiou shot from the high slot in the 15th minute, stopped Mitchell Theoret in the 16th and got the glove on a Lemieux shot from deep in the right circle in the 17th.
The Colts enjoyed the best offensive chances in the second period, in which they outshot the Troops 10-7.
Barrie had plenty of puck movement during two early power plays but couldn't generate any offence. Matthew Kreis tested Smith with a backhander while cruising through the slot in the 11th minute, and Smith turned away a Tyson Fawcett chance seconds later. Lemieux found himself alone at the lip of the crease in the 12th minute but couldn't beat Smith, who foiled Athanasiou from high in the right circle in the 17th.
Goodrow charged to the net off the left wing in the 10th minute, but Blackwood stopped his first effort and Goodrow rolled the rebound wide of the right post. Blackwood, who used his blocker to deflect a Jamie Lewis blast from the high slot in the 14th minute and blocked a Goodrow shot from the blue line in the 18th, denied Henriksson in the last minute.
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Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2014
- Troops Blank Barrie in Series Opener - North Bay Battalion
- Otters Silence Hounds, Take Game Two 4-0 - Erie Otters
- Generals Open Second Round with a Shutout Win - Oshawa Generals
- Attack Acquire Two 2nd Round Draft Picks - Owen Sound Attack
- Day and LeBlanc Named to OHL's 2nd All-Rookie Team - Mississauga Steelheads
- Rangers and Generals Complete Trade - Kitchener Rangers
- Priority Selection Promises Renewal - North Bay Battalion
- Sting Announce Jakob Chychrun as First Overall Pick in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection - OHL
- Early Bird Deadline April 15th - Sudbury Wolves
- 2014 OHL Priority Selection Details Announced for Saturday - Peterborough Petes
- Wolves Ready for Saturday's Draft - Sudbury Wolves
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