OHL North Bay Battalion

Barrie's Dozen Does It in Rout of Battalion

Published on January 2, 2016 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


BARRIE, Ont. - The Barrie Colts romped into 2016 at the expense of the North Bay Battalion on Saturday night.

Kevin Labanc scored three goals and added four assists to tie a Colts franchise record for points in a game with seven, pacing a 12-2 thrashing of the Battalion in the opener of a home-and-home Ontario Hockey League set between the Central Division rivals. The rematch is at Memorial Gardens at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The 12 goals allowed by the Battalion broke the franchise record set Nov. 5, 1998, in an 11-0 road loss to the Sarnia Sting in the Troops' inaugural season in Brampton.

Justin Scott had two goals and two assists, Adrian Carbonara two goals, Andrew Mangiapane one goal and five assists, Zachary Magwood one goal and one assist and Justin Murray, Cordell James and Ben Hawerchuk a goal apiece. Goaltender David Ovsjannikov faced 31 shots as Barrie moved its won-lost-extended record to 22-12-1 for 45 points atop the division.

Brett McKenzie and Mathew Santos scored for North Bay. Starting goaltender Jake Smith gave up five goals on 16 shots before giving way to Jake Kment, who surrendered seven goals on 39 shots. The 55 shots were the most the Battalion has allowed since Jan. 13, 2006, when the host Mississauga IceDogs were credited with 54 in a 7-3 loss.

North Bay, which like Barrie played its first game of the New Year and of the second half of the schedule, is 18-14-3 for 39 points, fourth in the division.

The Colts ambushed the Battalion in the first period, scoring six goals on 17 shots before a crowd of 4,147. The Troops had allowed six goals in a period on six previous occasions, most recently in the second period of a 7-2 road loss to the Guelph Storm on Oct. 25, 2013.

Labanc struck first at 1:26 with a wrister off the right wing, and Scott scored at 7:14, shoveling home a rebound from the lip of the crease.

McKenzie halved the deficit at 8:40, driving to the net and burying a pass from Mike Baird. Steve Harland earned the second assist on McKenzie's 16th goal of the season.

Defenceman Murray collected his first OHL goal at 12:06, and Carbonara struck 34 seconds later, converting a rebound from the slot. Labanc ended Smith's night at 17:49, putting home a loose puck from the goalmouth.

Kment was tested early when James stripped McKenzie of the puck and beat the goaltender between the pads at 19:03.

The Colts added three goals in the second period, in which Barrie repeated a 17-10 edge in shots. Scott one-timed the puck from the deep slot at 1:07 before Labanc scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 6:28 for his team-leading 20th goal. Carbonara converted a Labanc pass at 19:15 after a two-on-one rush against Jake Ramalho off a turnover.

Tempers flared at 5:48 after Zach Shankar laid out Carbonara with a clean check at centre ice. Hawerchuk jumped Shankar, while other fights broke out involving Zach Poirier and Brett Hargrave of the Battalion and Josh Carrick and Rocky Kaura. All combatants except Shankar and Hawerchuk received game misconducts.

Baird was assessed a match penalty for spearing Rasmus Andersson at 6:43 and faces a likely suspension, as do Poirier, Hargrave, Carrick and Kaura.

Mangiapane scored 59 seconds into the third period, while Magwood followed at 3:27 with a backhanded flip and Hawerchuk netted Barrie's last goal 35 seconds later after Kment robbed Aidan Brown.

Santos beat Ovsjannikov from the left-wing circle at 16:03. Daniil Vertiy and Cam Dineen had the assists on Santos's 10th goal.

BATTALION BULLETS: With the calendar having turned to January, the Battalion wore white-based sweaters and socks on the road, as per OHL protocol ... North Bay was without defenceman Riley Bruce, who has been suspended indefinitely after what was deemed a check to the head of Owen Tippett of the Mississauga Steelheads in the third period of a 6-3 home-ice win Thursday. Battalion coach Stan Butler has been adamant that it was a clean check ... The Troops went 0-for-4 on the power play. Barrie was 0-for-3 ... Opening line combinations included Mike Amadio centring left winger Vertiy and right winger Santos, McKenzie centring left winger Baird and right winger Harland and Poirier pivoting left winger David Sherman and right winger Hargrave. Kyle Potts centred left winger Max Kislinger and right winger Justin Brazeau ... Apart from Bruce, the Battalion scratched Jacob Ball ... Barrie was without goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and centre Julius Nattinen, who played with Canada and Finland respectively in the World Junior Championship at Helsinki. Nattinen scored against Blackwood as Finland eliminated Canada with a 6-5 quarterfinal victory Saturday, leaving the defending champions with a sixth-place finish, Canada's worst showing since an eighth in 1998 ... Defenceman Kody Gagnon, a Barrie scratch, turned 19.

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