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OHL North Bay Battalion

Battalion Forces Deciding Game

March 30, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The North Bay Battalion picked an opportune time to collect the first playoff victory at the Jack Gatecliff Arena in the history of the Ontario Hockey League franchise.

The Battalion had lost six games over three playoff series at the antiquated facility, which dates to 1938 and has been home to the Niagara IceDogs since 2007-08.

But the Troops' streak of futility here ended Sunday as Mike Amadio scored two goals and added an assist to power the Battalion to a 5-1 victory, forcing a seventh and deciding game in the teams' Eastern Conference quarterfinal at North Bay at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Seventh-seeded Niagara won its two previous home games to take a 3-1 series lead before the second-seeded Battalion posted a 4-3 victory Friday night at Memorial Gardens.

Dylan Blujus, Barclay Goodrow and Brett McKenzie scored a goal apiece for the Battalion, which got two assists from Matt MacLeod and 22 saves from goaltender Jake Smith.

Matt Gillard scored for the IceDogs, who are to move to a new arena next season. Goaltender Brent Moran faced 39 shots before a capacity crowd of 3,145.

"It felt great to get a little puck luck," said Amadio. "I haven't been getting the bounces in this series, but they were going my way and going into the back of the net today. We knew we would get some bounces in a game sooner or later, so we just kept battling. We need to keep playing our game and attacking their defence down low and getting shots on their goalie."

The Battalion dominated the first period, outshooting the IceDogs 23-3 and emerging with a 2-0 lead.

Defenceman Blujus struck first on the power play at 4:19 with his second goal of the series. Miles Liberati's shot from the blue line hit defender Mitchell Fitzmorris and deflected to the pinching Blujus, who hammered it over Moran's glove from the right-wing circle.

Goodrow, with his second postseason goal, connected at 13:30, firing a loose puck from the slot between Moran's pads for what proved to be the winner, assisted by Ben Thomson and Kyle Wood.

Moran faced a number of other difficult chances but foiled Liberati at the left post in the 10th minute and denied an onrushing Vincent Praplan seconds later. Moran slid to deny Goodrow in the 15th minute and made fine saves on Blujus and Marcus McIvor on the power play in the 16th.

The IceDogs' only serious foray resulted in an excellent scoring chance in the fifth minute, but Smith moved quickly across his crease to get his right pad on an Anthony DiFruscia shot in tight on the left side.

Niagara managed a 10-7 edge in shots in the second period and got on the board at 13:10 as the puck, fired from the left point by Blake Siebenaler, deflected off Gillard' s skate.

Amadio, with his first career playoff goal and point, restored the Battalion's two-goal lead at 17:21 as he swept a Praplan pass inside the left post. The assist was Praplan' s first OHL playoff point.

The Troops continued to test Moran, forcing him to challenge Thomson as he went hard to the net in the fourth minute, and Moran stretched to deny Connor Jarvis at the right post in the 16th. Moran also got his chest in front of a Brenden Miller drive from the left circle in the 17th.

Smith faced tough chances from Billy Jenkins, Siebenaler, Aleksandar Mikulovich and Brendan Perlini.

Niagara failed to take advantage of a Blujus tripping penalty issued at 10:28 of the third period and, seconds after Smith produced a solid save against Carter Verhaege, Amadio fired a shot off the right post.

After Smith sprawled to deny DiFruscia in the slot, the Battalion rushed into Niagara territory, where Amadio beat Moran to the glove side from the right wing at 15:41.

McKenzie's first playoff goal completed the scoring.  A delayed penalty was looming when McKenzie slipped home the rebound of an Alex Henriksson shot at 16:51.

BATTALION BULLETS: The Troops' first-period shot total was their highest since they had 23 shots on May 6, 2009, in the second period of Game 4 of the OHL Championship Series against the Windsor Spitfires at Brampton ... The Battalion went 1-for-3 on the power play. Niagara was 0-for-3 ... Goodrow has 15 career playoff points, tying Anthony Peluso, Matt Kang and Jeff Bateman for 13th place in franchise history ... Liberati and Thomson each earned a first playoff point with North Bay after November trades ... Opening line combinations included Nick Paul centring left winger Thomson and right winger Goodrow, Amadio centring left winger Praplan and right winger MacLeod and McKenzie pivoting left winger Zach Bratina and right winger Henriksson. Jamie Lewis centred left winger Jarvis and right winger Mathew Santos ... The Battalion scratched Evan Cormier, Kyle Locke, Shawn Tessier, Mike Baird, Jared Steege and Calvin Gomes ... The game was played on the anniversary of three significant Battalion playoff wins. In 2001 the Troops completed a sweep of the Guelph Storm in a Western Conference quarterfinal to secure a first series victory and three years later won 3-1 over the host Ottawa 67's in Game 7 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal. In 2010 the Battalion downed the host Kingston Frontenacs 5-2 in Game 7 of a conference quarterfinal ... Niagara scratched Alexander Protapovich, Zach Wilkie and Ben Hughes. Verhaege returned after missing Game 5 with a lower-body injury ... The referees were Mike Cairns and Scott Oakman.

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