OHL North Bay Battalion

Eastern Conference-leading Battalion increases lead with 2-2 tie Friday at Sudbury

Published on October 15, 2004 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


SUDBURY, Ont. – Kyle Musselman's goal at 8:43 of the third period lifted the Sudbury Wolves into a 2-2 tie with the Battalion in Ontario Hockey League action Friday night before a crowd of 4,185.

Ryan Oulahen and John Seymour, with his first career OHL goal, scored for the Battalion, which extended an unbeaten streak to five games, consisting of three wins and two ties.

Ryan McDonough scored the other goal for the Wolves, who snapped a two-game losing skein and remained unbeaten at home with three wins and a tie.

Goaltender Daren Machesney made 34 saves for the Troops, who remained atop the Central Division and Eastern Conference with a won-lost-tied record of 6-2-2 for 14 points. Patrick Ehelechner made 36 saves for Sudbury, 4-4-1, including one overtime loss, for 10 points in the Central.

Devin DiDiomete fed the puck through traffic in the left-wing circle, and Musselman, who may have been as surprised as anyone, found himself alone on Machesney's doorstep for the goal that forced overtime.

Sudbury's Bobby Chaumont had perhaps the best scoring chance in extra time when he fired a 45-footer just wide of the right post. The Wolves had the only three shots on goal of the overtime.

Seymour put the Troops up 2-1 at 14:49 of the second period when he converted off a two-on-one rush with Howie Martin. Martin carried the puck down the right side and fed a perfectly timed pass to Seymour, who drove to the front of the net to receive the pass and chip the puck over Ehelechner from the lip of the crease.

McDonough opened the scoring at 5:32 of the first period, darting from behind the Battalion net and beating Machesney with a quick shot from just off the goal line to the netminder's left.

Ehelechner used his catching glove to rob Wojtek Wolski from the deep slot and a sliding Machesney stopped Musselman's backhander before Oulahen tied it 1-1 at 17:50.

The Troops applied pressure in the Sudbury zone, with captain Oulahen firing his club-leading sixth goal of the season home from in close to Ehelechner's right. Luch Aquino and Stuart Simmons drew assists.

Tomas Stryncl, Graham McNabb, Scott Boomsma and Jason Cassidy did not dress for the Battalion.

Jesse Messier and Jordan Prevost were scratched for Sudbury.

The Battalion returns to action Sunday when it hosts the Barrie Colts. Game time is 2 p.m.

BATTALION NOTEBOOK: Seymour, who had three assists in 40 games last year, has one goal and one assist in 10 games this season ... The assist on Oulahen's goal extended Aquino's streak of games with an assist to eight, tops in the league this season ... Martin, a former member of the Wolves who had scored a goal in each of the previous three games, has a four-game points streak ... Wolski had a three-games goals streak snapped, and the Battalion's Dan McDonald saw a run of four games with assists ended ... The Battalion, which had a three-game winning streak ended, is 2-0-2 in overtime this season, while Sudbury is 0-1-1 ... The game was the first of seven between the two clubs in a period of 66 days, culminating at the Brampton Centre on Dec. 19. The teams' eighth and final regular-season meeting is set for Sudbury on Feb. 18 ... Rookie right winger J.F. Houle, a Sudbury resident, made his first visit to his hometown as a member of the Battalion ... The Wolves' Zack Stortini and Alexander Eaton entered the game as the OHL's top two players in penalty minutes with 41 and 37 respectively.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 15, 2004


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