OHL North Bay Battalion

Harding Lifts Generals to Shootout Win

Published on January 1, 2015 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


OSHAWA, Ont. - Sam Harding scored the only goal in a five-round shootout to give the Oshawa Generals a 2-1 Ontario Hockey League victory Thursday over the North Bay Battalion.

Cole Cassels scored in regulation time for Oshawa, which lost 2-1 to the host Kingston Frontenacs on Tuesday night in its previous game. The Generals moved their won-lost-extended record to 28-5-1 for 57 points atop the East Division, Eastern Conference and league.

Oshawa goaltender Ken Appleby faced 29 shots through overtime before a New Year's Day crowd of 5,778 at the General Motors Centre.

Alex Henriksson scored for North Bay, wearing white sweaters and socks on the road with the calendar having turned to January. Goaltender Jake Smith staged a command performance, making 42 saves through overtime for the Battalion, 17-9-7 for 41 points, second in the Central Division.

After a scoreless third period, Oshawa had a number of solid chances in overtime, but Smith stopped Michael Dal Colle, Mitchell Vande Sompel, Josh Brown and Cassels, who also fired the puck off the crossbar in the first minute of the extra period.

In the shootout, Smith denied Tobias Lindberg, Dal Colle, Cassels and Chris Carlisle before Harding scored. Appleby foiled Henriksson, Mike Amadio, Mathew Santos, Miles Liberati and, to seal the win, Brett McKenzie.

Henriksson struck on the power play at 4:03 of the first period when his shot from the right-wing circle deflected off Brown, tangling with Santos in front of Appleby. Marcus McIvor and Liberati earned assists on Henriksson's ninth goal of the season.

The Battalion, which allowed only 12 shots in a 1-0 home-ice win over the Ottawa 67's in a Wednesday matinee, surrendered 16 shots in the first frame.

Smith was outstanding, making two saves against Dal Colle and denying Hunter Smith, Aidan Wallace, Anthony Cirelli and Cassels. Goaltender Smith, whose biggest stop saw him spin to kick away the puck after Brent Pedersen drove to the net, got the left pad on a Cassels effort in close just before the buzzer.

The Generals, who forged a 14-11 edge in second-period shots, tied it with the man advantage at 6:36 when Cassels's shot from the blue line eluded Smith, who was screened by Oshawa's Smith. Vande Sompel and Dal Colle drew assists.

The Troops thought they had regained the lead at 19:27 when defenceman Liberati charged to the net and chipped a McKenzie feed past Appleby. Video showed that the puck hit the crossbar and the left post and, after a lengthy conference with the video goal judge, referee Sean Pindar had his on-ice call reversed.

Cassels hit the left post in the third minute, and netminder Smith reacted quickly to stop a Stephen Desrocher drive from the blue line in the fifth before getting the blocker on a Pedersen shot in the 11th. In the 19th minute, Jared Steege broke in alone on Appleby, but he got his right arm on the shot.

Smith continued his stellar play in the third period, facing nine shots and notably turning aside Daniel Robertson, Brown, Cassels and Lindberg. North Bay had seven shots on Appleby, who stopped Steege from deep in the left circle and Mike Baird, who couldn' t convert a loose puck at the lip of the crease.

The Battalion hosts the Sudbury Wolves at 2 p.m. Sunday.

BATTALION BULLETS: Oshawa announced what were listed as two trades Thursday with the London Knights. The Generals acquired overage defenceman Dakota Mermis for centre Josh Sterk and a conditional second-round pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection. Oshawa got right winger Michael McCarron for right winger Cliff Pu, who was a first-round pick last April, a third-round choice in 2015 and a second-rounder in 2016 ... On Tuesday, the Generals sent two second-rounders, a third-rounder and a conditional third and fourth to the Kitchener Rangers for left winger Pedersen. He was the only newcomer to face the Battalion ... Oshawa's 44 shots were the most the Troops have allowed this season ... Each team was 1-for-4 on the power play ... The Battalion was without Zach Shankar, Zach Bratina, Nick Paul and Calvin Gomes ... Dal Colle has an 18-game points streak during which he has registered 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points. The last game in which he was held without a point was a 2-1 victory at North Bay on Oct. 23. He missed four games Dec. 12-19 while at Canada's selection camp for the World Junior Championship, at which he was a late cut ... The Generals also won at North Bay on Dec. 19, by a 5-2 score. The teams complete their season series at Oshawa on Jan. 23 ... Scott Ferguson was the other referee .

Check out the North Bay Battalion Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 1, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central