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North Bay Battalion

'Hounds Outrace Troops

October 20, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - Robert Calisti and Ryan O'Rourke each scored two goals and added one assist as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds snapped a four-game Ontario Hockey League losing streak with an 11-2 romp Sunday over the North Bay Battalion.

Cole MacKay scored two goals, Zack Trott and Rory Kerins each had one goal and three assists, Jaden Peca had one goal and one assist and Alex Johnston and Dominic Mufarreh each was credited with a goal for the Greyhounds, who moved their won-lost-extended record to 6-5-1 for 13 points, fourth in the West Division. Goaltender Ethan Taylor faced 30 shots, including a Brad Chenier penalty shot, before 3,558 at GFL Memorial Gardens.

Sault Ste. Marie won for the first time since a 7-1 road verdict over the Guelph Storm on Oct. 11. The Greyhounds prevailed at home for the first time in five games since a 5-2 decision over the Kitchener Rangers on Sept. 27.

Harrison Caines and Matthew Struthers scored for North Bay, which lost all three games on a weekend road trip and is 3-9-0 for six points, fifth in the Central Division. Goaltender Reece Proulx allowed 10 goals on 39 shots in his first OHL start, with the Johnston goal into an empty net before a delayed penalty in the second period.

The Greyhounds struck on the power play at 10:17 of the first period as defenceman Calisti hammered a Billy Constantinou feed past Proulx from the right-wing circle. Peca then converted a rebound at 15:26.

Caines responded at 16:54 after Liam Arnsby forced a turnover. The puck found its way to Caines, who fired the disc past Taylor's glove. Luke Moncada also assisted on Caines's second goal of the season.

The Greyhounds added three goals on 13 shots in the second period, sparked by defenceman O'Rourke. He struck on the power play at 4:51 when his wrister from the high slot found its way past Proulx, who was screened by Peca and Kerins.

Johnston got credit for Sault Ste. Marie's fourth goal at 8:27. Proulx went to the bench for a sixth skater on a delayed penalty, but Brandon Coe's attempt to get the puck back to Paul Christopoulos at the right point eluded him and slid 180 feet down the ice into the vacant net.

Trott scored while killing the subsequent penalty at 10:06, finishing off a three-on-one rush with Tye Kartye and Holden Wale.

Struthers scored his team-leading eighth goal on the power play at 1:36 of the third period, whipping the puck from the left point to cut the Battalion's deficit to 5-2.

A check by Jacob LeGuerrier on the Battalion's Josh Currie at 3:01 provoked a melee that resulted in the Greyhounds receiving a seven-minute power play, although the game sheet suggested five. Moncada was assessed an instigating minor, fighting major, misconduct and game misconduct, and Caines drew a roughing minor, as did the hosts' LeGuerrier and Matthew Halushak.

The Greyhounds scored four goals during the extended man advantage. Mufarreh connected from the lip of the crease at 4:03, Calisti finished a backdoor play at 6:38, MacKay chipped the puck home at 7:14 and O'Rourke wired the rubber through traffic at 9:10.

Kerins made it 10-2 at 10:20 with his team-leading ninth goal on a pass from behind the net, and MacKay finished the scoring at 15:52.

Chenier was awarded the penalty shot at 12:19 after being impeded on a breakaway by Calisti. Taylor got enough of Chenier's shot to direct his backhander wide of the right post.

The Battalion, which lost 9-1 Friday night to the Saginaw Spirit and 6-3 Saturday night to the Flint Firebirds, continues a stretch of five road dates with a visit to Guelph at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The game can be seen live on YourTV Channels 12 and 700 and heard on Country 600 CKAT.

BATTALION BULLETS: The teams played the third of four season meetings, with the last scheduled Jan. 26 at North Bay. The Greyhounds won 6-4 at home Sept. 21 and the host Battalion prevailed 7-5 last Monday ... The 11 goals allowed matched the Battalion's season high set in an 11-3 road loss Sept. 27 to the Sudbury Wolves ... Opening lines featured Struthers centring left winger Chenier and right winger Coe, Mason Primeau pivoting left winger Kyle Jackson and right winger Mitchell Russell and Moncada centring left winger Caines and Arnsby on right wing. Cameron Peters centred left winger Currie and Niki Korpialho on right wing ... The Battalion was without Joe Vrbetic, Simon Rose, Nick King and Alex Christopoulos ... Struthers has four goals and two assists for six points in two games against the Greyhounds ... Proulx, an 11th-round pick in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection, made his first career appearance in the loss at Saginaw. He allowed three second-period goals on eight shots in relief of starter Christian Cicigoi, who returned for the final 20 minutes ... The Battalion went 1-for-3 on the power play. Sault Ste. Marie was 6-for-8, although listed as 6-for-5, an impossibility ... Kartye has a six-game points streak in which he has one goal and six assists for seven points ... Constantinou has one goal and two assists for three points in as many games since being acquired last Tuesday in a trade with the Kingston Frontenacs.

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