OHL North Bay Battalion

Resilient Battalion Turns Back Niagara

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


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Nick Paul's second goal of the game, at 14:50 of the third period, proved the winner as the North Bay Battalion skated to a 4-2 Ontario Hockey League victory Sunday over the Niagara IceDogs.

Mike Amadio contributed one goal and one assist and Brenden Miller also scored for the Battalion, which got 33 saves from goaltender Jake Smith before a crowd of 3,220. North Bay moved its won-lost-extended record to 14-5-5 for 33 points, first in the Central Division.

Johnny Corneil and Christopher Paquette scored for Niagara, which fell to 8-17-0 for 16 points, fourth in the division. Goaltender Brent Moran faced 23 shots.

"This was a great win," said Battalion coach Stan Butler, who cited fatigue as a factor in the Troops' early play after a late-night return from a 3-0 road win Saturday night over the Owen Sound Attack. "For our guys to gut it out was a big thing."

The game, tied 2-2 heading into the third period, saw neither team able to generate a solid scoring chance through the first half of the frame.

Soon after Niagara killed a high-sticking penalty to Aleksandar Mikulovich, Paul struck for the winner. Jared Steege emerged from the right-wing corner, driving across the goalmouth and slamming a shot into Moran's pads. The rebound went to Paul, who pitchforked the puck into the top corner for his team-leading 18th goal of the season.

"Steege made an amazing play," said Paul. "He took the puck to the net, it went off his pad and on to my stick, and I put it in."

Moran left for a sixth skater with 50 seconds left, but the closest the IceDogs came to tying it was a close-in chance by Anthony DiFruscia with 18 seconds to play.

Miller lofted the puck down the ice from deep in his own zone and, with Niagara's Blake Siebenaler in hot pursuit, the rubber rolled into the empty net at 19:56. The unassisted goal was defenceman Miller's ninth.

Amadio opened the scoring with his 10th goal on the power play at 6:40 of the first period when he cashed a Ray Huether feed between Moran's pads.

Corneil answered at 16:30, driving to the net and chipping a pass from Carter Verhaeghe past Smith's blocker, and Paquette put the visitors ahead 2-1 at 19:40 with his first OHL goal. Paquette burst into Battalion territory, eluded Marcus McIvor and Miles Liberati and sneaked a wrister over Smith's left shoulder.

Smith foiled Zach Wilkie alone in the slot, stretched to block an Aaron Haydon shot from the blue line, stopped a Billy Jenkins blast off the left wing and denied a Ryan Mantha shot and Matt Gillard's attempt at the rebound.

Paul tied it 1:01 into the second period. He barged down the right wing, powering past Graham Knott, cut through traffic across the slot and steered the puck around Moran's right pad.

"Knott had been on me the whole game," said Paul. "I crashed the net hard and used my body."

The Troops took three minor penalties in a span of 2:11 early in the frame and played two men short for a total of 1:49 in two segments. Smith stopped Verhaeghe's power-play drive from the right circle, came out to challenge Josh Ho-Sang alone in the slot and slid across the crease to deny Verhaeghe at the right post. With Niagara back on the power play in the last minute, Smith denied Siebenaler, Ho-Sang and Vince Dunn.

In the opener of a three-game road trip, the Battalion visits the Sarnia Sting at 7:05 p.m. Friday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on TVCogeco Cable 12 and heard on Country 600 CKAT.

BATTALION BULLETS: Butler's OHL coaching record stands at 590 wins, 589 losses and 65 ties, above .500 for the first time since the expansion Brampton Battalion went 8-57-3 in 1998-99. Butler earlier was 70-49-13 in two seasons with the Oshawa Generals ... Miller's goal was his 100th career point, surpassing Rostislav Klesla for sole possession of fourth place in all-time scoring by franchise defencemen. Miller has 27 goals and 73 assists in 207 games ... Amadio has scored in each of the last three games ... McIvor earned two assists ... Mikulovich and Alex Henriksson fought midway in the first period, with Henriksson landing a solid early left ... The Battalion posted a won-lost-extended record of 7-3-1 in November ... Niagara's 35 shots equaled the most the Troops have allowed this season ... The Battalion went 1-for-3 on the power play. Niagara was 0-for-5 ... Opening line combinations included Paul centring Steege on left wing and Amadio on right wing, Brett McKenzie centring Hampus Olsson on left wing and right winger Henriksson and Huether centring left winger Mike Baird and right winger Mathew Santos. Wingers David Sherman and Zach Poirier had various linemates as the Troops dressed 11 forwards and seven defencemen ... The Battalion was without Owen Green, Zach Bratina and Calvin Gomes ... The referees were Sean Reid and Tom Sweeney.

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