OHL North Bay Battalion

Troops Blank Sudbury as Amadio Nets Two

Published on November 21, 2014 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Mike Amadio scored two goals and goaltender Jake Smith recorded his second shutout of the season as the North Bay Battalion blanked the Sudbury Wolves 3-0 Thursday night in the opener of a home-and-home set.

Alex Henriksson also scored and Nick Paul and Brenden Miller earned two assists each for North Bay, which visits Sudbury at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Smith faced 18 shots before a crowd of 3,562 on Canadore College Alumni Night.

The Battalion, which netted three goals in a span of 6:18 in the third period to halt a losing skid at two games, moved its won-lost-extended record to 11-5-4 for 26 points atop the Ontario Hockey League's Central Division.

Goaltender Samuel Tanguay made 33 saves for Sudbury, 4-18-0 for eight points, fifth in the division.

"The game was pretty even after two periods," said Battalion coach Stan Butler. "Both goalies played well, and any time you allow a game to be that close it gives both teams an equal chance to win. I was glad our guys woke up in the third period and played the way we need to play.

"In the first two periods, I don't think we forechecked hard enough. We're usually a strong forechecking, puck-pressure team, and I don't think we did that in the first two periods. We started to get sloppy in the second period and turned pucks over at their blue line, and we were creating the breakouts for them, which is a dangerous thing to do."

Smith's sixth career shutout was his first since Oct. 31, when he made 29 saves in a 3-0 road win over the Mississauga Steelheads.

"Jake was solid," said Butler. "He's probably one of the most athletic goalies around. He competes hard and finds ways to stop the puck."

Henriksson sparked the scoring outburst with his sixth goal of the season 5:11 into the third period, wheeling counterclockwise behind the net and slipping a backhander between Tanguay's pads.

Seconds after Smith sprawled to thwart Pavel Jenys's attempt to shovel home Nicholas Baptiste's rebound, Amadio beat a screened Tanguay to the stick side at 7:06. Paul and Smith earned assists.

Amadio connected again at 11:29, converting a Paul pass from the goalmouth with Tanguay turned around in his crease. Miller drew the second assist on Amadio's seventh goal.

The Wolves, who had just four shots in the period, couldn't generate any offence despite enjoying two power plays. Smith was solid in the first minute when Matt Schmalz made a strong move off the left wing.

The Battalion outshot the Wolves 12-3 in the first period.

Tanguay fended off chances by Mike Baird, Marcus McIvor and Paul and reacted quickly to stop a Brett McKenzie drive. Hampus Olsson rolled the puck through the crease on a wraparound attempt. Smith's toughest stop came when he denied Brody Silk off a left-wing rush.

The second period saw Henriksson produce the Troops' best scoring opportunity to that point when he fired the puck off the right post in the 18th minute. Tanguay stopped Mathew Santos's tip of a Kyle Wood shot in the seventh minute, stopped another Santos chance seconds later and found Miller's shot through traffic in the ninth minute. Tanguay again foiled Santos in the 10th minute, with Baird unable to get to the rebound, and the goaltender turned aside a Miller blast in the 13th. Santos again tested Tanguay in the final minute.

Smith was busy early, making a glove save on Jacob Harris, alone in the slot in the first minute, and kicking away a Conor Cummins shot from the blue line in the third. Smith knocked down a Harris drive in the sixth minute and got the glove on another Harris shot in the ninth. Nathan Pancel rolled the puck through the crease in the eighth minute.

The game at Sudbury, which is not to be televised, can be heard live in North Bay on Country 600 CKAT.

BATTALION BULLETS: The game was delayed 20 minutes from the scheduled 7 p.m. start because the Wolves' bus encountered an accident on Highway 17 and didn't arrive until 6 o'clock ... Smith earned his 42nd career win, tying Kevin Couture for sixth place on the franchise list ... Henriksson and McKenzie are among 61 OHLers on a 'Players to Watch' list issued by the National Hockey League's central scouting department in advance of the 2015 NHL Draft, to be held June 26-27 at Sunrise, Fla. ... In 203 games, Miller has 25 goals and 72 assists for 97 points, tied with Jay Harrison for fifth place all-time among franchise defencemen ... The Battalion went 0-for-2 on the power play. Sudbury was 0-for-4 ... The Battalion's Riley Bruce returned from injury to play for the first time since a 4-1 victory over the visiting Barrie Colts on Oct. 13 ... Fellow defenceman Wood played for Team OHL in a 5-1 victory Monday night over Russia in the fourth game of the Subway Super Series ... Opening line combinations included Paul centring McKenzie on left wing and Amadio on right wing, Zach Bratina centring Jared Steege on left wing and right winger Henriksson and Ray Huether pivoting left winger Baird and right winger Santos. Zach Poirier centred left winger Owen Green and right winger Olsson ... The Battalion scratched David Sherman, Mark Shoemaker and Calvin Gomes.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 21, 2014


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