OHL North Bay Battalion

Troops Dump Fronts for 2-0 Series Lead

Published on March 29, 2015 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Mike Amadio scored two goals and added an assist to power the North Bay Battalion to a 3-2 victory Sunday over the Kingston Frontenacs, giving the Troops a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round Ontario Hockey League playoff series.

Brenden Miller had one goal and one assist and Nick Paul contributed two assists for the Battalion, which won the home-ice opener of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal 8-0 Friday night. Goaltender Jake Smith faced 27 shots.

Lawson Crouse had one goal and one assist and Evan McEneny the other goal for Kingston, which got two assists from Sam Bennett and 25 saves from goaltender Lucas Peressini.

"It was a hardfought game," said coach Stan Butler, whose Troops allowed one goal on nine power-play chances. "We lacked discipline and took some bad penalties, and as a result we put ourselves in a tough spot."

While Butler was gracious, a Memorial Gardens crowd of 3,539 expressed its displeasure with referees Mike Cairns and T.J. Foster throughout the game. They had more than they could handle, exemplified in a late second-period fracas that saw Miles Liberati and Kingston's Roland McKeown assessed fighting majors and each team receive two roughing penalties.

The series moves to Kingston for games Tuesday and Thursday, both at 7 p.m.

"Kingston is a great team," said Butler. "They play hard every game and they have some great players. The series is going to get harder and harder every game, and I've told our players they need to improve every game."

The Battalion emerged from a fast-paced, physical first period with a 2-1 lead after Crouse struck first on the power play at 3:48, beating Smith to the stick side from deep in the left-wing circle.

Amadio tied it with the man advantage at 10:01. Miller put the puck from the blue line deep to Amadio, whose wrister fooled Peressini on the short side from a sharp angle to his left. Kyle Wood had the second assist.

Defenceman Miller struck for his second playoff goal at 19:59 with the teams skating four a side. Amadio fired the puck at the net, where it deflected off Paul and went to the left side to the charging Miller, who fired it into a gaping cage with Peressini down.

Amadio netted the eventual winner at 17:58 of the second period, one second after a holding penalty to Kingston's Nathan Billitier expired. Zach Bratina stripped McKeown of the puck and, with Chad Duchesne a spinning top facing a triangle of Troops, fed the disc to the right side to Paul, who whipped it across the goalmouth to Amadio. He buried it from deep in the left circle.

Smith produced solid stops in the period against McEneny and Ryan Verbeek, turned aside a Spencer Watson backhander, denied Juho Lammikko on a two-on-one rush and also thwarted chances by Bennett, Samuel Schutt and Ted Nichol.

Defenceman McEneny made it a one-goal game at 14:43 of the third period, drilling home a Bennett feed from the top of the left circle, and Kingston pressed for the equalizer. Bennett and Crouse missed the net on good chances in close, and Smith kicked out his right pad to foil Lammikko from the slot.

Paul, awarded a penalty shot at 17:26 after being dragged down by Billitier while breaking in on Peressini, tried to beat the goaltender with a forehand deke but shot wide left. It was the first penalty shot that the Troops have been awarded in their 15-season playoff history.

Paul went off for tripping 21 seconds later before Peressini left for a sixth skater with 1:13 to play, but the Frontenacs failed to generate a good scoring chance.

The games at Kingston can be seen live in North Bay on TVCogeco Cable 12 and heard on Country 600 CKAT.

BATTALION BULLETS: Miller, who turned 21 Sunday, has six goals and 22 assists for 28 career playoff points, tying Matt Duchene for fifth place in franchise history. Miller has 12 power-play assists, third all-time ... Paul has 14 goals and 10 assists for 24 playoff points, eighth on the franchise list, one ahead of Kamil Kreps ... Amadio has seven goals and eight assists for 15 playoff points, tied with Jeff Bateman, Anthony Peluso, Matt Kang, Michael Versace and Marcus McIvor for 17th all-time ... McIvor played his 41st playoff game, tied for third in franchise annals with Cody Hodgson, Brad Albert, Scott Tanski and Sam Carrick ... North Bay was 1-for-5 on the power play ... Opening line combinations included Paul centring left winger Bratina and Amadio on right wing, Ryan Kujawinski centring Nick Moutrey on left wing and right winger Alex Henriksson and Ray Huether pivoting Brett McKenzie on left wing and right winger Mathew Santos. Zach Poirier centred left winger Mike Baird and right winger Hampus Olsson ... The Battalion scratched Zach Shankar, Owen Green and Mark Shoemaker ... Kujawinski turns 20 Monday ... The Frontenacs, who overnighted at Huntsville, 120 kilometres south, Thursday and Friday, secured North Bay hotel rooms for Saturday night. A robotics event at Nipissing University drew 1,100 entrants, putting motel rooms in scarce supply.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 29, 2015


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