OHL North Bay Battalion

Troops' Road Proving Rocky

October 23, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - The North Bay Battalion is midway through what likely is its toughest stretch of the Ontario Hockey League season.

The Battalion completes a season-high run of five road games, all against Western Conference opponents, with visits to the Guelph Storm at 7:30 p.m. Friday and the Owen Sound Attack on Saturday night.

North Bay lost all three games on a swing last weekend, 9-1 Friday night to the Saginaw Spirit, 6-3 Saturday night to the Flint Firebirds and 11-2 Sunday to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

"I think the theme for this group is we're taking the positives out of it," assistant coach Adam Dennis said Wednesday as the Battalion prepared for another practice at Pete Palangio Arena, with Memorial Gardens having been taken over by the Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling.

"Each and every game we lost in a five-minute span, so that means for a 55-minute span you're hanging with some pretty good teams."

The Battalion, which has a won-lost-extended record of 3-9-0 for six points, fifth in the Central Division, battled the Spirit on even terms for almost the entire first period, with goaltender Christian Cicigoi ceding the only goal at 19:56.

"Coming into the Saginaw game, expected to get out of the gate a little slow, coming off a long road trip, I thought we handled the first period rather well right up until the goal with three seconds left. That goal really seemed to affect our young group going into the second period."

After Luke Moncada tied it at 2:04 of the middle frame, Saginaw reeled off four goals in the space of 2:21 before adding two goals later in the period to settle the issue.

Reece Proulx, who was summoned from the affiliated junior A Pembroke Lumber Kings for the trip in light of Joe Vrbetic being sick, gave up three of the goals on eight shots in relief before Cicigoi went back into the crease for the final period.

Cicigoi helped the Troops fight to a 2-2 tie through 20 minutes at Flint, and Proulx got the call to the crease at Sault Ste. Marie.

"He earned his start," Dennis said of Proulx, who has excelled for Pembroke. "I just wish we gave him a little better effort."

Trailing 2-1 after 20 minutes, the Battalion surrendered a power-play goal to Ryan O'Rourke at 4:51 of the second period before a delayed penalty call for slashing against Jacob LeGuerrier. Brandon Coe attempted to put the puck back to Paul Christopoulos at the right point, but it eluded him and slid 180 feet into the net vacated by Proulx.

"The big break in the game was we were about to go on a power play down 3-1 and we throw an own goal in our net, which is something you see about every five years," noted Dennis.

"And then, in a 5-2 game, we still felt we could score a couple of goals and get into it, and then the penalty trouble."

LeGuerrier checked Josh Currie, sparking a fracas at 3:01 of the third period that resulted in the Greyhounds receiving a seven-minute power play, although the game sheet reflects only five minutes. Moncada was assessed an instigating minor, fighting major, misconduct and game misconduct, and Harrison Caines received a roughing minor, as did LeGuerrier and Sault Ste. Marie's Matthew Halushak.

The Greyhounds scored four goals with the man advantage, extending their lead to 9-2.

The league office has acknowledged that, given the penalties assessed, the Battalion should have been shorthanded for only five minutes but that, in addition, Sault Ste. Marie should have received a fighting major, presumably to either LeGuerrier or Halushak, and that Moncada's instigating penalty was unwarranted. As a result, there is no supplemental discipline for Moncada.

Jason Faist and Josh Schein were the referees.

Dennis's assessment of five years between own goals doesn't hold true for the Troops. Their last such instance occurred in a playoff game April 11, 2006, against the host Barrie Colts when, on a delayed penalty call, Luke Lynes sent the puck back to the blue line from the right-wing circle in the offensive zone only to see it sail the length of the ice into a net abandoned by goaltender Daren Machesney.

Matthieu Methot was credited with the goal for the Colts.

Barrie won the game, coincidentally enough, by an 11-2 score and defeated Brampton four games to one in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

North Bay's Brad Chenier was assessed a penalty shot in the third period at Sault Ste. Marie after he was harassed on a breakaway. Goaltender Ethan Taylor foiled the attempt.

Somewhat less coincidentally, the previous time the Battalion was stopped on a penalty shot on the road occurred Oct. 8, 2016, when the Greyhounds' Joseph Raaymakers denied Brett McKenzie.

The game at Guelph can be seen live on YourTV Channels 12 and 700 and heard on Country 600 CKAT.

Check out the North Bay Battalion Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 23, 2019


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