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North Bay Battalion

Troops Top Oshawa in Rebound Win

February 1, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


OSHAWA, Ont. - Ben Thomson's power-play goal at 3:17 of the third period sparked a four-goal outburst that propelled the North Bay Battalion to a 5-1 victory over the Oshawa Generals in Ontario Hockey League action Friday night.

Matt MacLeod and Brett McKenzie each had one goal and one assist and Jared Steege and Mathew Santos also scored for the Battalion, which rebounded from a 9-4 home-ice loss Thursday night to the London Knights. Goaltender Brendan O'Neill made 25 saves as he went the distance for the first time since a 2-1 loss via shootout to the visiting Sudbury Wolves on Dec. 31.

The Battalion moved its won-lost-extended record to 26-18-6 for 58 points, second in the Central Division.

Michael Dal Colle scored for Oshawa, 31-14-4 for 66 points atop the East Division and Eastern Conference. Goaltender Daniel Altshuller faced 38 shots, including 14 in the final period.

" That's what I like about the character of our team, " said Battalion coach Stan Butler. " As I told them before the game, it doesn ' t matter if you lose 9-4 or 3-2, you have to move on. "

Thomson broke a 1-1 tie with his 18th goal of the season, whipping a Nick Paul pass between the legs of a sliding Altshuller, before Santos scored at 7:44 to ignite a flurry of three goals in a span of 2:43.

Jamie Lewis fed Santos, who found himself behind the defence and alone in the deep slot for his second goal, deking Altshuller and flipping the disc over the prone goaltender .

MacLeod, collecting his 13th goal, buried a Thomson feed off a rush at 8:43, and McKenzie scored his seventh goal when he deftly redirected a Brenden Miller left-point shot while cruising across the goalmouth at 10:27.

O'Neill faced eight shots in the period, producing his best saves early in the frame. He slid to deny Hunter Smith with the right pad in the second minute and stopped a Cole Cassels shot from the left-wing circle in the fourth.

Dal Colle opened the scoring at 13:59 of the first period when he eluded a defender in the goalmouth and backhanded a Josh Sterk feed behind O'Neill.

The Troops outshot Oshawa 13-10 in the period. Altshuller steered aside a Lewis attempt in the fifth minute, snared a Kyle Locke shot from the right point through traffic in the 15th, found a Dylan Blujus point drive through a maze of bodes in the last minute and stopped a Vincent Praplan shot in the final seconds with the Battalion on the power play.

Steege's third goal tied it at 2:31 of the second period. McKenzie outmuscled a defender behind the net and slipped the puck to Steege, who was alone in the slot and put the puck between Altshuller's pads.

O'Neill, who faced eight shots in the period, helped the Troops kill a double minor for high-sticking issued to Zach Bratina at 4:06. O'Neill got in front of a hard shot by Mitchell Vande Sompel in the sixth minute and hugged the post to keep Dylan Smoskowitz from slipping the puck home in the final minute. Sterk hammered a shot off the left post in the 12th minute.

The Battalion hosts the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at 2 p.m. Sunday.

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