OHL North Bay Battalion

Troops Work Overtime to Gut Steelheads

Published on December 18, 2015 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Mike Amadio scored at 2:56 of overtime to lift the North Bay Battalion to a 2-1 victory over the Mississauga Steelheads in Ontario Hockey League action Thursday night.

Zach Poirier also scored for the Battalion, which posted a third straight win to improve its won-lost-extended record to 15-12-3 for 33 points, fourth in the Central Division. Goaltender Jake Smith turned in a sterling performance, making 26 saves before a crowd of 3,078.

Damian Bourne scored for Mississauga, which got 18 saves from goaltender Jack Flinn. The Steelheads, who lost for the first time in four games, are 18-13-3 for 39 points, tied with the Barrie Colts for first place in the division.

Mississauga, which trailed 1-0 through 40 minutes, continued to test Smith in the third period, with the goaltender producing perhaps his best save when he snagged a Josh Burnside blast at 5:29. The Steelheads finally connected at 15:34 after Jason Smith wheeled behind the net and fed the puck to Bourne at the left post.

The Battalion dominated overtime. Kyle Wood rang the puck off the left post, and Cam Dineen shot high in alone on Flinn, who denied Mathew Santos's attempt to jam home a loose puck at the lip of the crease.

Amadio collected his team-leading 19th goal of the season, scooping up his own rebound and lifting a backhander past Flinn and Michael McLeod, who crowded the crease to try to cover the net. Steve Harland and Dineen, who extended a points streak to five games, earned assists.

"We're happy with the win," said coach Stan Butler. "In the second period, they dominated the game and, if it wasn't for Smith, we wouldn't have come out of the period with the score as it was. We played a better third period and we allowed them to score a goal on a battle we lost. They say your best players have to be your best players, and Amadio found a way to score in overtime."

Said Amadio: "I wanted to go backdoor to Dineen, and I saw Harland come in at the last second. I gave it to him, and he gave it right back. I had quite a bit of time to try and go five-hole, but I got the rebound and it went in."

Amadio has a nine-game points streak during which he's scored seven goals and earned 10 assists for 17 points.

Poirier struck first, on the power play at 7:23 of the first period, when he dashed down the left wing around Sean Day, cruised across the goalmouth and delayed before firing the puck over a fallen Flinn. Max Kislinger and Harland, who has eight points in a five-game points streak, assisted on Poirier's fourth goal.

The Troops outshot the Steelheads 6-4, testing Flinn in the fourth minute when he found Dineen's shot through traffic. Flinn denied Santos's net drive in the 14th minute and stopped a Brady Lyle shot and Kislinger's rebound attempt with the Battalion on the power play in the 16th.

The second period saw Mississauga ride four power plays to a 15-4 edge in shots and a decided territorial advantage.

Smith was tremendous, denying Day four times and blocking attempts by Stefan LeBlanc and Owen Tippett. With the Troops shorthanded in the last minute, Smith stopped a Nathan Bastian drive from the right-wing circle and McLeod's swipe at the rebound. Ryan McLeod shot wide of the right post when in alone in the second minute.

The Battalion's best chance came in the 12th minute, when Flinn reacted quickly to get his left pad on a Santos shot off the right wing.

The Battalion hosts the Niagara IceDogs at 7 p.m. Friday to complete a four-game home stand.

BATTALION BULLETS: It was the fourth of six meetings between the teams. The Battalion won 5-3 at home Oct. 12 before losing twice at Mississauga, 4-2 on Oct. 25 and 7-0 on Nov. 20. The Steelheads visit North Bay at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31 in the annual New Year's Eve game ... The Battalion went 1-for-2 on the power play. Mississauga was 0-for-4 ... Opening lines included Amadio centring left winger Daniil Vertiy and right winger Santos, Poirier pivoting left winger David Sherman and right winger Brett Hargrave and Jacob Ball centring left winger Brad Chenier and right winger Harland. Kyle Potts centred left winger Kislinger and right winger Justin Brazeau ... The Battalion scratched Zach Shankar, Mike Baird and Brett McKenzie, all of whom started serving suspensions stemming from a 7-2 home-ice win Sunday over the London Knights ... Chenier was called up from the junior A Rayside-Balfour Canadians ... Battalion defenceman Jake Ramalho saw his first action since Nov. 15, having sat out the last 10 games ... Day returned to the lineup after a four-game suspension for a checking-from-behind penalty and game misconduct in a 5-3 win Dec. 3 at Niagara ... Mississauga was without team-leading scorer Alexander Nylander, with Sweden for the World Junior Championship that starts Dec. 26 at Helsinki.

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