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OHL North Bay Battalion

Wolves Win in Shootout

November 13, 2021 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


SUDBURY, Ont. - Chase Stillman scored in a shootout to give the Sudbury Wolves a 3-2 victory over the North Bay Battalion in the opener of an Ontario Hockey League home-and-home series Friday night.

Kocha Delic and Dylan Robinson, who also had an assist, scored earlier for Sudbury, which has a won-lost extended record of 6-8-1 for 13 points, fourth in the Central Division. Goaltender Mitchell Weeks faced 39 shots through overtime before 2,427 at the Sudbury Community Arena, which was limited to 50 percent capacity because of a covid-19 surge.

Matvey Petrov and Mitchell Russell each had one goal and one assist for North Bay, 8-6-1 for 17 points atop the division. Goaltender Joe Vrbetic made 29 saves through overtime as the Battalion completed a season-high run of six road games, posting a record of 3-2-1.

The Battalion plays host to Sudbury at 2 p.m. Sunday to complete the two-game set.

In the shootout, Sudbury shot first, and Vrbetic stopped David Goyette before Stillman scored. Quentin Musty couldn't convert as the third shooter. Weeks denied Russell, Brandon Coe and Petrov.

North Bay led 2-1 after the first period, in which all three goals were scored on the power play. Sudbury struck first, at 4:41, when Delic redirected Liam Ross's shot from above the right-wing circle with one second left in a hooking penalty to Avery Winslow.

Petrov tied it at 12:14. Ty Nelson interrupted Giordano Biondi's foray into Battalion territory, and seconds later Petrov swept the puck from the left circle into the net. Russell also assisted on Petrov's team-leading 11th goal of the season.

Russell connected at 15:01, stationing himself at the lip of the crease and tipping a Coe pass behind Weeks. Petrov also earned an assist on Russell's 10th goal.

The Troops had a 12-10 edge in shots in the frame. Weeks gloved a loose puck in the crease after a Nelson shot squirted between the goaltender's pads in the sixth minute, and Vrbetic foiled Landon McCallum twice from close range in the final seconds.

Robinson tied it 2-2 just 14 seconds into the second period, blasting a shot past Vrbetic's glove from the edge of the left circle on an odd-man rush. It was the first goal of the season for defenceman Robinson, coming after a trade from the Windsor Spitfires.

Sudbury outshot the visitors 15-10 in the period, but the Troops had two excellent chances. Owen Outwater hit the crossbar in the 10th minute on a two-on-one rush, and Weeks denied a two-man breakaway by Russell and Petrov in the 11th. Vrbetic turned away Goyette in alone in the 18th minute.

Play was delayed for 14 minutes at the 13-minute mark after a clean check by Alexander Lukin on Kosta Manikis left him prone and unconscious on the ice at the home penalty box. Trainers from both teams and paramedics tended to Manikis before he left on a gurney.

An uneventful third period saw the Battalion forge a 13-5 edge in shots. The Troops enjoyed the only power play, after a tripping call against Nolan Collins at 11:02, but it failed to yield a solid scoring chance.

The Battalion outshot Sudbury 4-1 in overtime, but the Wolves had the best chance as Vrbetic denied Musty in tight in the second minute. Nick DeGrazia steered a Robinson shot just wide of the right post in the final minute.

BATTALION BULLETS: It was the third of 12 games between the teams on the OHL's pandemic-driven schedule. The Battalion downed Sudbury 3-2 on Oct. 11 at North Bay, and the host Wolves prevailed 3-1 on Oct. 31 ... In 203 games, Coe has 58 goals and 81 assists for 139 points, tied with Aaron Van Leusen for 22nd in franchise history. Overager Coe, a Toronto native and resident of Ajax, Ont., was a first-round pick, third overall, in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection from the Toronto Nationals minor midgets ... The Battalion went 2-for-3 on the power play. Sudbury was 1-for-3 ... The Battalion was without Cam Gauvreau and Michael Podolioukh ... Ryan Smith and Michael Derbidge were scratched for Sudbury, which dressed 11 forwards and seven defencemen ... Despite the shootout tally, Stillman saw the end of a seven-game points streak in which he had six goals and four assists for 10 points ... Delic has one goal in each of the last three games ... The Wolves' Ethan Larmand marked his 18th birthday ... All 20 teams played Friday night, and 18 were scheduled to play again Saturday, the exceptions being North Bay and Sudbury ... Patrick Battista and Brent Coulombe were the referees ... Timbits hockey returns to Memorial Gardens on Sunday. Fans will have a chance to win major prizes from Tim Hortons, including coffee for a year for one winner.

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