Ang serves up the angst for Battalion
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Jonathan Ang scored at 15:37 of the third period to lift the Peterborough Petes to a 2-1 Ontario Hockey League victory Sunday over the North Bay Battalion.
Nikita Korostelev also scored and Steven Lorentz provided two assists for the Petes, who won a fifth consecutive game.
Goaltender Dylan Wells faced 25 shots for Peterborough, which has a won-lost-extended record of 28-15-4 for 60 points and vaulted into first place in the East Division and Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Oshawa Generals, who fell 4-0 Sunday night to the visiting London Knights.
Zach Shankar scored for North Bay, which suffered a fourth straight loss and is 18-25-4 for 40 points, tied with the Niagara IceDogs for third place in the Central Division. Goaltender Brent Moran made 27 saves before 2,598 at Memorial Gardens.
“We had our chances to win,” said Battalion coach Stan Butler. “Wells is a good goalie. Sometimes we need to be hungrier for pucks around the net, and we’re not as hungry as we need to be.”
The game was tied 1-1 to start the third period, which featured plenty of action and scoring chances at both ends before Ang broke the deadlock, hammering the puck from the mid slot past Moran, who was screened by Lorentz and teammates Shankar and Kyle Potts.
Butler took exception to the goal, contending the puck had been gloved by Lorentz.
“The whistle should have been blown. The guy had it in his glove long enough before he dropped it to the ice. It’s things like that that are hurting us right now. That and our inability to score goals at key times.”
Moran left for a sixth skater at 18:21, when Peterborough’s Brandon Prophet was whistled for crosschecking. Brett Hargrave and Zach Poirier each tested Wells before the Petes’ Zach Gallant was sent off for slashing at 19:33. The Troops mustered one excellent chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but Wells denied Justin Brazeau as he rushed off the left wing, with Poirier and Max Kislinger digging for the disc in the crease.
The teams exchanged second-period goals, with the visitors opening the scoring at 1:48 as Korostelev drove to the net to convert a pass from Matthew Timms.
The Troops were shorthanded when they responded at 13:45. Wells stopped Poirier’s initial shot, but blueliner Shankar barged to the net to chip the rebound over the goaltender. Mark Shoemaker also assisted on Shankar’s third goal of the season.
The Battalion, which had eight shots, missed two excellent chances when Steve Harland steered the puck just wide of the left post in the fifth minute and Brad Chenier was unable to corral a Daniel Walker pass on a two-on-one rush in the 11th. Moran, who faced 10 shots, made key early saves against Nick Isaacson and Logan DeNoble.
Each team recorded six shots in the first period. Harland had the Battalion’s best chance while the Troops enjoyed a two-man advantage for 1:55 midway in the frame, but he just missed directing a Shankar feed past Wells at the right post.
The Petes, who stormed Battalion territory early in the period, threatened in the 12th minute, but Moran kicked away a close-in effort by Matyas Svoboda before blocking a Pavel Gogolev drive in the 15th. Moran denied a Lorentz chance from the slot in the 17th minute, and Korostelev drilled the puck off the left post in the last minute.
The Battalion plays host to the Sarnia Sting at 7 p.m. Thursday.
BATTALION BULLETS: It was the fourth and last regular-season meeting between the teams, all played starting Dec. 18, when the visiting Petes won 5-2. Peterborough posted a 5-2 home-ice win Jan. 7 and prevailed 5-3 at home Jan. 21, scoring five unanswered third-period goals. The Petes’ last loss was a 4-3 setback to the visiting Kingston Frontenacs on Jan. 14 … Shankar, who turned 20 on Saturday, has two of the Battalion’s eight shorthanded goals … Harland played his 100th OHL game … The Battalion went 3-7-1 in January … North Bay was 0-for-4 on the power play. Peterborough went 0-for-3 … Opening lines included Brett McKenzie centring left winger Kislinger and right winger Harland, Poirier pivoting left winger Daniil Vertiy and Hargrave on right wing and Potts centring Adam McMaster on left wing and right winger Brazeau. Jacob Ball centred left winger Chenier and Walker on right wing … The Battalion scratched Eric Allair, Cam Dineen, Riley Bruce, Rhys Forhan, Brady Lyle and Mat Woroniuk … Defencemen Dayton Murray and Eric Nagy again were up from the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League … Lorentz had seven points, from five goals and two assists, in four games against the Troops … Korostelev had five points, including two goals, in three games against the Battalion after being acquired Dec. 31 in a trade from Sarnia … The referees were Jason Faist and Nick Gill.
