Battalion defeats IceDogs
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Justin Ertel scored two goals and assisted on the other to lead the North Bay Battalion to a 3-2 victory Saturday night over the Niagara IceDogs as each team reached the Christmas break in the Ontario Hockey League schedule.
Dalyn Wakely also scored for North Bay, which improved its won-lost-extended record to 15-12-5 for 35 points and pulled into a second-place tie in the Central Division with the Sudbury Wolves, who lost 4-3 to the host Saginaw Spirit.
Goaltender Mike McIvor made 32 saves as the Battalion completed a two-game road trip after dropping a 4-3 decision Friday night to the Erie Otters.
Kevin He and Ryan Roobroeck scored for Niagara before an announced crowd of 3,562 at the Meridian Centre. Goaltender Owen Flores faced 37 shots.
Niagara, which had won its previous two games, is 8-19-5 for 21 points, fifth and last in the division. The IceDogs are 5-12-0 since Ben Boudreau replaced Ryan Kuwabara as head coach Nov. 10.
The scoreless third period saw the IceDogs, who were increasingly frustrated, pull Flores for a sixth attacker with just more than a minute left. Ertel then took a delay-of-game penalty at 19:04 for putting the puck into the stands from a faceoff, but the Troops weathered the assault.
Daniil Sobolev took exception to a collision with Wakely in the fifth minute and chased him down the ice, apparently with fisticuffs in mind, but Wakely ignored the invitation and no penalties resulted.
With the teams skating four a side, Ertel struck at 14:46 of the first period, stepping to the inside off a right-wing rush and beating Flores low. Alex Cajkovic had the sole assist.
Niagara’s He got loose on a partial breakaway and, fighting off the coverage of Wyatt Kennedy, forced the puck past McIvor at 18:00. Gavin Bryant and Ryan Vannetten assisted on He’s team-leading 16th goal of the season.
Ertel gave the Troops a 2-1 lead at the first intermission with his 14th goal at 19:44. Ertel emerged along the goal line from the right corner and ripped the puck over Flores’s left shoulder from a sharp angle. Anthony Romani had the assist.
Wakely took a cross-ice pass from Ertel and wired the puck home from the right circle at 10:24 of the middle period for what proved to be the winner. Romani also assisted on Wakely’s 13th goal.
Roobroeck responded 1:41 later, scoring through traffic from the left circle. Ethan Czata and Artem Frolov assisted on Roobroeck’s 11th goal.
The Battalion returns to action at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 28, when it plays host to the Ottawa 67’s on Boart Longyear Night.
BATTALION BULLETS: It was the second of six meetings, after the Battalion won 4-3 at St. Catharines on Nov. 4. The next encounter is set for Jan. 21 at Memorial Gardens … Romani has a nine-game points streak in which he has six goals and 12 assists for 18 points … The Battalion’s Paul Christopoulos saw the end of a four-game points streak during which he had two goals and two assists for four points … The Battalion went 0-for-2 on the power play. Niagara was 0-for-3 … The Troops spent Thursday and Friday nights at St. Catharines … Opening lines featured Wakely centring left winger Ertel and right winger Romani, Liam Arnsby centring left winger Brice Cooke and right winger Jacob Therrien and Ethan Procyszyn skating between left winger Carter Kostuch and right winger Lirim Amidovski. Centre Dylan Richter and left winger Reyth Smith had various linemates … Defence pairings had Cajkovic with Christopoulos, Trevor McDowell with Kennedy and Tyson Rismond alongside Brayden Turley, with Zach Wilson also seeing action … The Battalion was without Tnias Mathurin, Ihnat Pazii, Owen Van Steensel, Nolan Laird, Ty Nelson, Pasquale Zito, Stef Forgione and Dom DiVincentiis … Niagara’s Urban Podrekar is with the host country’s team in the 2024 World Junior Championship Division I B tournament at Bled, Slovenia. Pazii is playing for Ukraine in the same tourney … Kevin McArthur and Andrew Willmetts were the referees.
