Battalion edges Sudbury 2-1
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Ryder Cali and Lirim Amidovski scored a goal apiece to power the North Bay Battalion to a 2-1 victory Thursday night over the Sudbury Wolves, extending the Troops’ Ontario Hockey League winning streak to four games.
Goaltender Jack Lisson provided 33 saves as North Bay improved its won-lost-extended record to 22-16-2 for 46 points, second in the Central Division, before 2,812 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.
Sebastien Gervais played his 300th regular-season OHL game, his third with the Battalion after 297 with the Saginaw Spirit before a Jan. 5 trade. Gervais is second in games among active players to the 308 by Ethan Miedema of the Guelph Storm, whose visit Thursday night to the Niagara IceDogs was postponed because of inclement weather.
In addition, Ryder Carey played his 100th game since being a first-round pick, 16th overall, in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection from the Oakville Rangers U16s. He has career totals of 13 goals, 21 assists and 34 points.
Cali scored the first Eastern Conference goal in the Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game, which the Western Conference won 4-3 Wednesday night at Peterborough.
Chase Coughlan scored for Sudbury as the teams clustered three goals in a first-period span of 4:57. Goaltender Bjorn Bronas made 31 saves.
Sudbury is 15-25-1 for 31 points, tied for fourth place in the division with the Brampton Steelheads, who hold a game in hand. The Wolves, who have lost five straight, traded three of their top scorers, in Kieron Walton, Nathan Villeneuve and Alex Pharand, in the leadup to the trade deadline last Friday.
“I was impressed with Sudbury,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen. “I mean, it’s a different roster. You kind of know maybe a little bit from what we did last year that, once the trade deadline moves along, they insert some young, energized, skilled hockey players.
“That’s a pretty good team over there, and I think they’re going to cause a lot of problems.”
Cali opened the scoring 6:48 into the game, backhanding the puck behind Bronas after an initial Aaron Enright shot from the blue line. Shamar Moses and Cam Warren, each of whom earned an assist, had chances at the disc in the goalmouth before Cali capitalized for his 11th goal of the season.
Amidovski took a threaded pass from Gervais at centre ice and broke away to deposit a forehand at 8:56. It was Amidovski’s 12th goal.
Coughlan replied at 11:45 with his 11th goal, putting a Hudson Martin rebound around Lisson. Rowan Henderson had the second assist.
Enright was jumped at 19:23 by Gavin Ewles, who objected to a clean check on former Battalion member Carter Kostuch. Ewles got in several early punches before Enright dropped him. Ewles received an instigating minor, fighting major and misconduct, while Enright drew a major.
The second period saw North Bay outshoot the visitors 12-10, with the Battalion’s Bronson Ride, who turned 21 Wednesday, helped off the ice to the dressing room at 16:58 after taking a stick to the jaw in the defensive zone. The whistle, followed by neither a penalty nor a video review, ended a two-on-one rush by the Troops, and Ride didn’t return.
Lisson stopped a pointblank chance from the mid slot by Jan Chovan on the power play after Jonathan Kapageridis was sent off for holding at 6:39 of the third period, and the Troops fended off a final push after Bronas left for a sixth attacker at 18:31. A Gervais attempt at the empty net hit Jean-Cristoph Lemieux’s shin.
The Battalion visits the Oshawa Generals at 7:05 p.m. Friday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: The game sponsor was Freelandt Caldwell Reilly … After five of eight meetings, the Battalion is 4-1-0. The next game is scheduled Feb. 27 at Sudbury … North Bay went 0-for-1 on the power play. Sudbury was 0-for-4 … Opening lines included Ethan Procyszyn centring left winger Nick Wellenreiter and right winger Parker Vaughan, Kaden Pitre centring left winger Gervais and right winger Amidovski and Cali pivoting left winger Moses and right winger Warren. Evgeny Dubrovtsev centred left winger Arseny Pronin and right winger Carey … Defence pairs had Ride with Brandt Harper, Enright with Hayden Barch and Alexander Karmanov with Kapageridis … The Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Adrian Manzo, Kent Greer, Carter Kunopaski and Nolan Laird, who served the first game of a two-game suspension issued after he incurred a match penalty for spearing in a 5-1 win last Friday night at Brampton … Cole Vreugdenhil backed up Lisson … Since last facing the Troops, Sudbury has made three trades, dealing Walton to the Peterborough Petes for Genc Ula and five Priority Selection picks and sending Villeneuve and Pharand to the Windsor Spitfires for Lemieux and eight picks. The Wolves acquired 14 picks and dealt away two … Adam Nemec, a second-rounder in the 2024 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, joined Sudbury after playing for Slovakia at the World Junior Championship in Minnesota … Andre Grougrou and Aaron Neely were the referees.
