Colts prevail in shootout
BARRIE, Ont. — Ben Wilmott scored the only goal in a five-round shootout to give the Barrie Colts a 3-2 Ontario Hockey League victory Saturday night over the North Bay Battalion, marking a fourth straight win for the Central Division leaders.
Jaiden Newton and Wilmott scored earlier for the Colts, while goaltender Arvin Jaswal made 27 saves through overtime before a crowd of 4,256 at the Sadlon Arena.
Barrie, which downed the Brampton Steelheads 4-1 Friday night in a fourth straight road game, has a won-lost-extended record of 34-11-6 for 74 points atop the division. The Colts are 15-1-1 in their last 17 games, accounting for a quarter of the season.
Barrie added Wilmott, Mason Zebeski and Parker von Richter in three trades in as many days in January, one with the London Knights and two with Brampton.
Kaden Pitre and Shamar Moses scored for the Battalion as goaltender Jack Lisson provided 44 saves, including eight in overtime, in a stellar performance in the opener of a home-and-home series.
North Bay, which defeated the visiting Windsor Spitfires 5-4 via shootout Thursday night, is 26-21-3 for 55 points, tied for second place in the division with the Niagara IceDogs, who edged the visiting Kitchener Rangers 4-3.
The two-game set wraps up at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens at 2 p.m. Sunday on Redpath Mining Day.
In the shootout, Lisson denied Kashawn Aitcheson, Emil Hemming, Cole Beaudoin and Brad Gardiner before Wilmott connected. The Battalion, shooting second, saw Nick Wellenreiter, Pitre, Lirim Amidovski, Sebastien Gervais and Moses all foiled in the team’s first shootout loss.
After a 1-1 tie at the second intermission, Moses struck at 10:19 of the third period, emerging from the right corner to the front and backhanding the puck past Jaswal. Parker Vaughan and Ryder Cali assisted on the eighth goal of the season for Moses.
Wilmott precipitated overtime with his power-play tally at 18:46, which followed a high-sticking call to Moses. Hemming and von Richter assisted as Wilmott one-timed the puck from the slot for his 22nd goal and 10th in 13 games with Barrie.
The high stick by Moses paled in comparison to non-calls for high-sticking by the Colts, on Nolan Laird late in the frame and on Ethan Procyszyn during the Barrie power play.
The Troops couldn’t capitalize on a Barrie bench minor for too many men in overtime.
The Battalion trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes, but Pitre tied it at 1:24 of the second period with the teams skating four a side, racing down the right wing, cutting to the net across the crease and tucking the puck around Jaswal. Aaron Enright had the sole assist on Pitre’s 15th goal, his 10th in 22 games since joining the Troops from the Flint Firebirds.
North Bay had the only two power plays in the frame, but Lisson needed to stop two breakaways during and just after the second, which followed a slashing call to Wilmott. Beaudoin was denied on a partial break before Lisson got the left pad on a breakaway blast from Wilmott, who darted from the penalty box to seize a puck that rebounded to centre ice off a blocked Battalion shot.
Newton opened the scoring at 13:37 of the first period off a Battalion turnover and ensuing scramble, putting the puck to the crease from behind the goal line in the left corner and having it deflect past Lisson off his stick. Nicholas Desiderio and Eamon Edgar had assists on Newton’s sixth goal.
Cali was set up alone on the left side by Gervais, but Jaswal got to his right to cover up at 5:36. Amidovski was alone at the Barrie crease in the 18th minute but rang the puck off iron.
BATTALION BULLETS: It was the fourth of six games between the teams, with the Battalion holding a record of 2-1-1. The Troops swept an early home-and-home series, winning 4-3 on Oct. 18 at Barrie and 3-2 via shootout Oct. 19 at North Bay before a 3-1 home-ice loss Dec. 28 … Pitre has a five-game points streak in which he has three goals and five assists for eight points … Pitre and Cali topped the Troops with five shots apiece. Beaudoin paced the Colts with 10 … The Battalion went 0-for-3 on the power play. Barrie was 1-for-3 … Opening lines included Procyszyn centring left winger Pitre and right winger Wellenreiter, Cali centring left winger Gervais and right winger Amidovski and Cam Warren pivoting left winger Moses and right winger Vaughan. Evgeny Dubrovtsev centred left winger Laird and right winger Ryder Carey … Defence pairs had Bronson Ride with Hayden Barch, Enright with Kent Greer and Carter Kunopaski with Brandt Harper … The Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Adrian Manzo, Jonathan Kapageridis, Alexander Karmanov and Arseny Pronin … Greer marked his 18th birthday … von Richter, acquired in one of two Jan. 6 trades with Brampton, has a five-game points streak in which he has one goal and four assists for five points … Desiderio returned from a two-game suspension issued after he drew a head-checking major and game misconduct in a 6-5 overtime win Jan. 30 at Flint … Jason Faist and Derek Risebrough were the referees.
