Battalion downs Brampton
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Evgeny Dubrovtsev scored two goals to lead the North Bay Battalion to a 5-2 victory over the Brampton Steelheads in an Ontario Hockey League game Thursday night.
Nolan Laird and Ryder Carey had one goal and one assist apiece, and Kam Hodgson also scored for North Bay before 2,014 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.
Rookie goaltender Owen Loftus, in a third consecutive start, provided 22 saves as the Battalion moved its won-lost-extended record to 2-1-0.
Kieran Witkowski and Geno Carcone scored for the Steelheads, while goaltender Neilan Johnson made 28 stops. Brampton has lost its three games to open the season.
“We’re still working on our execution and just where guys need to be, getting confident with making plays and things like that, and I thought the execution got better as the game went on,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen.
“I really liked that third period, obviously. Guys were sticking with it. We limited a lot of chances. We were way better defensively here tonight, so some good signs.”
Dubrovtsev struck for the winner at 9:01 of the second period, breaking a 2-2 tie when he got open on the right side to convert a pass from Arseny Pronin.
Captain Laird got the takedown in a tussle with Sean Matthew Goyette at 16:46, with each handed a fighting major.
Dubrovtsev connected on the power play at 12:36 of the third period on a backdoor play at the right side to give the Troops a 4-2 lead. Carey and Shamar Moses assisted on the Russian import’s team-leading third goal of the season.
Carey completed the scoring with the man advantage at 17:59, cruising across the high slot and sweeping the puck inside the left post. Aaron Enright and Laird assisted on Carey’s first goal.
The teams split four first-period goals, including three in a span of 58 seconds sparked by Witkowski at 3:46. He sent the puck to Carter Hicks, who went behind the net and fed Witkowski in the goalmouth. Zach Nyman also assisted.
Laird replied 22 seconds later, driving down the right wing and past Goyette to beat Johnson to the blocker side. Rene Van Bommel, with his first point since joining the Troops in an offseason trade with the London Knights, and Carter Kunopaski drew assists on Laird’s second goal.
Hodgson struck for his second goal another 36 seconds later, backhanding the puck home between his legs from the lip of the crease on assists by Hayden Barch and Oskar Konobelj, who earned his first OHL point.
Overager Carcone tied it at 19:17 with his first OHL goal, putting the puck through traffic from the high slot with an assist to Peter Green.
The Battalion visits the Soo Greyhounds at 7:07 p.m. Saturday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: The Capitol Centre was the game sponsor … The Battalion went 2-for-3 on the power play. Brampton was 0-for-1 … Opening lines had Laird centring left winger Van Bommel and right winger Carey, Cam Warren centring left winger Jax Pereira and right winger Hodgson and Dubrovtsev pivoting left winger Pronin and right winger Moses. Alexandre Saulnier centred left winger Max Crete and right winger Lincoln Edwards … Defence pairings were Enright with Barch, Kunopaski with Adrian Manzo and Konobelj with Easton Poe … The Battalion was without Cole Vreugdenhil, Mike McIvor, Kent Greer, Alexander Karmanov, Declan Gallivan, Parker Vaughan, Austin Brekelmans and Nikolas Rossetto … Declan McNamara from the junior A Powassan Voodoos backed up Loftus … Kunopaski returned from a one-game suspension issued after he received a fighting major and game misconduct for removing Dylan Tsherna’s helmet in a 2-1 win last Friday night over the visiting Barrie Colts … Vaughan started serving a two-game suspension after drawing a match penalty for slew-footing as time expired in a 7-2 road loss Sunday night to the Oshawa Generals … Karmanov, back from the training camp of the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks, completed a three-game suspension flowing from a crosschecking major and game misconduct in a 6-2 preseason loss Sept. 6 to the visiting Sudbury Wolves … Aiden Dionne and Chad Ingalls were the referees.
