Third period again Troops’ downfall
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Kris Bennett scored three goals, the last into an empty net, to power the Saginaw Spirit to a 6-3 Ontario Hockey League victory Sunday over the North Bay Battalion.
Cole Coskey, Hayden Hodgson and Max Grondin also scored for Saginaw, which has a won-lost-extended record of 17-20-8 for 42 points, fifth in the West Division. Goaltender Evan Cormier, a former member of the Battalion, faced 32 shots.
Max Kislinger, Zach Poirier and Brett McKenzie scored for North Bay, which got 21 saves from goaltender Brent Moran before 2,565 at Memorial Gardens. The Battalion, 18-24-3 for 39 points, is tied for third place in the Central Division with the Niagara IceDogs, who were thumped 11-2 by the host London Knights.
“We played well last night and blew the game in the third period,” said coach Stan Butler, whose Troops surrendered a 3-0 third-period lead Saturday night in a 5-3 road loss to the Peterborough Petes.
“Today we’re 3-3 and on the fourth goal we get badly outworked. They looked a little hungrier on it. We’ve struggled all year with the ability to play a full 60 minutes. We’re swimming in the lake, but I don’t know if we’re getting to shore.”
The game was tied 3-3 after 40 minutes but, after Cormier produced two good stops with the Battalion on the power play early in the third period, Grondin scored the winner at 8:29, converting a Jesse Barwell pass at the lip of the crease. Bennett then gave Saginaw a two-goal lead at 13:55, tipping home Filip Hronek’s wrister from the blue line.
North Bay had two great scoring chances in the 15th minute, but Cormier denied Steve Harland on a breakaway and Kislinger and McKenzie, with an open net, couldn’t convert Harland’s relay of the rebound. Harland drew a penalty on the play, but the Battalion was unable to generate a scoring chance.
Moran went to the bench for a sixth attacker with 2:16 left, and Zach Shankar sprawled in the crease to deny Saginaw’s Brady Gilmour from deep in the left-wing circle before Bennett finished the scoring into the vacant net at 19:41 for his 15th goal of the season.
North Bay emerged with a 3-2 lead from a frenetic first period that saw the teams combine for two goals 29 seconds apart while the Battalion was on an early power play.
Penalty killer Bennett opened the scoring at 1:43 as he caught up to a loose puck, raced in alone on Moran and put a backhander over the goaltender’s glove. Kislinger replied at 2:12, tipping Harland’s pass past Cormier from the goalmouth. Kislinger’s third goal also was assisted by Jesse Saban.
Saginaw struck again at 6:06 as Coskey left the penalty box, took a breakaway pass from Markus Niemelainen and raced in on Moran, beating him with a backhand deke.
Poirier scored his 10th goal at 10:40, converting his own rebound with assists to Dayton Murray and Daniil Vertiy, before McKenzie put the Troops ahead on the power play at 12:12, hammering home a cross-ice feed from Harland from deep in the right circle. Adam Thilander also earned an assist on McKenzie’s team-leading 21st goal.
The Battalion had the edge in shots and territorial play for much of the second period before being whistled for three minor penalties in a span of 43 seconds. With the Troops skating three against five, Moran turned away close-in chances for Hodgson, Hronek and Keaton Middleton, but Hodgson connected at 16:55, sweeping the puck home from the inner edge of the left circle for his team-high 27th goal.
The Battalion visits the Kitchener Rangers at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The game can be seen live on CogecoTV Channel 12 and heard on Country 600 CKAT.
BATTALION BULLETS: The North Bay Trappers minor peewee AAA team was honoured for raising almost 8,400 pounds of food in the Coach4Food program, which totaled 31,000 pounds this year … Harland has two goals and six assists for eight points in the last five games … McKenzie has three goals and three assists for six points in the last five games … The Battalion went 2-for-7 on the power play. Saginaw was 1-for-5 … Opening lines included McKenzie centring left winger Kislinger and right winger Harland, Poirier pivoting left winger Vertiy and Brett Hargrave on right wing and Kyle Potts centring Adam McMaster on left wing and right winger Justin Brazeau. Jacob Ball centred left winger Brad Chenier and right winger Rhys Forhan … The Battalion scratched Eric Allair, Cam Dineen, Riley Bruce, Daniel Walker, Brady Lyle and Mat Woroniuk … Defencemen Murray and Eric Nagy again were up from the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. They made their OHL debuts in a 6-3 home-ice win Thursday night over the Sudbury Wolves … Cormier was traded to Saginaw in January, 2015, when the Troops acquired winger Nick Moutrey. Cormier is 15-11-6 with a goals-against average of 3.28, a save percentage of .899 and two shutouts … Hodgson has seven goals and two assists for nine points in the last five games, while Hronek has one goal and seven assists for eight points in the last four games.
