Troops down ‘Hounds 3-2
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Ethan Procyszyn scored two third-period power-play goals to propel the North Bay Battalion to a 3-2 victory Saturday night over the Soo Greyhounds in Ontario Hockey League action that more falling snow couldn’t stop.
Lirim Amidovski had the other goal and goaltender Mike McIvor provided 29 saves in a sterling performance for North Bay, which moved its won-lost-extended record to 11-11-2 for 24 points, fifth in the Central Division.
Nick Wellenreiter, a free-agent signee, and Adam Smeeton, a fifth-round pick in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, made their OHL debuts as the Troops managed to get in the second game of what was supposed to be a back-to-back pair.
The Friday night meeting was postponed after the City of Sault Ste. Marie ordered GFL Memorial Gardens closed because of a snowstorm. No makeup date has been set yet.
Andrew Gibson and Brady Martin scored for Soo, while goaltender Landon Miller made 24 saves before a crowd recorded as 3,905. The Greyhounds, who suffered a fourth straight loss, are 12-13-0 for 24 points, third in the West Division.
With travel difficult, Joshua Houslander and Alex Schmidt, hometown linesmen, were pressed into service as referees, while fellow locals Corey Jackson and Michael Quesnele whistled offsides.
“The guy in net was our best player,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said of McIvor, also praising Wellenreiter and Smeeton.
The teams were tied 2-2 when Martin drew an interference major at 19:39 of the third period for a late check on Nolan Laird that sent him backwards into the boards. Laird, who lay on the ice for some time, was helped to the dressing room.
Procyszyn tipped Wyatt Kennedy’s right-point shot past Miller at 19:51. Owen Van Steensel had the other assist on Procyszyn’s team-leading 18th goal of the season.
Soo coach John Dean, who berated the officials after the Martin call, saw the Greyhounds handed a bench minor at 19:55 and, after one too many was deployed, a minor for too many men at 19:57. Soo then received a game misconduct for abuse of officials at 20:00.
Procyszyn, whose 10 power-play goals top the league, gave the Battalion a 2-0 lead at 1:58 of the period with Justin Cloutier off for slashing. Procyszyn put home a rebound with a backhanded chop as Jacob LeBlanc and Shamar Moses drew assists.
Defenceman Gibson connected at 4:10 from high on the left side after the puck was rimmed around the boards, precipitating a flurry of Teddy Bears. The cleanup delayed the game for 10 minutes. Martin then struck during a two-man advantage scheduled for 1:17 to tie it at 10:27, one-timing the disc from the left circle.
With a delayed penalty pending against Soo, Amidovski scored at 19:22 of the middle period, one-timing a cross-ice pass from the left circle past a helpless Miller. LeBlanc and Reyth Smith had the assists on Amidovski’s seventh goal.
McIvor stoned Travis Hayes on a backdoor chance in the 12th minute with the teams skating four a side.
The Greyhounds had a 13-9 edge in first-period shots, with McIvor making several big stops. He denied Cloutier in alone in the first minute and snagged a Tate Vader drive from the slot at 7:20. McIvor got the left pad on Jordan Charron’s shot after he broke away with the puck in the 14th minute when Bronson Ride’s drive was blocked at the top of the Soo zone.
The Battalion, which was to bus back to North Bay on Sunday, plays host to the Erie Otters at 7 p.m. Thursday.
BATTALION BULLETS: Oulahen returned from serving as an assistant coach with the Canadian Hockey League team that swept two games against the United States National Under-18 Team in the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, winning 6-1 Tuesday night at London and 3-2 Wednesday night at Oshawa. The game featured players, chosen by the National Hockey League’s central scouting, eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft … The Battalion went 2-for-4 on the power play. Soo was 1-for-3 … North Bay went 4-5-1 in November … Smeeton, recalled as an affiliated player, has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 26 games with the junior A Haliburton County Huskies. The Toronto resident was selected from the Don Mills Flyers U16s … In 20 games this season with the British Columbia Hockey League’s Coquitlam Express, Wellenreiter had three goals and 12 assists for 15 points. Hockey Canada approved his return to sanctioned play … Opening lines saw Procyszyn centring left winger Van Steensel and right winger Jacob Therrien, Laird centring left winger Wellenreiter and right winger Moses and Ryder Carey pivoting left winger Smith and right winger Amidovski. Briir Long centred left winger Smeeton and right winger Dylan Richter … Defence pairs had Ride with Kennedy, Aaron Enright with LeBlanc and Zach Wilson with Brayden Turley … The Battalion was without Declan Gallivan, Kent Greer, Ihnat Pazii, Anthony Romani, Stepan Chukharev, Natan Teshome and Andrew LeBlanc.
