Troops win exhibition opener
COLLINGWOOD, Ont. — Ethan Procyszyn scored at 3:05 of the third period to lift the North Bay Battalion to a 4-3 comeback victory Sunday over the Owen Sound Attack in the Ontario Hockey League preseason opener for both teams.
Arseny Pronin, Jonathan Kapageridis and Lirim Amidovski had the other North Bay goals, while Adrian Manzo contributed three assists. Goaltender Cole Vreugdenhil made 20 stops, including a game-saving denial of Colton Ashby on a breakaway at 11:46 of the final frame.
Nick Gilby, Blake Munnings and Michael Dec scored for Owen Sound, while Jacob Therrien, whom the Battalion traded to the Attack in June for as many as four OHL Priority Selection picks, provided two assists.
Goaltender Matthew Koprowski faced 37 shots as North Bay stormed out of the gate to dominate early play and assume a 1-0 lead before falling behind 3-1 by the first intermission of a game that saw plenty of rookies and first-year players in uniform.
Captain Procyszyn scored the winner during a delayed penalty call, driving from the left-wing corner toward the net and banking the puck off Koprowski. Evgeny Dubrovtsev and Easton Poe drew assists.
Therrien received slashing and roughing minors and a misconduct at 3:26 of the final period, taking him out of most of the rest of the game, while Jax Pereira drew a roughing call at the same time.
Procyszyn went off for interference at 18:36 and, with Koprowski on the bench, the Attack skated six against four but couldn’t find the equalizer.
Pronin, a second-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in July, opened the scoring on the power play at 8:53 of the first period, standing in front of the crease to redirect a short pass from Ryder Carey on the right side. Manzo also assisted.
Owen Sound responded strongly after being sparked by Gilby with the teams skating four a side at 12:17. The manpower level was established when Poe and Therrien went off for roughing at 11:10 after Poe dumped an attacker in the corner to Vreugdenhil’s left.
Defenceman Munnings connected off a two-on-one rush, assisted by Therrien, at 15:03, and Dec struck from Therrien at 17:59, cruising across the mid slot.
Kapageridis connected at 10:12 of the middle period after sustained forechecking by the Troops. The defenceman beat Koprowski past fallen bodies from the left point, with assists to Ryder Cali and Manzo.
Amidovski tied it with the man advantage at 17:39, moving from the left wing to the mid blue line and wiring the puck home on assists by Manzo and Cam Warren.
After the game, Vreugdenhil and Poe were assigned to the junior A Haliburton County Huskies, and Kam Hodgson went home to Barrie before an expected return to Culver Military Academy at Culver, Ind. Austin Brekelmans, a teammate of Hodgson with Culver last season, headed home to Strathroy, Ont., to weigh his options.
The Attack has been displaced from Owen Sound’s Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre by work installing a new ice plant, boards and glass in the J.D. McArthur Arena.
The Battalion, in its second of six exhibition games, plays host to the Ottawa 67’s at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
BATTALION BULLETS: The Eddie Bush Memorial Arena was the site of the inaugural preseason game of the junior A Caledon Canadians, predecessors of the Battalion, on Sept. 4, 1992. The expansion Canadians trounced the Collingwood Blues 12-0, after which owner Scott Abbott told coach Gregg Carrigan: “Undefeated, untied, unscored-upon. It’s all downhill from here.” The Battalion, then based in Brampton, played an exhibition game against the Sudbury Wolves in the same building … North Bay went 2-for-4 on the power play. Owen Sound was 0-for-5 … Opening lines included Procyszyn centring left winger Cali and right winger Shamar Moses, Dubrovtsev centring left winger Pronin and right winger Carey and Warren pivoting left winger Briir Long and right winger Amidovski. Pereira centred left winger Brekelmans and right winger Hodgson … Defence pairs had Carter Kunopaski with Brandt Harper, Aaron Enright with Poe and Kapageridis with Manzo … The Battalion was without Charlie Larocque, Mike McIvor, Kent Greer, Sam Rivet, Declan Gallivan, Ihnat Pazii, Parker Vaughan, Nolan Laird, Bronson Ride and Nick Wellenreiter … Jack Lisson backed up Vreugdenhil … Vreugdenhil, Dubrovtsev, Pronin, Warren, Pereira, Brekelmans, Hodgson, Kunopaski, Harper and Poe made their OHL debuts.
