Attack beats Battalion in key division showdown

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Daniel Sisca scored two goals and added an assist as the visiting Owen Sound Attack beat the Battalion 5-1 before 2,148 fans at the Bunker Sunday afternoon.
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The loss, the second in a row for the Troops, ruined the return to Brampton of Head Coach Stan Butler, winger Raffi Torres and defenceman Jay Harrison, who had all seen action for Team Canada in the 2001 World Junior Hockey Championship.
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The Battalion came into the game six points behind the Attack in the Midwest Division. Owen Sound led the season series 2-1 and was coming off of a 7-4 victory over the Kingston Frontenacs on Saturday night.
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The Attack got on the board first at 7:03 when Joel Ward banged a rebound past Battalion goaltender David Chant while the Troops were killing an interference penalty to Paul Flache. Kyle McAllister and Agris Saviels picked up the assists.
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McAllister picked up his 17th goal of the year at 13:31 to put Owen Sound ahead 2-0. Shawn Snider and Dan Sullivan claimed assists.
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Harrison´s return to the Bunker turned sour at 3:06 of the second when the third-year rearguard picked up a game misconduct after slamming the door to the penalty box. Harrison had initially been given a 10-minute misconduct.
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The Attack went ahead 3-0 at 5:03 when Daniel Sisca slammed a rebound past David Chant for his 16th goal of the year. The goal, which came 15 seconds after battalion defenceman Alex MacDonell had been sent off for holding, was assisted by Brandon Verner and Agris Saviels.
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Jay McClement finally got the Troops on the board at 12:27 of the middle frame. McClement, who has now scored five goals in his last three games, picked up a rebound after Scott Thompson had drilled a shot at Owen Sound goaltender Cory Roberts for his 19th goal of the season.
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Less than three minutes later, the Attack restored their three goal lead when Daniel Sisca and Greg Jacina broke in on a two-on-one, with Sisca converting for his second of the game.
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Jacina completed the scoring when he wired a wrist shot into the top corner at 7:03. Sisca and Nick Vukovic picked up the assists on Jacina´s 20th goal of the year.
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Following the Jacina goal, Head Coach Stan Butler replaced Chant in goal with Brad Topping.
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Final shots on goal favoured the Attack 38-30.
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"Regrouping the guys may take a little longer than we thought," said defenceman Tyler Hanchuck. "I saw some positive things but we weren´t driving the net, we weren´t playing tough. I thought we were getting some good shots and we were communicating but we weren´t doing the little things and I think that may be the biggest thing."
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Battalion captain Jason Maleyko was kneed on the opening shift and spent much of the rest of the game feuding with several Owen Sound players.
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"It was a frustrating game out there," said Maleyko, "and I kind of lost my cool, and as a captain I can´t really do that. I saw a lot of positive things in the last few games but today we just didn´t look like ourselves, we didn´t work as hard and we took a lot of dumb penalties."
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Winger Raffi Torres, who scored the overtime goal that won a bronze medal for Canada in Russia on Friday, was held off the scoresheet against the Attack, but had some good scoring chances early. "I´m a little tired," Torres acknowledged, "but it felt good to be back and see the guys again but I don´t think we put in a good effort today."
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Corey LeClair, Rostislav Klesla, Jesse Harnden and Lukas Havel did not dress for the Brampton. Klesla and Havel, who picked up gold medals with the Czech Republic team at the World Juniors, are expected to be in the Battalion lineup on Friday night in London.
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Kris Fraser, Justin Hodgins and Billy Zalba were scratched for Owen Sound.
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The Troops are still in fourth place in the Midwest Division and are now eight points behind the Attack. The Battalion has three games ahead this week, with road games in London and Owen Sound and a home ice contest with the Kitchener Rangers.
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