Battalion bounces Frontenacs 4-1
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Barclay Goodrow scored two second-period goals and added an assist to pace the Brampton Battalion to a 4-1 victory Thursday night over the Kingston Frontenacs, handing the visitors their first loss of the Ontario Hockey League season.
Brennan Feasey and Nick Paul also scored for the Battalion, each collecting his first OHL goal. Goaltender Matej Machovsky made 21 saves as the Troops moved their won-lost-extended record to 2-2-1.
Roland McKeown scored for Kingston, while Colin Furlong faced 37 shots in goal for the Frontenacs, who had won their first three games, all at home, and were the last unbeaten team in the league.
“I’m really happy with the result tonight,” said Battalion coach Stan Butler. “I think we’re capable of playing even better once we get more consistent.”
Said defenceman Zach Bell: “It’s a huge win for us. Once we got the first one, we believed in ourselves. It feels great to hand them that first loss.”
Goodrow opened the scoring shorthanded at 10:56 of the second period. Paul cleared the Battalion zone, and Goodrow beat a Kingston defender for the puck at centre ice before taking off on a partial breakaway. Goodrow’s snap shot from the left-wing circle eluded Furlong on the short and glove side. The assist was Paul’s first OHL point.
Feasey connected at 15:03 with what proved to be the winning goal, deflecting a right-point shot by Bell at the left side of the net.
“We want guys to go to the front of the net,” said Butler. “If it hits a stick and goes in, we’ll take it. They don’t have to be pretty.”
Said Bell: “We got back to our style of play. When we go to those dirty areas, we’re going to score goals. We saw that again tonight with guys getting sticks on pucks.”
Goodrow collected his fourth goal of the season on the power play at 16:25. Goodrow redirected a shot by Dylan Blujus through Furlong’s five-hole.
“It’s important for us that he scores goals,” Butler said of Goodrow. “He’s a big part of our team, and it’s great that he’s found the net four times in the last two games.”
Said Goodrow: “When I was drafted here four years ago, I was brought in to put the puck in the net. I’m hoping to keep that up as we go along through the year.”
McKeown answered at 18:42, moving into the left circle to take a pass from fellow defenceman Mikko Vainonen and wrist a shot behind the screened Machovsky.
Paul scored at 12:48 of the third period off a three-on-one rush. Jamie Lewis got the play started, and Goodrow dashed down the right wing before passing the puck to Paul deep on the left side for the conversion.
“Paul deserved to score a goal today,” said Butler. “He worked hard out there, and it’s nice to see a guy get rewarded for it like that.”
The teams traded a chance apiece on one power play each in the first period, in which the Battalion forged an 8-6 edge in shots on goal.
What was perhaps the Battalion’s best scoring chance came after Patrik Machac made a deft backhanded pass to clear the defensive zone and spring Brandon Robinson and Mathew Santos on a two-on-one rush. Robinson got a pass to Santos, but his tip attempt just missed the bottom right corner.
The Battalion scratched Marcus McIvor, Connor Jarvis and Matt MacLeod. Kingston scratches were Ryan Hutchinson and Mitchell Fitzmorris.
The Battalion visits the Erie Otters at 7 p.m. Friday before returning home to face the Mississauga Steelheads on Thanksgiving Monday at 2 p.m.
BATTALION NOTEBOOK: Attendance was 2,311 … The Battalion went 1-for-4 on the power play. Kingston was 0-for-2 … Defenceman Kyle Wood, called up from the junior A Orangeville Flyers, made his OHL debut at 16. The Battalion’s third-round pick in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection made a solid play defending against Darcy Greenaway on a first-period break-in … While Paul is in his first season, fellow first-time scorer Feasey played three games with the Troops last season after a trade from the Windsor Spitfires, with whom he played 13 games. Feasey’s rights were acquired from Windsor for defenceman Jordan McNaughton … Opening line combinations included Machac centring left winger Robinson and right winger Santos, Lewis centring left winger Blake Clarke and right winger Goodrow and Nicholas Foglia pivoting left winger Paul and right winger Mitch Amante. Feasey centred left winger Derek Froats and right winger Mike Amadio … MacLeod missed a second consecutive game with a high-ankle sprain, while Jarvis remained sidelined with a broken collarbone suffered in the preseason. McIvor again sat out with a sore back … Sam Carrick, the Battalion’s captain last season, was in attendance. Carrick is in the midst of training camp with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, the affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. He scored 84 goals and added 85 assists for 169 points in 254 games with the Troops, ninth in club career scoring … General manager Doug Gilmour was on the Kingston bench beside head coach Todd Gill. Gilmour serves as an assistant coach periodically during the season … Referees Kendrick Nicholson and Garrett Rank worked the game.
