Battalion camp marches on
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Competition tightened at the North Bay Battalion’s Ontario Hockey League training camp Wednesday with the first round of cuts.
Those remaining played a spirited fourth intrasquad game that saw assistant coach Bill Houlder’s Team Green even the camp count against Scott Wray’s Team White at two victories apiece. Green captured its second win of the day by a 7-5 score, albeit with somewhat reconstructed rosters.
A total of 13 prospects, including goaltenders James Meredith and Charlie Larocque, were released from camp after the morning game. With defenceman Aaron Enright, who has a high-ankle sprain from his junior A camp with the Renfrew Wolves, having departed after attending the Battalion camp to observe, the number on hand was reduced to 42.
Among them are all five free-agent invitees, in forwards Brendan Boring of West Babylon, N.Y., Ilya Chmelevski of Northville, Mich., and Stef Forgione of Woodbridge, Ont., as well as rearguards Michael Kopcok of Belle River, Ont., and Davis Anello, a member of the North Bay Trappers U18s last season.
Apart from the 40 who played in the second game of the day, defenceman Carson Ricci was scratched with a hip strain, while Ukrainian forward Iggy Pazii, North Bay’s first-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in July, is recovering from knee surgery and figures to debut during the exhibition schedule.
Ricci took warmup for White before the morning game but didn’t continue, resulting in Zach Wilson being switched to the White blue line from that of Green five minutes into the 60-minute game.
The camp ends at midday Thursday after a fifth intrasquad game at 9 a.m. Admission to Memorial Gardens is free.
FOURTH GAME RECAP
Ty Nelson scored back-to-back second-period goals for Green. White, which trailed 7-2 after Carter Kostuch’s marker in the middle frame, scored the last three goals, including two by Forgione, to narrow the gap. Charlie Robertson and Dom DiVincentiis, seeing his first game action of the camp, split the Green goaltending duties.
Lineups
Green: Charlie Robertson, Dom DiVincentiis, Wyatt Kennedy, Hunter Martell, Brayden Turley, Michael Kopcok, Tyson Rismond, Zach Wilson, Ty Nelson, Jacob Therrien, Justin Ertel, Liam Arnsby, Beckett Ewart, Carter Kostuch, Nolan Laird, Ethan Procyszyn, Brett Bouchard, Adam Smeeton, Brendan Boring, Ilya Chmelevski, Lirim Amidovski.
White: Mike McIvor, Andrew Lanni, Paul Christopoulos, Tnias Mathurin, Declan Gallivan, Davis Anello, Alex Cajkovic, Brice Cooke, Dylan Richter, Chase Thompson, Jesse Lefebvre, Dalyn Wakely, Anthony Romani, Owen Van Steensel, Stepan Chukharev, Reyth Smith, Stef Forgione, Chase MacQueen-Spence, Pasquale Zito.
Green goals: Nelson 2, Procyszyn, Amidovski, Smeeton, Arnsby, Kostuch.
White goals: Van Steensel 2, Forgione 2, Romani.
THIRD GAME RECAP
Beckett Ewart and Jacob Therrien each had two goals to pace Green to a 7-2 victory. Meredith and Larocque shared the crease in the win.
Lineups
Green: Charlie Larocque, James Meredith, Ryan Fairbairn, Matthew Darrigan, Tanner Lawson, Hunter Martell, Michael Kopcok, Tyson Rismond, Jacob Therrien, Kaedyn Long, Beckett Ewart, Ewan McChesney, Carter Kostuch, Deke Osterhout, Ethan Procyszyn, Brett Bouchard, Adam Smeeton, Nate Gravelle, Brendan Boring, Ilya Chmelevski.
White: Mike McIvor, Wyatt Kennedy, Andrew Lanni, Declan Gallivan, Zach Wilson, Davis Anello, Alex Cajkovic, Brice Cooke, Chase Thompson, Jesse Lefebvre, Dalyn Wakely, Kayden Buller, Stepan Chukharev, Reyth Smith, Landen Stevens, Caleb Dawson, Stef Forgione, Chase MacQueen-Spence, Lirim Amidovski.
Green goals: Ewart 2, Therrien 2, Osterhout, Bouchard, Kostuch.
White goals: Cooke, Stevens.
