Battalion downs Sudbury
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Dalyn Wakely scored two goals and goaltender Dom DiVincentiis registered his franchise-record 31st win of the Ontario Hockey League season as the North Bay Battalion defeated the Sudbury Wolves 5-2 in a Central Division clash Thursday night.
Jacob Therrien, Matvey Petrov and Kyle McDonald provided a goal apiece for North Bay, which improved its won-lost-extended record to 38-17-3 for 79 points, first in the division and second in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Barrie Colts, who fell 7-5 to the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs.
DiVincentiis, who made 23 saves in eclipsing the mark set by Jake Smith in 2015-16, leads the OHL in wins with a 31-9-2 record, sports a league-best 2.51 goals-against average and has a .911 save percentage.
Quentin Musty had one goal and one assist for the visitors, who got their other goal from David Goyette. Goaltender Kevyn Brassard produced 36 saves before a crowd of 2,672. Sudbury, which won its previous three games, all on the road, is 24-25-8 for 56 points, fourth in the division and seventh in the conference.
“That’s a really good hockey team over there, dangerous players,” coach Ryan Oulahen, whose Troops won for the first time in three games, said of the Wolves. “They’re a lot to handle.”
After the teams battled to a 1-1 tie through 20 minutes, Goyette connected at 5:23 of the middle period, drilling home a cross-zone pass from Musty. Djibril Toure drew the other assist on Goyette’s team-leading 35th goal of the season.
Therrien was credited with the 2-2 goal at 6:29 off an odd-man rush. He shot the puck toward the net, where it deflected behind Brassard off Alex Pharand. Anthony Romani and Ethan Procyszyn assisted on Therrien’s sixth goal.
Wakely scored what proved to be the winner at 17:43, going to the left lip of the crease to convert trailer Luc Brzustowski’s rebound off the end boards. Owen Van Steensel had the other assist on Wakely’s 29th goal, which tied Kyle Jackson for the team lead.
Petrov, inside the right point, lofted a Jackson faceoff win to the far side of the net at 2:03 of the third period for a 26th goal on the season, and McDonald powered down the left wing, cut to the crease around Toure and swept a forehand shot behind Brassard on the power play at 11:15. Avery Winslow had the sole assist on McDonald’s 27th goal in 35 games.
Musty opened the scoring with his 18th goal at 15:30 of the first period, taking a backhanded pass from behind the goal line from Kocha Delic and one-timing the puck past DiVincentiis from the left faceoff dot.
Wakely tied it with the man advantage at 17:40, rifling the rubber from the mid slot after receiving a pass through traffic from Josh Bloom at the left boards. Pasquale Zito had the other assist.
Brzustowski fought Dylan Robinson at 7:59 after Therrien was leveled in open ice. Brzustowski drew an instigating minor and misconduct in addition to a fighting major.
The Battalion visits the Mississauga Steelheads at 7 p.m. Friday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: It was North Bay and District Humane Society Night, supported by Gateway Signs, with proceeds going to the society’s building fund for its Adoption Centre. Photographs of pets in Battalion gear were shown on the video board, and prizes were awarded from a chuck-a-puck contest … It was the seventh of eight season meetings, with the Battalion holding a record of 6-1-0. The last game is scheduled March 19 at Memorial Gardens … Petrov has a five-game points streak in which he has three goals and three assists for six points. In seven games against Sudbury, he has four goals and seven assists for 11 points … In seven games against Sudbury, Jackson has three goals and seven assists for 10 points … In seven games against the Wolves, Wakely has six goals and one assist for seven points … In seven games with North Bay against Sudbury, Bloom has four goals and two assists for six points … The Battalion went 2-for-4 on the power play. Sudbury was 0-for-4 … The Battalion scratched Wyatt Kennedy, Tnias Mathurin, Brayden Turley, Justin Ertel and Brett Bouchard … Among the missing for Sudbury was Nate Krawchuk, with Brassard backed up by Jake Marois from the junior A Espanola Paper Kings … Musty has a four-game points streak in which he has two goals and six assists for eight points … Sudbury’s Andre Anania turned 20 … Mike Cairns and Brendan Kane were the referees.
