Battalion grounds Spitfires 3-2
WINDSOR, Ont. Goaltender Daren Machesney made 30 saves to support Ryan Oulahen’s second-period game-winning goal, sending the Battalion to a 3-2 Ontario Hockey League victory Saturday over the Windsor Spitfires.rrBrock McPherson and Dan McDonald scored the other goals for the Central Division-leading Battalion. The Troops also are in first place in the Eastern Conference with a won-lost-tied record of 9-5-2 for 20 points, one more than the Belleville Bulls and Peterborough Petes of the East Division.rrRyan Garlock and Steve Downie scored for Windsor, which saw a four-game winning streak ended and is 6-7-2, including one overtime loss, for 15 points, tied atop the West Division with the Plymouth Whalers.rrWindsor goaltender Kyle Knechtel faced 24 shots from the Battalion, which won a second consecutive road game. The Troops beat the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors 3-1 on Friday night.rrMachesney made a number of superb stops, including a game-saver against Tom Mannino in close in the 19th minute of the third period. Machesney’s best save may have been a right-pad stop against Jason Dixon on the lip of the crease during a first-period power play.rrThat’s the kind of goaltending we need, said Battalion coach Stan Butler of Machesney’s performance. He made some real big saves that made the difference.rrOulahen’s club-leading 10th goal of the season broke a 2-2 tie at 6:55 of the second period as the Battalion worked a two-man advantage that was awarded when, with Downie already in the penalty box, Mike Weber leveled Luch Aquino with an elbow. McDonald fed a nifty goalmouth pass to Oulahen, who converted from Knechtel’s right.rrThe teams battled to a 2-2 tie in a freewheeling first period that saw the Spitfires outshoot the Troops 13-10, the same margin Windsor enjoyed in the second period.rrGarlock opened the scoring at 2:10, taking a cross-ice pass from John Scott Dickson and converting the backdoor play from Machesney’s left.rrMcPherson’s fourth goal of the season tied it at 9:49 after Wojtek Wolski carried the puck into the Windsor zone and fed onrushing defenceman John de Gray on the left wing. He fired toward the net, and the puck glanced off McPherson’s skate behind Knechtel.rrThe Troops enjoyed a two-man advantage for 29 seconds before McDonald put them up 2-1 at 12:33, one second after the first penalty expired. McDonald converted the rebound of a shot from the high slot by Michael Vernace.rrDownie tied it on the power play at 15:35 after Machesney made two stellar saves against Garlock and Downie. Downie popped the rebound of his own shot past the sprawled Battalion goaltender for his third goal.rrTomas Stryncl, Graham McNabb, Patrick Sweeney and Scott Boomsma did not dress for the Battalion.rrBrett Liscomb, Ryan Donally, Scott Judson and Cory McGillis were scratched for Windsor.rrThe Battalion hosts Plymouth at 2 p.m. Sunday. The visiting Whalers lost 5-4 in overtime to the Owen Sound Attack on Saturday night.rrBATTALION NOTEBOOK: Attendance at the Windsor Arena was 2,338 Wolski has a six-game assists streak after earning two helpers Vernace also had two assists in the game Oulahen, who has two winning goals in as many games, and McPherson also scored Friday night at Toronto … The game marked Machesney’s first win since a 5-1 decision Oct. 11 over visiting Toronto The Battalion was 2-for-5 on the power play, while Windsor went 1-for-4 The Spitfires’ last previous loss came Oct. 14 by a 4-1 score at the hands of the visiting Kingston Frontenacs The Battalion is 4-3-2 on the road, while Windsor is 4-5-1 at home Windsor’s David Lomas had a four-game scoring streak ended Former Battalion goaltender Brad Topping backed up Knechtel The Spitfires make their only visit of the season to the Brampton Centre on Dec. 12.r
