Battling Battalion clips Colts 4-1
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Derek Froats and Jamie Lewis scored first-period goals 15 seconds apart to spark the Brampton Battalion to a 4-1 victory over the Barrie Colts in Ontario Hockey League action Sunday.
Blake Clarke contributed one goal and two assists, and Patrik Machac also scored for the Battalion, which won a third consecutive home game before a crowd of 1,845.
Goaltender Matej Machovsky made 24 saves as the Troops moved their won-lost-extended record to 5-4-4 for 14 points and vaulted past the Sudbury Wolves and Mississauga Steelheads into third place in the Central Division.
Aaron Ekblad scored for Barrie. Starting goaltender Alex Fotinos allowed four goals on 25 shots before being relieved by Mathias Niederberger. He faced 13 shots for the Colts, who are 9-3-1 for 19 points and first place in the division and who posted eight consecutive wins before a 3-2 loss via shootout to the visiting London Knights on Saturday night.
“I thought we played the way we need to in order to be successful,” said Battalion coach Stan Butler. “I was really happy with our effort. We stuck to our game plan and, when we play the way we need to, we have a good group of guys to get it done on the ice.”
Said Froats: “It was awesome. They’re one of the best teams in the league coming in here, and we just jumped on them early and stayed with them all game.”
With the Battalion trailing 1-0, Froats’s first goal of the season tied the game at 13:25 of the opening period. Froats fired the puck from deep on the left wing, and the disc deflected off a defender’s skate, beating Fotinos through the five-hole.
“It was just one of those things,” said Froats. “I put the puck on the net, and it seemed to take the weight off everyone’s shoulders.”
Lewis followed with his fifth goal, converting the left-pad rebound of a Clarke shot.
Machac struck on the power play at 19:50. With Brendan Perlini serving a bench minor for too many men on the ice, the diving Machac shoveled the rebound of a Dylan Blujus shot into the bottom right corner.
“Scoring those kinds of goals is our kind of hockey,” said Froats. “There’s not many games you can put your finger on this year that we’ve played all 60 minutes.
“I think that’s why we’ve struggled to score goals, because we’ve been playing from the perimeter. Our style is doing what we did here today, putting pucks on net, getting bodies out front, winning battles and scoring greasy goals.”
Defenceman Ekblad opened the scoring with the man advantage at 1:49 on a one-timer that found its way past Machovsky and trickled across the goal line.
Clarke connected at 14:04 of the second period with Barrie’s Erik Bradford off for high-sticking. Barclay Goodrow jumped on the rebound of a Brenden Miller point shot and was denied, but Clarke snapped the puck over the right pad of Fotinos, prompting Niederberger’s insertion.
“Our power-play goals were all through hard work,” said Butler. “Their goals on the power play were greasy goals, and that’s what our guys have got to realize, that sometimes they’re going to be that style.”
The Colts had three opportunities with the man advantage in the middle frame but couldn’t capitalize. With Cameron Wind serving the first of two penalties he took early in the period, Froats mucked the puck along the end boards in the Barrie zone.
Blujus was serving a slashing penalty issued at 16:42 when Machovsky slid across the crease to close the door on a wrist shot from an advancing Ekblad.
Andreas Athanasiou broke in alone on Machovsky in the fifth minute of the scoreless third period and got off a shot before losing an edge and sliding into the goaltender, who turned away the rubber.
The Battalion scratched Brandon Robinson. Barrie scratches were Ryan O’Connor, C.J. Garcia and Justin Scott.
The teams complete a home-and-home series at Barrie at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
BATTALION NOTEBOOK: The Battalion went 2-for-3 on the power play. Barrie was 1-for-6 … The Battalion wore red laces in support of ‘Be a fan’ Day, a fundraising campaign for Special Olympics. The laces and plush hero bears were available for a donation at tables in the main concourse of the Powerade Centre. Dan McDonald, deputy chief of Peel Regional Police, and Special Olympics athlete Andre Demarco conducted a ceremonial faceoff between Goodrow and Mark Scheifele. A total of $1,485 was raised … The Colts had six skaters on the ice for at least 10 seconds in the first period without a call. The visitors again were guilty on a third-period line change but profited from another non-call … Wind, a Barrie resident, played his 239th game with the Battalion, tying Chris Clayton for ninth place on the club’s career list … The assist by Goodrow tied him with Tyler Harrison for 22nd place on the Troops’ all-time points list with 119. Goodrow has 62 goals and 57 assists in 201 games … Opening line combinations included Machac centring left winger Nick Paul and right winger Goodrow, Lewis centring left winger Clarke and right winger Matt MacLeod and Nicholas Foglia pivoting left winger Connor Jarvis and right winger Brendan Childerley. Mike Amadio centred left winger Froats and right winger Mathew Santos … Robinson sat out a third consecutive game with a hip flexor … Colts forwards Scheifele, Zach Hall and Anthony Camara are in the top seven scorers in the OHL with 20, 19 and 18 points respectively … Hall left limping with 4:19 to play, while Scheifele, held without a point for the third time this season, was visibly frustrated, complaining to officials and slashing Troops frequently … The referees were Scott Ferguson and Ryan Hutchison.
