Hope backstops Attack victory
OWEN SOUND, Ont. – Goaltender Brandon Hope made 36 saves for his first Ontario Hockey League shutout, backstopping the Owen Sound Attack to a 1-0 victory over the North Bay Battalion on Saturday night.
Cameron Brace scored the only goal of the game as Owen Sound moved its won-lost-extended record to 4-5-1 for nine points, fourth in the Midwest Division.
The Battalion, back on the road after a 2-1 loss to the Peterborough Petes in its home opener Friday night, is 5-6-0 for 10 points, tied for first place in the Central Division with the Mississauga Steelheads, who defeated the host Barrie Colts 2-1 and hold two games in hand.
The Battalion and Attack battled through 40 minutes without either scoring before Brace struck 58 seconds into the third period. Brace walked out of the left-wing corner and beat Battalion goaltender Brendan O’Neill from the faceoff circle. It was Brace’s first goal of the season.
O’Neill faced 24 shots for the Troops, who had numerous chances but failed to convert.
“(Goaltending coach) Rob Beatty had the quote of the night,” said Battalion coach Stan Butler. “We couldn’t bury a cat tonight.”
Hope preserved the victory with a sprawling save at 15:27 of the final frame as Matt MacLeod, Brett McKenzie and Mike Amadio stormed the net following a left-point shot by Marcus McIvor.
O’Neill left for an extra skater with 1:20 to play, but Owen Sound came closest to scoring as an attempt at the empty net lodged up against the right post.
The Battalion outshot the home side 11-4 in the first period, with Nick Paul shoveling a backhander off the post to Hope’s left in the 10th minute.
The Troops had a two-man advantage for 23 seconds after Kyle Hope and Kurtis MacDermid were sent off for boarding and interference respectively later in the period but couldn’t capitalize.
O’Neill made a solid right-pad save against the onrushing Gemel Smith at 3:56 of the middle period and repeated the feat at the expense of Jeffrey Gilligan in the 11th minute.
Vincent Praplan tested goaltender Hope, who managed to find the puck between his legs from a goalmouth scramble, in the 16th minute.
The Battalion hosts the Niagara IceDogs at 2 p.m. Monday in a Thanksgiving Day date that continues a tradition of the last 15 years, when the franchise was located in Brampton.
BATTALION BULLETS: Attendance in the J.D. McArthur Arena at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre was 2,887 … The arena features a new eight-sided scoreboard with video screens and a circular message streamer below it … Each team went 0-for-2 on the power play … Hope, a 19-year-old from Canton, Mich., was a third-round pick by the Sarnia Sting in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection … Smith leads the league in goals with 10 and power-play goals with six … Owen Sound won for the first time in three games, having lost 7-2 at Niagara on Thursday night in its previous outing … Opening Battalion line combinations included Paul centring left winger Brandon Robinson and right winger Barclay Goodrow, Amadio pivoting McKenzie on left wing and right winger MacLeod and Jamie Lewis skating between left winger Praplan and right winger Alex Henriksson. Jared Steege centred left winger Mike Baird and right winger Mathew Santos … The Troops were without Kyle Wood, Dylan Blujus, Blake Clarke and Calvin Gomes … Robinson turns 18 on Sunday … Defenceman Jayme Forslund, the newest member of the Troops after being acquired on waivers from Barrie in the last week, hails from Owen Sound … Attack head coach Greg Ireland coached the Caledon Canadians for the last four of the six seasons, culminating in 1997-98, that Battalion owner Scott Abbott operated the junior A club … Owen Sound visits North Bay on Nov. 10 … The referees were Joe Celestin and Ryan Hutchison.
