Machovsky majestic in Guelph victory
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Rookie goaltender Matej Machovsky made 51 saves to earn his first Ontario Hockey League win as the Guelph Storm defeated the Brampton Battalion 4-1 on Sunday.
Francis Minard scored one goal and added two assists, while Tyler Carroll had one goal and one assist and Sam Lofquist and Taylor Beck also scored for Guelph, which moved its won-lost-extended record to 7-4-2 for 16 points and climbed two spots into second place in the Midwest Division.
Jordan Auld scored for the Battalion, 7-4-1 for 15 points, third in the Central Division. Starter Jacob Riley and Dennis Saikkonen combined to make 24 saves in the Troops’ net.
“Sometimes you play a good game and you don’t get what you deserve,” said Battalion coach Stan Butler. “I can’t really fault our guys for how they played. There’s no equal sign between effort and reward in the OHL, and this was a perfect example of that. Our guys are playing hard. We had great energy today. We just couldn’t finish around the net.”
The Battalion neutralized Guelph’s top three scorers, Peter Holland, Michael Latta and Beck, who have combined for 26 goals and 20 assists for 46 points. Beck’s seventh goal was the only point the trio earned.
“Those guys play a lot of minutes,” said Butler. “But our guys did a great job on them.”
Guelph owned a 1-0 lead after the first period, but rookie defenceman Auld’s first OHL goal tied the game at 6:43 of the second period. Matt Finn was serving the first half a double minor for high-sticking Scott Tanski when Auld hammered a shot past Machovsky from the right point.
The visitors still were shorthanded when Beck scored what proved to be the winner 59 seconds later. Riley went behind his net to retrieve a puck cleared from the Guelph zone, but the rubber skittered in front and a sliding Beck got to it before Riley could recover.
“Jacob can’t make that kind of play,” said Butler. “Sometimes his lackadaisical attitude hurts him, and in that situation it definitely did. We had to work so hard to get our first goal, and to give them such an easy second goal really hurt our team.”
Minard made it 3-1 at 11:01, finishing off a three-on-two rush at the left post.
What may have been Machovsky’s biggest save came in the third minute of the final period when he slid across to deny a shot by Sean Jones, who broke in on a two-on-one rush with Tanski.
Carroll finished the scoring at 6:32, redirecting Chris Van Laren’s left-point shot. The goal sent Riley to the bench having surrendered four goals on 24 shots.
The Battalion forged a 15-7 edge in first-period shots and enjoyed a decided edge in territorial play, but defenceman Lofquist’s shot from the right point was the only goal, at 19:34. The puck caromed off Auld and squeezed between Riley’s pads.
The Battalion had several chances in the period. Jones just missed converting the rebound of a Tanski shot at the right post, Machovsky got his blocker on a hard shot by Kyle Pereira from the high slot and Michael Santini couldn’t knock home a loose puck in the crease.
Battalion scratches were Marcus McIvor, Sam Carrick and Matt MacLeod. Guelph scratched Garret Sparks, Daniel Maggio and Mathew Sisca.
The Battalion hosts the Niagara IceDogs at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
BATTALION NOTEBOOK: Attendance was 1,557 … The Battalion went 1-for-7 on the power play. Guelph was 0-for-3 … The Troops are 3-3-1 at home, while the Storm is 3-2-1 on the road … The Battalion’s 52 shots marked a season high … McIvor was scratched after the warmup because of a sore right ankle. He blocked a shot in the third period of a 5-1 road win over the Ottawa 67’s on Friday night … Opening Battalion line combinations featured Jonathan Johansson centring left winger Ian Watters and Barclay Goodrow on right wing, Craig Moore centring left winger Jones and right winger Tanski and Domenic Alberga pivoting left winger Stephon Thorne and right winger Philip Lane. Andreas Tsogkas centred left winger Alex O’Neil and right winger Santini … Riley made a second consecutive start for the first time in his career. He and Saikkonen had alternated starts over the first 11 games … Carrick and MacLeod remained out with ankle injuries … Santini saw the end of a nine-game points streak in which he recorded seven goals and four assists for 11 points … Holland’s 10-game points streak came to an end. He had 10 goals and six assists for 16 points in the run … Brandon Foote, who backed up Machovsky, has yet to play against the Battalion since being traded to Guelph on Jan. 9, 2009, as part of a deal for goaltender Thomas McCollum. Foote made seven straight starts before getting the day off … Machovsky made his first appearance since allowing four goals in one period of action in an 8-1 road loss to the Owen Sound Attack on Sept. 25. A 17-year-old from the Czech Republic, he was a second-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League’s Import Draft in June … The Battalion visits Guelph on Feb.11 to complete the season series.
