Mississauga prevails in a shootout
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Justin Shugg scored the only goal of a shootout as the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors edged the Brampton Battalion 5-4 Monday in the Troops’ annual Thanksgiving Day game.
Casey Cizikas had one goal and one assist for the Majors, who also got goals in regulation time from Shugg, Rob Flick and Jordan Mayer, while goaltender J.P. Anderson faced 32 shots through overtime. The win was the second in a row for Mississauga, which moved its won-lost-extended record to 5-1-0 for 10 points atop the Ontario Hockey League’s Central Division.
Barclay Goodrow scored his first two goals of the season and Stephon Thorne and Ian Watters had one each for the Battalion, which lost a second consecutive game and is 4-2-1 for nine points, tied with the Niagara IceDogs for second place in the division. Jonathan Johansson earned three assists, and goaltender Jacob Riley made 29 saves through overtime.
The game, played before a crowd of 1,673, was the first of eight season meetings between the rivals.
“It was a very entertaining game,” said Battalion head coach Stan Butler. “If you’re a fan, that’s great hockey. You got 65 minutes and a shootout. If the people in Peel Region are going to get seven more games like that, they should get off their wallets and show up.”
Butler said the game was a learning experience for his young players against the team that will host the Memorial Cup tournament next May.
“One thing the Majors do is compete really hard, and that’s good for our team because it forces our guys to battle hard. If they don’t do that, they won’t have any success against them.”
The Battalion, which saw a four-game winning streak ended in a 4-3 loss Saturday night to the host Owen Sound Attack, again was without forwards Philip Lane, Sam Carrick and Matt MacLeod, all sidelined by injury.
“We got only three points this week, but we could have easily had six,” noted Butler. “But we’re playing our young guys a lot, and they’re getting the experience we want them to get. That will be important as we go on here.
“It was good for Goodrow to get a couple of goals today. He had great chemistry with Watters. We’re getting contributions from everybody. Alex O’Neil and Andreas Tsogkas had strong games. I really like the depth of our team right now, and the guys we’re missing aren’t exactly chopped liver.”
The Battalion carried a 4-3 lead into the third period before the Majors, who had scored in the first minute of each of the first two periods, struck again when Cizikas converted alone in front 48 seconds into the frame.
The teams couldn’t capitalize on a total of five power plays over the rest of the period, with Riley coming up strong when Jordan Auld’s delay-of-game penalty carried into overtime. The Battalion had two fine chances in extra time, but Cameron Wind just missed tipping home a feed from Goodrow, who seconds later forced Anderson to make a strong save off the rebound of a Dylan Blujus shot.
Shugg scored 58 seconds into the game on a wrister that struck under the crossbar and came back out. The goal light wasn’t activated, and no signal was made by referee Sean McQuigge as play continued. Once play stopped, McQuigge had a brief conference with the video goal judge before signaling a goal.
Goodrow tied it at 11:02. The Troops chased a bouncing puck in the slot before Michael Santini shoveled it to Goodrow, who squeezed it between Anderson’s pads.
Thorne scored his first goal on the power play at 15:17. Anderson failed to control the rebound of a Kyle Pereira shot, and Johansson dished the puck to Thorne, who directed it past an out-of-position Anderson.
Flick tied it 2-2 just 14 seconds into the second period, burying a Joseph Cramarossa pass in the deep slot, and Mayer put Mississauga ahead with a power-play goal at 4:58.
The Battalion then struck for two goals in a span of 1:16. Goodrow tied it at 7:58, beating Anderson high to the stick side from the left circle, and Watters steered home the rebound of an O’Neil shot. The goal was Watters’s fourth.
In the shootout, Anderson foiled Santini, Goodrow and Sean Jones. Shugg scored on Mississauga’s first effort before Riley, in his first OHL shootout, stopped Devante Smith-Pelly.
Mississauga scratched Stuart Percy, Derek Schoenmakers, Ryan Lopes and Justin Rasmussen.
The Battalion hosts the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at 7 p.m. Thursday.
BATTALION NOTEBOOK: The Battalion went 1-for-4 on the power play, Mississauga 1-for-5. The Troops have scored one power-play goal in each of their first seven games … The Battalion has lost seven straight shootouts since a 2-1 verdict over the host Oshawa Generals last Nov. 28 … The Battalion was outshot for the first time this season … The Troops have won eight of their 13 Thanksgiving Day games … Opening line combinations included Craig Moore centring left winger Jones and right winger Scott Tanski, Johansson centring left winger Watters and Goodrow on right wing and Domenic Alberga pivoting left winger Thorne and right winger Santini. Left winger O’Neil and right winger Tsogkas had rotating linemates … Jones had a five-game points streak snapped. He recorded five goals and three assists for eight points in the run … Santini has four goals and three assists for seven points in a five-game points streak … Johansson has one goal and four assists for five points in the last three games … Lane and Carrick lost a third game to shoulder and ankle injuries respectively. A sprained left ankle cost MacLeod a fifth game … Zach Bell and Cramarossa squared off in a spirited second-period fight that ended with Bell getting the takedown … Majors defenceman Marc Cantin wore a full cage as he recovers from a broken jaw suffered in an August off-ice incident in Windsor. Cantin won an OHL championship and Memorial Cup title last season with the Windsor Spitfires … Left winger Kerby Rychel was the Barrie Colts’ first-round pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection. He was acquired by the Majors on Aug. 30 for a second-round choice in 2012 and a third-round selection in 2014. Rychel’s father, Warren, is vice-president and general manager of the Spitfires.
