Snow needs work on picking his spots

ERIE, Pa. – Rookie Aaron Snow couldn’t have been handed too many tougher venues for his first Ontario Hockey League penalty shot.rrWith a record regular-season crowd of 5,601 packing the Tullio Arena, the visiting Battalion and Erie Otters were tied 1-1 Friday night when Snow was hauled down on a breakaway at 14:40 of the second period.rrI got a great pass from Graham McNabb and I thought I had a good chance, but the guy took my feet out from under me,” said Snow.rrReferee Peter Kostyk immediately awarded a penalty shot to the 16-year-old forward, who was filling in on right wing.rrSnow, who said he couldn’t remember the last time he took a penalty shot, skated in on Erie goaltender Josh Disher and, after moving to his backhand, lofted the puck into Disher’s glove beside the shooter’s right post.rrIt was tough,” said Snow, who sought to become the first Battalion player to score on a penalty shot since Jay McClement beat Andrew Penner of the homestanding North Bay Centennials on Oct. 27, 2001. rrMy head was pounding. I think I might have had the puck ahead of me and shown him what I was going to do.”rrThe game ended 1-1, with veteran left winger Wojtek Wolski scoring the Troops’ goal. The tie extended a Battalion unbeaten streak to five games, including four wins, heading into an Ottawa 67’s visit to the Brampton Centre at 2 p.m. Sunday.rrSnow had more success on a breakaway in a 5-3 road win Jan. 21 over the Mississauga IceDogs. The Troops were shorthanded in the second period when Snow caused a turnover at the Battalion blue line and took off, with Mississauga’s Patrick O’Sullivan in pursuit. After a quick glance back at O’Sullivan, Snow snapped a wrist shot over goaltender Michael Ouzas’s right shoulder for his sixth goal of the season.rrI’ve had a few breakaways this season, and some haven’t gone well, but in that game the play was going and the adrenaline was going,” said Snow. “But with the penalty shot, the play has stopped and everyone is looking at you.”rrThe Windsor resident, who has 12 points in 42 games, has scored three goals since returning earlier this month from the World Under-17 Challenge at Lethbridge, Alta., where he competed with the Ontario team.rrI’m trying to build off the confidence I got from playing there,” said Snow, who had three goals and two assists for five points in six tournament games. It’s tough when you miss on situations like this, but I’ll just shake it off.”rrWolski’s goal against Erie ended his scoring drought at nine games. Wolski narrowly missed putting the Troops ahead in the third period when his wrist shot from deep in the left-wing circle hit the cross bar.rrSlumps happen, but I’m glad I got a goal in this game,” said Wolski, who leads the Battalion in scoring with 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points.rrI thought I had another one, but they said it hit the cross bar. I’m pretty sure it went in.” rrThe Battalion and Ottawa meet for the first time since March 30, when the visiting Troops eliminated the 67’s from the 2004 playoffs with a 3-1 victory in Game 7 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal. rrIt was the most intense hockey I’ve played in the OHL,” said Wolski, who scored two goals in the deciding game. It was a great series, and we were glad to get the upset win. I think we’re a better team this year, and that should help us Sunday.”rrSaid Wolski: They might be thinking about last year’s playoffs, but I think we will too. Our confidence is pretty good right now, and I think it’ll show in our play.”rrOttawa has a won-lost-tied record of 22-20-6, including one overtime loss, for 51 points, second in the East Division, after a 3-3 road tie with the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday night.rr