Spits edge Troops 4-3 in overtime
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Ahren Nittel scored 12 seconds into overtime to lift the Windsor Spitfires to a 4-3 win over the Battalion in Ontario Hockey League action at the Bunker on Sunday.
Spits blueliner Mike Self stripped Adam Henrich of the puck in the Windsor zone and sent a clearing pass to Nittel, who brought the puck into the Battalion zone and fired a shot that beat Brampton netminder Brad Topping high to the glove side.
“He walked in across the blue line and (defenceman Martin) Lojek went to him and he dragged the puck between his legs,” said Topping. “I didn’t see it until the last second. It was a good shot, but I have to make that save to give our guys a chance to win in overtime.”
The Troops forced the extra frame when Kevin Young tied it 3-3 with his second goal of the game with 50 seconds left in regulation. Topping was on the bench for an extra attacker when Kamil Kreps won a faceoff deep in the Windsor zone and moved the puck to Chris Clayton. He fed it back to Young, who beat Spitfires goaltender Matt Anthony with a blast from just inside the blue line.
“I don’t know if Kevin even knew where he was shooting it,” said Battalion assistant coach Bob Marshall. “The big thing is getting traffic in front of the goalie, and when we did that we were successful.”
Craig Kennedy, David Lomas and Phil Gibson also scored for the Spitfires, who have a won-lost-tied record of 25-14-1, including one overtime loss. Anthony stopped 37 shots to pick up the win.
Henrich scored the other goal for Brampton, 17-17-4 including two overtime losses, while Kreps collected three assists. Topping made 21 saves in his first loss since Nov. 22.
“I thought we played well,” said Marshall, “but we made some timely mistakes and that cost us.”
“I thought we played well for the most part and, if we had got some bounces, we could have had them early,” said right winger Ryan Bowness. “We showed character by battling back, but it’s tough to lose that early into overtime.”
The Troops, who lost 4-3 at Windsor on Oct. 10, outshot the visitors 11-4 in the first period but found themselves trailing midway through the frame when the Spitfires took advantage of some sloppy defensive-zone play by the Battalion. Windsor was killing a boarding penalty to Nittel when Rob Hennigar picked up a loose puck at the right point and fed a pass to a streaking Kennedy, who slid it past Topping for his 23rd goal of the season.
Henrich got the Troops on the board with less than a minute left in the period. As Kreps and Henrich broke into the Spitfires zone, Kreps fed a pass to Henrich, who moved in on Anthony and waited for the netminder to commit before scoring his 14th goal of the season.
Windsor capitalized on defensive breakdowns early in the second period to score two goals in a span of 43 seconds.
Lomas took a pass from the boards from Jason Dixon and stepped around Topping to make it 2-1 at 2:25, and Gibson lofted a backhander over the Brampton netminder to give the Spitfires a two-goal lead at 3:08.
“We had a communication breakdown,” said Topping. “We need to talk more out there so those things won’t happen.”
“You can’t give a skilled team those kinds of opportunities,” Marshall said, “because they will make you pay for it.”
The Troops fired 19 shots at the Windsor goal in the second frame and finally beat Anthony for a second time at 13:07 when Young’s low shot from the right point found its way just inside the post. With Dixon off for tripping, it was the Battalion’s fifth power-play goal in its last five games.
Brampton continued to press the Spitfires, who were playing their third game in three days, looking for the equalizer. A spirited shift by Jamie Fraser, Tyler Harrison and Brent Burns just past the midway point of the period seemed to give the Troops jump.
“They bring a lot of energy to our team and, if they go out and create a little havoc like they did today, they’re going to create some scoring opportunities,” said Marshall. “That filters down through the rest of the lines.”
Dan Marziani, Frank Burgio and Jay McClement did not dress for the Battalion, while Denis Khudyakov, Tim Gleason, Jeff Leavitt and Kyle Wellwood were scratched for the Spitfires.
The Troops will be idle until Thursday night when they travel to London to meet the Knights at the new John Labatt Centre. On Friday night, the team will host the Mississauga IceDogs, while Canadian junior team members Derek Roy and Gregory Campbell will lead the Kitchener Rangers to Brampton on Sunday.
BATTALION NOTEBOOK: A crowd of 1,842 took in the matinee The Troops have a 1-2-4 record in overtime this season Young scored for the first time against a team other than Mississauga. Four of Young’s six goals this season have come with the man advantage Kreps, who leads the Battalion in scoring and assists, collected at least three helpers for the fourth time this season The Battalion has outshot its opposition in its last six games. “You can’t score if you don’t shoot the puck,” Bowness said, “and the coaches have been on us all year about shooting the puck more. I think we’ve been doing that lately, and from that you get good bounces and good rebounds, and that’s how we’re going to get goals.” The team concluded one of the busiest stretches of its season, with five games in eight days, four of them at home. The Troops were 2-2-1, including an overtime loss, in that span. “We’re a little tired,” Bowness said, “but (head coach) Stan (Butler) does a good job of rolling four lines, so we may not be as tired as some other teams.”
