Storm wins opener 3-2 in overtime
GUELPH, Ont. – Jason Dickinson scored 57 seconds into overtime to give the Guelph Storm a 3-2 victory Thursday night over the North Bay Battalion in the opening game of the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series.
Dickinson cruised down the right wing and beat Battalion goaltender Jake Smith with a wrister from the top of the faceoff circle that was deflected by defender Brenden Miller.
Brock McGinn and Zack Mitchell also scored for Guelph, champions of the Western Conference, which overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits. Goaltender Justin Nichols made 32 saves before a crowd of 4,826 that included a vocal contingent of Battalion supporters, some of whom arrived by bus from North Bay.
The Battalion, Eastern Conference champions, got goals from Ben Thomson and Jamie Lewis in losing for the first time in seven games since Game 4 of a conference semifinal against the Barrie Colts. Smith faced 30 shots as the Troops played their first overtime game of the playoffs. The Battalion has an all-time won-lost record of 7-17 in postseason overtime, including 3-9 on the road.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series for the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a berth in the Memorial Cup tournament is scheduled at the Sleeman Centre at 7 p.m. Friday. It will be televised live nationally on Sportsnet and heard in North Bay on Country 600 CKAT.
“We played hard, and it was a pretty even game, but once you get into overtime, one shot and it’s done,” said coach Stan Butler of the Battalion, in the OHL final for the second time in its 16-year history.
“We knew they’d come at us hard, and it took a while to adapt to the speed. It was a little quicker than our last few games. We did that in the second and third periods, and it was a pretty even game. Make no mistake: We’re not happy with the result. We’re extremely disappointed. This is a game we thought we could have won.”
Guelph coach Scott Walker said the Storm was fortunate to find a way to win.
“Our first period was fine, but we weren’t even close after that. We have to play better and we have to focus on winning our battles and skating more. We can’t take for granted that we’re here. We earned our spot, they earned their spot, and we have to start skating and start playing.”
Barclay Goodrow said the Troops had some opening-night jitters.
“We were pretty excited, but we were a bit nervous as well, and you could tell by the way we started. We’ll learn from it and hopefully get started better tomorrow. We can get right back at it and we don’t lose too much of the momentum we had gained before, so hopefully we come out tomorrow and forget about what happened tonight.”
Thomson opened the scoring on the power play at 3:06 of the second period when he drove to the slot and banged home the rebound of a Miller shot from the blue line. Vincent Praplan had the second assist on Thomson’s fifth goal of the playoffs.
McGinn tied it 1:01 later, beating Smith with a blast from the right circle after Scott Kosmachuk intercepted the goaltender’s clearing attempt from behind the net.
The Troops held a 12-7 edge in shots in the period. Nichols turned aside attempts by Lewis, Goodrow and Alex Henriksson, and the goaltender was out of position when Zach Bratina missed an open net in the 18th minute. Smith faced solid chances by Mitchell, Kosmachuk and Matt Finn.
Lewis’s second goal put the Battalion back in front at 3:35 of the third period. Lewis took a pass from Mathew Santos and drifted wide right to beat Nichols high to the glove side. Marcus McIvor drew the other assist.
Guelph didn’t record its first shot of the period until the 12th minute but knotted the game seconds later when Mitchell took a pass from Robby Fabbri and beat a screened Smith with a wrist shot from the slot at 12:23. Mitchell’s 11th goal tied Goodrow for the playoff lead.
“We didn’t track through the puck,” said Butler. “Give Fabbri some time and he finds Mitchell and the puck is in your net. If we sit back and watch like we did in the first and allow them time and space, they’ll do serious damage.”
Nichols made a big pad save against Mike Amadio on the power play in the 15th minute as Amadio attempted to convert the rebound of a Dylan Blujus shot at the left post. Smith gloved a Kosmachuk shot at the right post with Guelph enjoying the man advantage in the 17th minute.
Smith was tested immediately in the first period, fending off chances from Kerby Rychel and McGinn in the opening seconds. Smith foiled Fabbri in the crease in the 13th minute and saw Chadd Baumann fire the puck off the right post a minute later. Smith denied Pius Suter in the 14th minute with the Storm unable to corral the rebound and hugged the right post to take away McGinn’s wraparound attempt in the 17th.
Guelph enjoyed the only power play of the period after Thomson got the extra call, for crosschecking, in a late scrum beside the North Bay net in which the Troops were the recipients of a blatant crosscheck. Smith stopped a Steven Trojanovic shot from the left point, and Miller threw himself in front of a Finn attempt.
BATTALION BULLETS: Smith marked his 19th birthday Thursday … Matt MacLeod played a 41st playoff game, tying Cody Hodgson, Brad Albert, Scott Tanski and Sam Carrick for second place on the franchise’s career list behind Goodrow at 46 … The Battalion went 1-for-2 on the power play. Guelph was 0-for-4 … Thomson received a late third-period head-checking penalty after incidental contact with McGinn, who was struck in the face by the puck. Thomson has 55 playoff penalty minutes, tied with Adam Henrich for most in franchise history … Opening lines included Nick Paul centring left winger Thomson and right winger Goodrow, Amadio centring left winger Praplan and right winger MacLeod and Brett McKenzie pivoting left winger Bratina and right winger Henriksson. Lewis centred left winger Connor Jarvis and right winger Santos … The Battalion scratched Evan Cormier, Shawn Tessier, Riley Bruce, Mike Baird, Jared Steege and Calvin Gomes … Guelph scratched Adam Craievich, Marc Stevens and Garrett McFadden … Bratina returned after missing eight games with concussion-like symptoms originating in Game 2 against Barrie … Baird served the seventh game of a 20-game suspension for abuse of an official in Game 4 of the Barrie series … The Battalion acquired defenceman Kyle Locke from Guelph in a Dec. 6 trade for a 12th-round pick in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection … Rearguard Miles Liberati is the only Battalion player with previous OHL final experience, acquired last year with the London Knights.
