Troops prevail 4-1, taking first win
TEMISCAMING, Que. – It took a trip to Quebec, but the North Bay Battalion secured the first victory in its history Saturday.
Jamie Lewis scored two goals, including an empty-netter, as the Battalion, nominally the home team, defeated the Kitchener Rangers 4-1 in Ontario Hockey League preseason action, bringing the Troops’ won-lost record to 1-2.
Calvin Gomes and Vincent Praplan also scored for the undermanned Battalion, which played its first 15 seasons in Brampton. Goaltender Brendan O’Neill made 40 saves as the Troops avenged a 5-2 loss last Sunday at Kitchener in their exhibition opener.
Josh Sterk scored for the Rangers, who got 49 saves from goaltender Matthew Greenfield. Kitchener fell 5-2 Friday night to the host Sudbury Wolves.
Gomes opened the scoring unassisted at 17:15 of the first period before a near-capacity crowd of 542 at The Centre as the Battalion played in a province other than Ontario for the first time. Gomes slipped the puck past Greenfield from the left lip of the crease.
Praplan struck 18 seconds later, intercepting a pass from the left-wing corner and snapping the puck home.
Sterk replied at 14:32 of the middle frame off a quick rush, with assists going to Jimmy Soper and Eric Ming.
Lewis gave the Battalion a 3-1 lead at 16:57, driving off the left wing and scoring from the circle. Connor Jarvis and Alex Henriksson were credited with assists.
Lewis added the empty-net goal with three-10ths of a second left on the clock in the third period.
O’Neill, who was backed up by Jake Smith, produced several solid saves in his second game of the preseason. He denied Mason Kohn on a pointblank shot at 13:16 of the first period and again on the same shift following a faceoff.
O’Neill covered the puck with his catching glove at his left post at 6:52 of the final period to end a flurry of Kitchener chances, leaving Darby Llewellyn slapping his stick on the ice in frustration.
With no lines on the ice to define the trapezoids, referees Scott Oakman and Matthew Traub conducted the game without the rule prohibiting the goaltenders from venturing to the corners to play the puck.
The Battalion, which plays the fourth of five preseason games against the host Peterborough Petes at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, went 0-for-3 on the power play. Kitchener was 0-for-5.
BATTALION BULLETS: Temiscaming was chosen as the site because of continuing renovations to North Bay’s Memorial Gardens. A large contingent of North Bay fans made the 45-minute drive to the pulp-and-paper centre on the Ottawa River … The national anthem and public address announcements were rendered in English and French … The hot dogs and poutine at the arena, also billed as Le Centre, surpassed anything available in OHL buildings. The facility is home to the Temiscaming Titans of the outlaw Greater Metro Hockey League … Battalion coach Stan Butler watched the game from a media table at the top of the stands while assistants Ryan Oulahen, John Goodwin and Steve Chabbert manned the bench … The Battalion dressed 18 players, two below the limit. The team was without Marcus McIvor, Dylan Blujus, Zach Bell, Nick Paul and Brenden Miller, all of whom are at National Hockey League rookie camps, and Kyle Wood, Blake Clarke and Matt MacLeod, all sidelined with injuries … Opening line combinations featured Mike Amadio centring left winger Praplan and right winger Mathew Santos, Jared Steege pivoting left winger Brandon Robinson and right winger Gomes and Lewis centring left winger Daniel Volpe and right winger Henriksson. Left winger Mike Baird and centre Brett McKenzie also saw action … The Troops had only four defencemen in uniform, in Mark Raycroft, Shawn Tessier, Riley Bruce and Kyler Keating, but used Jarvis, normally a left winger, on the blue line … Steege and Bruce made their OHL debuts.
