Colts Fall 7-3 To Battalion

For the first time this season, the Barrie Colts traveled down Highway 11 to visit the North Bay Battalion for their first of six meetings this season.  The Colts entered Sunday afternoon’s tilt on a four game win streak, while the Battalion had a two game win streak.

Last season, the Colts and Battalion split their regular season meetings, with each team grabbing three wins. The Battalion ended up taking the playoff series in 5 games, knocking the Colts out of the playoffs in the second round.

Although the Colts had a strong start and had a 2-1 lead after the first period, the Battalion were far too much for the Colts to handle in the second period. The Battalion found the back of the net 5 times in the second frame, chasing Mackenzie Blackwood from the net after their fourth goal of the game. Ruan Badenhorst would finish the game in goal for the Colts, stopping 18 of the 21 shots that he faced. Ultimately, the Battalion would add another third period goal, but would beat the Colts 7-3.

Julius Nattinen, Brendan Lemieux and Ben Hawerchuk each scored for the Colts. Rasmus Andersson recorded three assists for the first time this season, while Andrew Mangiapane, Kevin Labanc and Zachary Magwood each added assists in the loss.

The first period saw the Colts come out on top with a 2-1 lead, while the teams exchanged three power play goals.

The Colts got on the board only 5:44 into the game on the power play when Nattinen put home his 7^th goal of the season. Andersson got the puck from the blue line down to Mangiapane, who then made a pass across the slot to Nattinen, making it 1-0.

But the Battalion would answer back only a minute and a half later when they went on the power play. Mark Shoemaker put home his fourth goal of the season when he put home a pass from Mike Amadio. Mathew Santos also grabbed an assist on the Battlion’s first goal.

With just over eight minutes to go in the first and tied 1-1, Brendan Lemieux would tip home his first goal of the season on the power play to grab the lead for the Colts. After Labanc got the puck to Andersson on the point, Andersson ripped a shot on net that Lemieux redirected.

At the end of the first period, the Colts outshot the Battalion 9-6 and were leading 2-1.

The second period though would be a completely different story, with the Battlion firing on all cylinders and finding the back of the net five times to grab a 6-2 lead.

Just over three minutes into the second period, the Battalion scored their first of the period, tying the game at 2-2. Defenseman Zach Shankar scored his first goal of the season, with assists going to Jacob Ball and Zach Poirier.

At the 11-minute mark, the Battalion would quickly find the back of the net twice. Their first goal would come 11:02 into the period, when Amadio beat Blackwood with assists to Santos and Riley Bruce. Then, 21 seconds later, the Battalion scored their fourth when Miles Liberati put home his 7^th of the season.  Santos and Amadio grabbed the assists to make it 4-2. The fourth goal would also drive Blackwood from the Colts net, pulling him after 31:32 minutes of play in the game.

Badenhorst would replace Blackwood in goal, but was tested early. Only a minute after their 4^th goal, the Battalion would beat Badenhorst for a shorthanded tally. Santos would find the back of the net, while Amadio would grab his 3^rd assist of the game, making it 5-2.

The Battalion would finish off the period adding one more goal on the power play when Daniil Vertiy grabbed his fourth of the season. Cam Dineen and Amadio assisted on the goal. The Battalion outshot the Colts 15-6 throughout the second period.

During the third period, the Colts would fire their lowest shot count on net with only 5 shots in the last 20 minutes.

The Colts and Battalion would exchange goals in the last two minutes of the game. With 1:58 to play, Hawerchuk deflected Andersson’s shot from the sideboards and beat Jake Kment for his 5^th of the season. Magwood also grabbed an assist on the goal. But exactly a minute later, the Battalion regained their 4-goal lead when Amadio went bar down for his 2^nd goal of the game and 6^th point of the night, making it a 7-3 final.

There was no love lost between the two rivals in Sunday afternoon’s game, as there was over 50 minutes in penalties between both teams. The Colts went 2 for 6 on their power play chances on the night, but their penalty kill was only 50% as they gave up 2 power play goals on four chances for the Battalion.

The Colts will see the Battalion again in just over a month when the Battalion visit the BMC on Saturday, December 19^th.  On Thursday, November 19^th, the Colts return to the BMC to take on the Sudbury Wolves at 7:30pm. For tickets to the game, visit the BMC Box Office or www.ticketbreak.com.