Another Thriller in the HWY 17 Battle
Dalibor Dvorsky scored 19 seconds into overtime to lift the Sudbury Wolves to a 5-4 victory Friday night over the North Bay Battalion and into first place in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.
Quentin Musty had one goal and two assists and Dvorsky and David Goyette each provided one goal and one assist for Sudbury, which completed a sweep of a home-and-home series, after winning 5-4 via shootout Thursday night at North Bay.
Kocha Delic and Nathan Villeneuve scored a goal apiece for Sudbury, which moved its won-lost-extended record to 25-14-5 for 55 points atop the Central Division, one point ahead of the idle Brantford Bulldogs in the conference. Goaltender Marcus Vandenberg contributed 23 saves before a crowd of 4,280.
Liam Arnsby, Justin Ertel and Sandis Vilmanis each scored one goal and added an assist and Dalyn Wakely had the other goal for North Bay, 22-15-8 for 52 points, second in the division.
Goaltender Dom DiVincentiis made 22 saves for the Battalion, which led 3-0 in the first period but suffered a season-high third consecutive loss while going without a power play in the game. The Troops had lost two straight on eight previous occasions.
Ty Nelson, who never dropped his gloves, was staggered by Sudbury’s Andre Anania in a purported fight as the second period expired and, clearly unsteady on his feet, was helped to the dressing room not to return.
In overtime, Dvorsky staged a two-on-one break with Musty, scoring low to the glove side off the latter’s pass to the right wing. Donovan McCoy also assisted on Dvorsky’s 25th goal of the season.
Vilmanis gave the Battalion a 4-3 lead at 1:15 of the third period, collecting a hard rebound off the end boards and collecting his 13th goal, his third since a trade from the Sarnia Sting. Ertel and Bronson Ride had the assists.
Villeneuve replied with his 12th goal at 3:15, scoring from pointblank range off a pass from the end boards from Keiron Walton.
Wakely sparked a three-goal outburst with his 22nd goal at 1:43 of the first period, firing the puck from between the hash marks. Jacob Therrien and Nelson assisted.
Arnsby chopped home a turnover on his backhand from the mid slot at 8:37 for his seventh goal, and Ertel struck at 14:04 on a pass from Vilmanis. Arnsby had the second assist on Ertel’s 16th goal as he slipped down the left wing and snapped the puck past Vandenberg.
Goyette answered with his team-leading 28th goal at 16:37, getting loose on the right side and outracing Ride to the crease. Zacharie Giroux and Nolan Collins assisted.
Musty pulled the Wolves within a goal at 11:21 of the second period, converting a quick pass from the end boards from Dvorsky. Evan Konyen also assisted on Musty’s 23rd goal.
Delic tied it, allegedly during a two-man advantage at 17:57, although the clock originally showed 2:02 left to play before a second was added and Tnias Mathurin, the second Battalion player sent off, was recalled from the bench to serve another 28 seconds. What legendary New York hockey writer Stan Fischler always derided as the National Hockey League’s one-minute, 59-second power play, also seen in the OHL, apparently wasn’t in effect.
The Battalion plays host to the Barrie Colts at 2 p.m. Sunday on Tim Hortons Day.
BATTALION BULLETS: In seven meetings, the Battalion has gone 3-1-3. The final encounter is scheduled March 10 at Memorial Gardens … North Bay’s Anthony Romani and Goyette are tied atop the OHL scoring race, each with 70 points from 44 games. Romani has 36 goals and 34 assists, while Goyette has 28 goals and 42 assists … Sudbury was 1-for-4 on the power play … Opening lines saw Wakely centring left winger Owen Van Steensel and right winger Romani, Arnsby pivoting left winger Ertel and right winger Vilmanis and Brice Cooke centring left winger Andrew LeBlanc and right winger Therrien. Left winger Ihnat Pazii and right winger Lirim Amidovski had various linemates … Defence pairs had Ride with Nelson, Mathurin with Jacob LeBlanc and Wyatt Kennedy with Paul Christopoulos, while Trevor McDowell also saw action … The Battalion scratched Brayden Turley, Nolan Laird, Stef Forgione and Ethan Procyszyn, who missed a second game after suffering a lower-body injury Wednesday night in the CHL-NHL Top Prospects Game at Moncton … Konyen has a seven-game points streak in which he has three goals and eight assists for 11 points … Dvorsky has a six-game points streak during which he has seven goals and as many assists for 14 points. He has scored in each of the last five games … Musty is on a six-game points streak in which he has five goals and 10 assists for 15 points … McCoy has an assist in each of the last five games … Ryan Elbers and Damian Figueira were the referees. Photo/article credit- North Bay Battalion
