Attack trumps Troops 5-3
Nicholas Sykora’s second-period goal proved the winner as the Owen Sound Attack defeated the North Bay Battalion 5-3 Saturday night, with the Troops accepting a split of a two-game Ontario Hockey League road trip.
John Banks, Cole Zurawski, Jake Crawford and Noah Nelson, into an empty net, also scored for Owen Sound, while goaltender Trenten Bennett contributed 23 saves before 2,395 at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
Bennett, who stands six-foot-eight, was a 14th-round pick in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the Kitchener Jr. Rangers U16s. He played in six Attack games in 2024-25 and has won all three of his starts this season.
Owen Sound, which downed the visiting Windsor Spitfires 6-3 last Sunday in its previous game, handing Windsor its first loss, has a won-lost-extended record of 6-2-0.
Ryder Cali and Cam Warren each scored one goal and added an assist for North Bay, which got its other goal from Ethan Procyszyn. Goaltender Mike McIvor stopped 37 of 41 shots.
The Battalion, which defeated the Guelph Storm 5-2 Friday night, is 4-4-0. The Troops, who have a home-ice rematch Monday, suffered their first loss in four road games.
Owen Sound, which led 2-0 at the first intermission, added to its lead when Crawford was credited with his fourth goal of the season at 1:24. Harry Nansi took a shot from the left wing that bounced across the goalmouth to Crawford on the far side, and he shoveled the puck toward the front only to have it deflect into the net off the scrambling McIvor. David Bedkowski drew the other assist.
Procyszyn replied 23 seconds later, seizing a turnover in the neutral zone and seeing his shot from the right-wing boards elude Bennett on the short side. The unassisted marker was captain Procyszyn’s first.
Cali struck at 3:48 to pull the Troops within a goal, converting a backhanded pass from the end boards by Parker Vaughan. Warren earned the second assist on Cali’s team-leading fourth goal.
Sykora connected at 5:45 on assists by Tristan Delisle and Pierce Mbuyi. Sykora shoveled his fifth goal, tied with Mbuyi for the team lead, home from the right side.
Warren, the Battalion’s first-round pick in the OHL Priority Selection in April, registered his first goal on the power play at 10:08 of the third period, snapping the puck past Bennett from the inner edge of the right circle. Cali and Shamar Moses assisted.
McIvor left for a sixth attacker with two minutes to play, and coincidental minors at 18:35 put the Troops skating five against four until Nelson hit the empty net at 18:53.
Banks sparked Owen Sound’s first-period lead on the power play at 10:27. First-year defenceman Banks raced off the bench to take Nansi’s back pass at the top of the slot and, driving toward the net, wired the puck through a screen for his first goal. Michael Dec had the other assist.
Zurawski capitalized at 19:11 after the Attack broke out of its own zone. Inside the North Bay zone, Dec and Zurawski found themselves on a two-man break-in, with Dec feeding the puck to the left side for the conversion. Max Delisle also assisted on Zurawski’s third goal.
The teams complete a home-and-home set at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens at 2 p.m. Monday in the traditional Thanksgiving Day game.
BATTALION BULLETS: The J.D. McArthur Arena within the community centre has undergone upgrades, including a new ice plant, boards and glass … The Battalion went 1-for-4 on the power play. Owen Sound was 1-for-2 … Opening lines featured Procyszyn centring left winger Ihnat Pazii and right winger Lirim Amidovski, Evgeny Dubrovtsev centring left winger Arseny Pronin and right winger Moses and Warren pivoting left winger Cali and right winger Vaughan. Briir Long centred left winger Nolan Laird and right winger Nick Wellenreiter … Defence pairings saw Bronson Ride with Brandt Harper, Aaron Enright with Kent Greer and Carter Kunopaski with Adrian Manzo … Jack Lisson, who got the win at Guelph, backed up McIvor … The Battalion was without Jonathan Kapageridis, Declan Gallivan and Ryder Carey … The Troops, who left North Bay early Friday, overnighted at Guelph … Among the missing for Owen Sound was Jacob Therrien, who’s in concussion protocol. The Battalion traded Therrien to the Attack on June 18 … Bedkowski returned from a one-game suspension issued after he drew a fighting major and game misconduct Oct. 4 in a 7-5 home-ice loss to the Saginaw Spirit … Tristan Delisle had two assists for an eight-game points streak, the OHL’s longest, in which he has three goals and eight assists for 11 points. His six-game assists streak also is the league’s best … Mbuyi has a six-game points streak in which he has five goals and three assists for eight points.
