Banner night for Battalion
Goaltender Mike McIvor made 36 saves for his second Ontario Hockey League shutout as the North Bay Battalion opened its 2024-25 season with a 4-0 blanking of the Peterborough Petes in a hotly contested game Friday night.
Andrew LeBlanc and Wyatt Kennedy each provided one goal and one assist, and Reyth Smith and Ethan Procyszyn also scored for North Bay before a crowd of 3,922 who saw the Battalion raise a division championship banner earned last season.
McIvor, the new No. 1 netminder with Dom DiVincentiis having graduated to the professional ranks, posted the previous Battalion shutout in a 9-0 home-ice decision last Feb. 11 over the Kingston Frontenacs.
The fight-filled affair, the Troops’ only home date before a season-high six consecutive road games, clearly carried regular-season ramifications and was decidedly not a friendly, to use a soccer term.
Newly named captain Owen Van Steensel played his 200th career game.
Goaltender Zach Bowen made 45 saves for Peterborough, keeping his team in the game into the second half of the third period, when the Battalion scored its final two goals.
The Petes, who dressed 11 forwards and seven defencemen, fell 7-2 in their season opener Thursday night to the visiting Frontenacs.
Smith raced away with Lirim Amidovski on a two-man break and, receiving the puck back on a give-and-go, converted from the left side at 11:52 of the final frame with Bowen having no chance on the play.
“He’s a talent,” coach Ryan Oulahen said of rookie Smith, who had one goal in three Battalion games last season. “He can skate. He’s got the knack for the net. He can score goals. That was an electrifying play there, a really good pass by Amidovski.”
LeBlanc opened the scoring shorthanded at 10:54 of the first period, driving into the crease behind Bowen to knock home a puck that the goaltender fumbled on a shot by Natan Teshome.
Peterborough was on the power play after Jacob Therrien received a head-checking major and game misconduct at 8:56. A stoppage, at which Therrien was twice assaulted by Petes without a call, saw a video review result in the Battalion penalty.
Defenceman Kennedy connected at 19:39, taking a diagonal pass in the right circle and snapping the puck past Bowen’s blocker. Bronson Ride and LeBlanc assisted.
Peterborough’s Braydon McCallum drew a slew-footing match penalty at 14:14, with Ladds and North Bay’s Ride and Ryder Carey assessed roughing minors.
The Battalion completes weekend play by visiting the Barrie Colts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: Before the game, which was sponsored by Royal LePage Northern Life Realty, the Battalion raised the 2023-24 Central Division championship banner. The Troops finished atop the division for a third straight season, advancing to the Eastern Conference final each time … After single games Wednesday and Thursday nights, all 20 teams were in action, the only time this season that that’s the case … Romani tied Sam Carrick for 18th place on the franchise scoring list with 169 points. Romani has 89 goals and 80 assists in 189 games … The Battalion went 1-for-6 on the power play. Peterborough was 0-for-2 … Opening lines featured Procyszyn centring left winger Van Steensel and right winger Romani, LeBlanc pivoting left winger Pazii and right winger Amidovski and Nolan Laird centring left winger Teshome and right winger Therrien. Dylan Richter centred left winger Smith and right winger Carey … Defence pairings saw Ride with Kennedy, Brayden Turley with Jacob LeBlanc and Zach Wilson with Kent Greer … Charlie Larocque backed up McIvor … The Battalion was without Declan Gallivan, Aaron Enright, Dalyn Wakely, Tyson Rismond and Stepan Chukharev … Teshome, Carey and Greer made their OHL debuts … Among the missing for Peterborough were Liam Sztuska, Easton Rye and Grayden Strohack, who drew a four-game suspension for actions in a 9-0 home-ice loss March 21 to the Ottawa 67’s … Kevin McArthur and Andrew Willmetts were the referees.
