Battalion Win Big

Anthony Romani scored two goals and added one assist to pace an offensive explosion as the North Bay Battalion skated to a 7-1 victory over the Barrie Colts in an Ontario Hockey League game Sunday.

Dalyn Wakely contributed one goal and three assists and Owen Van Steensel and Jacob Therrien each had one goal and one assist, while Brice Cooke and Sandis Vilmanis scored a goal apiece as North Bay improved its won-lost-extended record to 23-15-8 for 54 points, second in the Central Division, one point behind the Sudbury Wolves.

Jacob LeBlanc had three assists and goaltender Mike McIvor made 23 saves for the Troops, who ended a season-high three-game losing skid in which they went 0-1-2.

Romani stands alone atop the OHL scoring race with 38 goals, best in the league, and 35 assists for 73 points in 46 games. Wakely, meanwhile, in 178 career games has 73 goals and 74 assists for 147 points, one more than Chris Rowan and 23rd on the franchise list.

North Bay was without Ty Nelson, who fell backwards, his head making hard contact with the ice, after being punched by Andre Anania in a 5-4 overtime loss Friday night at Sudbury. Nelson is in concussion protocol.

“It was important for the D unit back there to kind of do it by committee, and a lot of guys stepped up and you got to see what some of them can do a little bit more,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen. “We’re reading all that kind of stuff as we go here to learn our new players, and I was really happy with the way they looked, so a step in the right direction.”

Cole Beaudoin scored for Barrie before a Memorial Gardens crowd of 2,524, while goaltender Ben West faced 37 shots. The Colts are 18-24-1 for 37 points, fourth in the division.

Romani opened the scoring at 16:01 of the first period, taking a slip pass from Wakely and cruising across the goalmouth to backhand the puck past West, LeBlanc also assisted.

Andrew LeBlanc and Tnias Mathurin worked the puck from the left-wing corner to Cooke, who drilled home his eighth goal of the season 32 seconds later, and Wakely collected his 23rd goal at 19:41, jamming his own rebound into the net as defender Kashawn Aitcheson sprawled next to West.

Beaudoin replied with his 20th goal 3:07 into the middle period before Romani struck on the power play at 9:51, wiring a screened shot from high on the right wing with assists to Jacob LeBlanc and Wakely,

Van Steensel, who carried the puck into the Barrie zone, became the trailer and took a swing pass from Wakely on the right side to net a 23rd goal on the season at 12:47, with Romani also assisting.

Vilmanis retrieved his own rebound behind the goal line at the left side and banked the puck off West at 17:34 for a 6-1 lead through 40 minutes. Andrew LeBlanc and Therrien assisted on Vilmanis’s 14th goal, his fourth since a trade from the Sarnia Sting, for which he played 92 of his 100 OHL games.

Therrien added the final goal at 19:22 of the third period, backhanding home the rebound of a left-point shot by Bronson Ride. Ihnat Pazii had the other assist.

The Battalion plays host to the Mississauga Steelheads at 7 p.m. Thursday on Bruce Power Night with special guest Bonhomme Carnaval.

BATTALION BULLETS: Tim Hortons Day saw the fourth of six games between the teams. The Colts won the first three, 4-3 via shootout at home Sept. 28, 3-1 at North Bay the next night and 4-2 at home Nov. 11. The fifth meeting is slated March 9 at Barrie … The Battalion went 7-2-2 in January … McIvor evened his record at 5-5-0 … Therrien, who has a four-game points streak in which he has four goals and two assists for six points, played his 100th game. He has 25 goals and 22 assists for 47 career points … The Battalion was 1-for-3 on the power play. Barrie went 0-for-3 … Opening lines had Wakely centring left winger Van Steensel and right winger Romani, Liam Arnsby centring left winger Justin Ertel and right winger Vilmanis and Cooke pivoting left winger Pazii and right winger Lirim Amidovski. Left winger Andrew LeBlanc and right winger Therrien had various linemates … Defence pairs saw Mathurin with Paul Christopoulos, Ride with Jacob LeBlanc and Trevor McDowell with Wyatt Kennedy, while Brayden Turley also saw action … Apart from Nelson, the Battalion scratched Nolan Laird, Ethan Procyszyn and Stef Forgione … Earlier this month Barrie acquired Kyle Morey, Blair Scott and Thomas Stewart, while trading away Eduard Sale, Olivier Savard and Connor Punnett. Brenden Sirizzotti failed to report after the Colts sent Jacob Frasca to the Soo Greyhounds for him … Brendan Kane and Aaron Neely were the referees. Photo/Article Credit- North Bay Battalion