Battalion downs Oshawa 5-1
Lirim Amidovski scored two third-period goals, one on a penalty shot and one into an empty net, as the North Bay Battalion moved closer to securing an Ontario Hockey League playoff berth with a 5-1 victory Thursday night over the Oshawa Generals.
Ethan Procyszyn had one goal and one assist and Ihnat Pazii and Nolan Laird also scored for the Battalion, while goaltender Mike McIvor contributed 38 saves before 2,405 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.
North Bay improved its won-lost-extended record to 26-34-6 for 58 points, fifth in the Central Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference, still two points ahead of the Ottawa 67’s, who posted a 2-1 road win over the Niagara IceDogs.
Both the Battalion and 67’s have two games left. Any combination of points won by North Bay or lost by Ottawa totaling three will clinch the eighth and final conference playoff spot for the Troops.
Colby Barlow scored on a penalty shot and rookie goaltender Isaac Gravelle allowed four goals on 29 shots for Oshawa, 39-21-6 for 84 points, third in the East Division and fourth in the conference.
“I really just liked our effort,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen. “We had to be greasy at times. It didn’t look pretty at times, but I think we understood the game plan about going against a beast like the Oshawa Generals.”
Oulahen said the Troops now look ahead to a visit to Niagara at 7 p.m. Friday.
“Already, we had the chat real quick after this one to not get too high off this win. We haven’t played up to our standards, I don’t think, in the last couple of weeks on this back-to-back on the Friday, so we’ve got to find a way to be better in that situation. I think the guys know it.
“We’ll rest; we’ll recover. The one good thing is they played tonight too, so that’s a little bit different for us, so it should be even keel tomorrow and we’ve got to have another good one on the road.”
Amidovski was awarded a penalty shot at 6:51 of the final frame when he was fouled from behind by Luca D’Amato. Amidovski skated in on Gravelle, followed the puck into the crease and went to the backhand to score, with the goal surviving a video review, apparently for goaltender interference.
That gave North Bay a 3-1 lead, and Amidovski lengthened it with a shorthanded empty-netter at 18:48 while the Generals skated six against four. It was his 18th goal of the season.
After Oshawa’s Andrew Gibson failed to handle the puck on the play, Laird corralled a long bank pass off the left boards from Procyszyn and broke in alone. Laird collected his ninth goal at 19:48.
Oshawa, which trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes, tied it on Barlow’s penalty shot at 13:00 of the second period, which was awarded after Pazii fouled the Generals attacker from behind. Barlow beat McIvor on the forehand for a 32nd goal.
Procyszyn replied with what proved to be the winner at 19:49, slipping deep on the left side and burying the rebound of a Kent Greer shot that escaped traffic in front. Jacob Therrien had the other assist on Procyszyn’s team-leading 32nd goal.
Pazii opened the scoring at 6:54 of the first period after taking a backhanded cross-ice pass from Nick Wellenreiter. Pazii drove deep into the left-wing corner and fired the puck at the net, where it sneaked behind Gravelle. Adrian Manzo had the second assist on Pazii’s ninth goal.
The game at Niagara can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: On Cascades Casino Night, general manager Mo Shulu presented a cheque for $1,000 to the North Bay & District Humane Society. A row of fans won Roots mittens, while $10 free play vouchers can be claimed with a ticket stub from the game … In the teams’ only other meeting, the Battalion won 3-1 at Oshawa on Dec. 13 as Reyth Smith, Amidovski and Owen Van Steensel scored second-period goals and McIvor provided 19 saves … The Battalion last scored on a penalty shot when Justin Ertel beat goaltender Jacob Brown of the host Flint Firebirds in a 3-2 win Feb. 24, 2024 … Barlow’s tally was the first home-ice penalty-shot goal allowed by the Battalion since Andreas Athanasiou scored against Jake Smith in a 4-3 victory via shootout by the Barrie Colts on Jan. 16, 2014 … The Battalion went 0-for-3 on the power play. Oshawa was 0-for-2 … Opening lines saw Procyszyn centring left winger Andrew LeBlanc and right winger Therrien, Zach Wigle pivoting left winger Shamar Moses and right winger Parker Vaughan and Pazii centring left winger Amidovski and right winger Wellenreiter. Laird centred left winger Smith and right winger Ryder Carey … Defence pairings had Bronson Ride with Jacob LeBlanc, Brayden Turley with Greer and Zach Wilson with Manzo … The Battalion scratched Aaron Enright, Briir Long and Stepan Chukharev … Among the missing for Oshawa were David Svozil and Owen Griffin … Jacob Oster backed up Gravelle … James Kraft and Pat Myers were the referees.
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