Battalion routs Niagara 9-1
Ethan Procyszyn scored two goals and earned three assists to power the North Bay Battalion to a key 9-1 victory over the Niagara IceDogs in the only Ontario Hockey League game Sunday.
Nolan Laird had two goals and Evgeny Dubrovtsev and Lirim Amidovski one goal and one assist apiece, and Nick Wellenreiter, Ryder Carey and Ryder Cali each provided one goal for the Battalion, which held intermission leads of 4-0 and 6-0.
Goaltender Jack Lisson made 44 saves as the black-clad Battalion, which got three assists from Aaron Enright, improved its won-lost-extended record to 28-22-3 for 59 points, second in the Central Division, two points ahead of the third-place IceDogs.
“It’s funny how some nights go,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen. “It feels like you can’t buy a goal some nights. Offence comes really hard in this league, and then there’s nights like tonight where they seem to find the back of the net.”
The Troops were without Shamar Moses, who has returned home for personal reasons.
“Shamar and the club have mutually agreed that he take a personal leave for an indefinite amount of time,” said Adam Dennis, director of hockey operations. “We will provide an update when there’s more to provide.”
Riley Patterson scored for the IceDogs before a crowd of 2,775. Starting goaltender Charlie Robertson surrendered three goals on six shots before yielding to Vladislav Yermolenko, who allowed six goals on 31 shots. Niagara is 26-22-5.
Wellenreiter sparked the Battalion’s first-period eruption 12 seconds into the game when his shot from deep in the left corner glanced off Robertson into the net. Procyszyn and Enright assisted on Wellenreiter’s 17th goal of the season.
Carey scored what proved to be the winner at 2:37 when his drive from above the left circle was kicked into the net by defender Grayson Tiller. Dubrovtsev had the sole assist on Carey’s 11th goal.
Enright’s screened shot from the blue line hit Cali’s knee and entered the net at 7:39, with Procyszyn drawing the other assist on Cali’s 12th goal, which brought Yermolenko off the bench.
Captain Procyszyn struck at 13:12, darting through the left circle and hoisting a backhander behind Yermolenko. Kaden Pitre was credited with the only assist.
Laird scored both his goals in the middle frame, starting when he drove off the left wing around Ben Reisnecker and slipped a backhander between Yermolenko’s legs on a cruise across the crease at 5:32. Kent Greer and Cam Warren had the assists.
Laird netted his eighth goal at 19:30, gliding off the left side and wiring a high shot for his eighth goal. Assists went to Enright and Hayden Barch.
Dubrovtsev netted his seventh goal off a two-on-one rush with Amidovski, who earned the lone assist, at 4:47 of the third period before Patterson cashed his team-leading 31st goal at 6:32 from above the right circle.
Pitre stole the puck in the left corner and fed Procyszyn in the slot for his team-high 21st goal at 8:04, and Amidovski completed the scoring with his 19th goal at 14:09 off a right-wing faceoff won by Procyszyn.
The Battalion visits the Brampton Steelheads at 2 p.m. Monday in a Family Day matinee. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: On IG Wealth Management Day, prizes included a team-autographed Battalion stick. Fans could place wagers on an intermission goalie race … It was the fifth of six season meetings, with the Battalion holding a record of 3-1-1. North Bay won 6-2 at home Nov. 2 before three games at St. Catharines that produced a 2-1 overtime loss Dec. 7, a 7-3 win Dec. 14 and a 2-1 setback Feb. 1. The last encounter is March 1 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens … Laird and Cali led the Troops with four shots on goal each. Patterson paced the IceDogs with six … The Battalion went 0-for-1 on the power play. Niagara was 0-for-5 … Opening lines were Procyszyn centring left winger Pitre and right winger Wellenreiter, Cali pivoting left winger Laird and right winger Amidovski and Warren centring left winger Arseny Pronin and right winger Parker Vaughan. Centre Dubrovtsev and right winger Carey had various linesmates … Defence pairs had Adrian Manzo with Greer, Enright with Barch and Jonathan Kapageridis with Brandt Harper. Alexander Karmanov also saw action … Apart from Moses, the Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Carter Kunopaski, Sebastien Gervais and Bronson Ride, who completed a two-game suspension resulting from a 7-4 loss to the visiting Barrie Colts a week earlier … Gervais had flu … Cole Vreugdenhil backed up Lisson … Among the missing for Niagara were Noah Read and Ryan Roobroeck, who has a high-ankle sprain … Mike Cairns and Kyle Whiteman were the referees.
