Niagara turns back Battalion

Alex Assadourian and Andrei Loshko each had two goals and one assist to lead the Niagara IceDogs to a 7-5 victory Saturday night over the North Bay Battalion in a clash of rivals in the Ontario Hockey League’s Central Division.

Matthew Virgilio, Max Crete and Ivan Galiyanov provided a goal apiece for Niagara, while goaltender Charlie Robertson contributed 43 saves. The IceDogs, who fell 6-4 Friday night to the visiting Owen Sound Attack, moved their won-lost-extended record to 5-1-0 for 10 points atop the division.

Ethan Procyszyn, Jacob LeBlanc, Owen Van Steensel and Shamar Moses all netted one goal and earned two assists for North Bay, and Jacob Therrien also scored. Goaltender Charlie Larocque made 21 saves before 3,010 at the Meridian Centre.

The Battalion, which completed a run of six road games in which it went 3-3-0, is 4-3-0 for eight points in a three-way tie for second place. The Troops wrapped up a two-game road trip after rallying from a two-goal deficit to a 3-2 win via shootout Friday night over the Erie Otters.

The Battalion lost Anthony Romani and Ihnat Pazii in that game to a broken clavicle and shoulder bruise respectively. Romani led the league with 58 goals last season.

The Troops, who trailed 5-3 through two periods, went on the power play at 8:46 of the third when Virgilio was handed a holding penalty, but Loshko raced away on a rush with Kevin He and scored shorthanded 56 seconds later.

Procyszyn retrieved the puck behind the net off a left-wing faceoff and fed the disc in front to Moses for the conversion at 12:27. It was the first goal of the season for Moses, playing his second game since a trade from the Barrie Colts.

Therrien pulled the Battalion within 6-5 with the man advantage at 15:47, one-timing the puck from the left circle on assists by Moses and LeBlanc, but the Troops ran into late penalty trouble as Natan Teshome was whistled for holding and Procyszyn received minors for crosschecking and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Loshko netted his fifth goal at 18:08 during the two-man advantage to complete the scoring before each team drew multiple infractions in the final minute.

Niagara, which led 2-1 after 20 minutes, collected three straight goals to start the second period, with Crete igniting the run with his fourth goal at 8:43 when he popped home a loose puck at the right post. Mike Levin and Jack Brauti assisted.

Assadourian struck off a rush from the left wing at 10:54 for his third goal, and Galiyanov scored at 14:00 as the mid-ice trailer on a three-on-two rush, assisted by Assadourian.

Defenceman LeBlanc responded with his third goal at 15:09, driving deep on the right side to convert Procyszyn’s pass from the mid slot after Van Steensel carried the puck down the left wing.

Van Steensel capitalized on a power play at 17:20, dishing the puck from the end boards and having it deflect off Robertson’s stick and Callum Cheynowski into the net. LeBlanc and Moses had assists on Van Steensel’s first goal as captain.

Virgilio opened the scoring at 2:35 of the first period, drilling the puck from the high slot. Ryan Roobroeck and Loshko assisted on the first goal in an IceDogs uniform for defenceman Virgilio, acquired June 6 from the Soo Greyhounds. Assadourian was credited with Niagara’s second goal when a shot from deep on the left boards got past Larocque at 16:43.

Procyszyn replied 18 seconds later off a faceoff to Robertson’s left. Van Steensel got the draw back to Bronson Ride for a right-point shot, and Procyszyn cashed the rebound for his team-leading sixth goal.

The Battalion plays host to Owen Sound in the traditional Thanksgiving Day game at 2 p.m. Monday.

BATTALION BULLETS: In 206 games, Van Steensel has 63 goals and 90 assists for 153 points, tied with Lukas Havel for 21st place in franchise history … The Battalion went 2-for-5 on the power play. Niagara was 1-for-5 … Opening lines featured Procyszyn centring left winger Van Steensel and right winger Moses, Ryder Carey centring left winger Andrew LeBlanc and right winger Therrien and Nolan Laird pivoting left winger Teshome and right winger Lirim Amidovski. Dylan Richter centred left winger Reyth Smith and right winger Stepan Chukharev … Apart from Romani and Pazii, the Battalion was without Declan Gallivan, Tyson Rismond and Zach Wilson … Among the missing for Niagara were Owen Flores, Mathieu Paris and Gavin Bryant, a fourth overager who ended last season as captain but who hasn’t played this year … Goaltender Flores served the second game of a four-game suspension issued after he engaged counterpart Jack Ivankovic of the Brampton Steelheads in a second fight in the same stoppage in a 7-3 home-ice win last Sunday … Matthew Humphries backed up Robertson … Niagara acquired overager Loshko of Belarus on waivers in August. He played last season with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League after the Chicoutimi Sagueneens made him a first-rounder in the 2021 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft … Scott Ferguson and Andrew Willmetts were the referees.