Petes prevail in overtime

Kieron Walton’s power-play goal at 17:41 of overtime gave the Peterborough Petes a 2-1 Ontario Hockey League victory Sunday over the North Bay Battalion and a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Battalion goaltender Mike McIvor received a match penalty at 15:39 of overtime for a swipe at Francis Parish that was deemed an attempt to injure after McIvor took exception to Parish’s actions as the goaltender covered the puck. After a four-minute video review, referee Pat Myers sent McIvor off the ice.

Jack Lisson, who played the first two games in the series, came on and made one save before Walton hammered home a pass from Adam Novotny from the right-wing circle for his second goal of the series. Walton also scored the overtime winner in a 4-3 home-ice victory Friday night in Game 2.

“I’ve never seen it,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said of the goaltender’s ejection. “I mean, I’ve been coaching in this league a long, long time, and that was an interesting one right there. But saying that, the game in whole, I liked a lot of things that we’re doing.”

Sebastien Gervais scored shorthanded for the fifth-place Battalion. McIvor faced 42 shots before a crowd of 2,935 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.

Adam Levac also scored for fourth-place Peterborough, which got 47 saves from goaltender Easton Rye.

The fourth game is scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday on the same ice.

Overtime, in which North Bay had a 13-12 edge in shots, saw good chances for both teams. McIvor foiled Walton and Carson Cameron after Ethan Procyszyn went off for slashing at 8:36. Rye was sharp early, turning away a Parker Vaughan drive and Nolan Laird’s hard shot off the rebound. Rye blockered away a shot by Kaden Pitre breaking in alone with the Troops shorthanded. McIvor handled two drives by Walton.

Peterborough struck 12 seconds into the game after an awkward bounce in the mid slot left the puck on Levac’s stick. McIvor stopped the initial shot, but Levac converted the rebound. Walton and Garrett Frazer were credited with assists.

The Petes built a 9-0 edge in shots before Rye made his first save at 5:23. McIvor was busy in the aftermath of the goal, turning away fine chances for Brennan Faulkner, Brayden McCallum and Brody Partridge. McIvor, who made 10 saves in the frame, kicked away a Walton drive in the final seconds. The Battalion had five shots, with Ryder Cali driving hard off the left wing in the 10th minute.

The period featured several big hits and a fight during a stoppage between McCallum and Bronson Ride, who drew major penalties.

North Bay tied it at 18:55 of the second period when penalty killer Gervais took a pass from Lirim Amidovski and beat Rye low to the glove side with a wrister from the left circle off a rush. Adrian Manzo drew the second assist.

The Battalion had a decided territorial edge in the period, outshooting the visitors 18-12. Rye, who was tested by Ride in the seventh minute with Laird lurking for a rebound, foiled Gervais in tight on the rebound of a Pitre threat in the 12th. The Petes’ best chance came on the power play in the 14th minute when McIvor blocked a drive from the high slot by James Petrovski.

Parish scrapped with Ryder Carey at 15:41, with each receiving a major.

The Battalion forged a 12-9 edge in third-period shots. Vaughan forced Rye to make a tough save in the deep slot off the rebound of a Laird shot in the fourth minute, and Rye kicked away successive Pitre shots in the eighth minute. McIvor, who denied McCallum from the slot in the sixth minute and Leon Kolarik in close in the 15th, was strong as Walton burst to the net in the final seconds.

BATTALION BULLETS: The Battalion has an all-time won-lost record of 17-27 in the third game of playoff series, including 6-11 at home. The Troops are 8-14 since relocation to North Bay … In 21 postseason games, McIvor has an 11-9 won-lost record with a 2.82 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and one shutout. The Warkworth, Ont., resident was a fourth-round pick in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the Quinte Red Devils U16s … Pitre topped the Troops with seven shots on goal. Walton led Peterborough with six … The Battalion went 0-for-3 on the power play. Peterborough was 1-for-6. North Bay had killed 13 consecutive power plays in the series before the overtime goal … Opening line combinations featured Procyszyn centring left winger Pitre and right winger Nick Wellenreiter, Cali pivoting left winger Gervais and right winger Amidovski and Cam Warren skating between left winger Laird and right winger Vaughan. Centre Evgeny Dubrovtsev and right winger Carey had various linemates … Defence pairs were Ride with Hayden Barch, Aaron Enright with Kent Greer and Carter Kunopaski with Brandt Harper. Manzo was a seventh rearguard … Harper made his series debut after losing the last nine regular-season games to injury … The Battalion was without Jonathan Kapageridis, Alexander Karmanov, Arseny Pronin and Shamar Moses … Again among the missing for Peterborough were Kaden McGregor and Matthew Soto … Mike Cairns was the other referee.