Troops pad conference lead
Jacob Therrien and Jacob LeBlanc each had one goal and one assist as the North Bay Battalion defeated the Niagara IceDogs 4-3 Thursday night, giving the Troops a three-point advantage in the battle for the last playoff spot in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.
Ihnat Pazii and Zach Wigle, with what proved to be the winner, scored a goal apiece, and goaltender Mike McIvor contributed 29 saves before 2,619 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.
North Bay moved its won-lost-extended record to 24-31-5 for 53 points, fifth in the Central Division and eighth in the conference. The Ottawa 67’s, who fell 4-3 to the host Peterborough Petes in the opener of a home-and-home series, are fourth in the East Division and ninth in the conference at 21-31-8 for 50 points.
Andrei Loshko scored one goal and added an assist for Niagara, which got its other goals from Braidy Wassilyn and Ryan Roobroeck. Goaltender Matthew Humphries provided 28 saves. The IceDogs are 28-26-7 for 63 points, third in the Central and sixth in the conference.
LeBlanc struck on the power play at 7:30 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie, taking a return pass from Therrien and beating Humphries high to the glove side. Shamar Moses had the other assist on defenceman LeBlanc’s ninth goal of the season.
Wigle jammed his own rebound home at 10:17 to give North Bay a 4-2 lead off an odd-man rush, the assists going to Adrian Manzo and Lirim Amidovski. It was Wigle’s 12th goal and his sixth since a trade from the Barrie Colts.
Parker Vaughan and Aaron Enright drew high-sticking and interference penalties respectively that gave Niagara a late two-man advantage for 1:21. The Troops got through it only to have Roobroeck net his team-leading 38th goal at 17:28, one second after Enright’s penalty expired.
The Battalion then fended off a Niagara push with Humphries gone for a sixth attacker.
Pazii scored at 4:01 of the first period, taking a quick pass from Amidovski at the blue line and darting in alone to beat Humphries to the blocker side. Nick Wellenreiter had the other assist on Pazii’s fifth goal.
Therrien connected on the power play 15 seconds after Matthew Virgilio went off for hooking Ethan Procyszyn on a good chance. Therrien received a LeBlanc feed and advanced in the left circle to snap the puck home on the short side at 16:13. Procyszyn had the second assist on Therrien’s 15th goal.
McIvor denied a Blake Arrowsmith threat in the sixth minute and gloved an Ethan Czata shot off an odd-man rush at 11:41.
Loshko scored his 34th goal at 7:05 of the second period when, stationed in the right side of the crease, he awkwardly redirected a lateral pass from the left wing by Alex Assadourian. Jack Brauti drew the other assist.
Wassilyn tied it at 15:21 when he seized a rink-wide turnover on the right-wing boards in the neutral zone and charged past Enright to score his eighth goal on the forehand.
The Battalion had a would-be goal by Procyszyn at 11:35 declared invalid after a video review for offside.
BATTALION BULLETS: On Canadore College Night, March Mania presented Country Night … It was the fifth of six meetings, with the Battalion having a record of 2-3-0. Niagara won 7-5 at home Oct. 12, 7-3 at North Bay on Dec. 12 and 3-1 at the Meridian Centre on Jan. 18. The host Battalion prevailed 4-3 via shootout Feb. 2. The final encounter is March 21 at St. Catharines … The Battalion went 2-for-3 on the power play. Niagara was 0-for-5 … Opening lines featured Procyszyn centring left winger Andrew LeBlanc and right winger Therrien, Wigle centring left winger Moses and right winger Vaughan and Pazii pivoting left winger Amidovski and right winger Wellenreiter. Nolan Laird centred left winger Stepan Chukharev and right winger Ryder Carey … Defence pairings were Bronson Ride with Jacob LeBlanc, Enright with Kent Greer and Zach Wilson with Manzo … The Battalion was without Brayden Turley, Briir Long and Reyth Smith … Vaughan celebrated his 17th birthday … With Enright back from a concussion, the Troops have returned Jonathan Kapageridis to the junior A Cobourg Cougars … Niagara was without its leading goaltenders. Owen Flores suffered a knee injury in the second period of a 5-4 setback Feb. 16 to the visiting Brantford Bulldogs. Charlie Robertson, who hasn’t played since a 9-4 road loss Jan. 3 to the London Knights in which he allowed three goals on 22 shots in a second-period relief appearance, is recovering from hip surgery … Connor Mallon and Matt Mannella were the referees.
