Troops whitewash IceDogs
Evgeny Dubrovtsev scored one goal and added an assist and goaltender Jack Lisson made 21 saves for his first Ontario Hockey League shutout as the North Bay Battalion blanked the Niagara IceDogs 5-0 Sunday.
Ryder Cali, Ethan Procyszyn, Ryder Carey and Sebastien Gervais contributed a goal apiece as the Battalion won for the eighth time in nine games before a boisterous crowd of 3,069 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens. Lirim Amidovski provided three assists.
North Bay improved its won-lost-extended record to 34-23-3 for 71 points, second in the Central Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Peterborough Petes, who defeated the host Flint Firebirds 4-2. The Troops and Petes have eight games each left to play.
The Battalion, which saw Amidovski return from a charley horse suffered in a 4-3 win Thursday night over the visiting Kingston Frontenacs, was without Kaden Pitre, who incurred a lower-body injury in a 6-3 road win Friday night against the Sudbury Wolves. Brandt Harper sat out after leaving that game with an upper-body injury.
Goaltender Vladislav Yermolenko faced 39 shots for Niagara, 29-25-5 for 63 points, third in the division and sixth in the conference.
In 35 games, Lisson, who recorded the Troops’ first shutout of the season, is 22-9-2 with a goals-against average of 2.44 and a save percentage of .916.
“Obviously, he was great today with the shutout, but the guys really, really played hard in front of him, blocked a lot of shots in the last five or 10 minutes of that game,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen. “He deserved it. He’s been earning that for a long time, so it’s nice to see him finally get it.”
The Battalion, which led 1-0 through 20 minutes, scored three goals in the middle period, starting with Procyszyn’s team-leading 28th at 8:44. Amidovski passed the puck from the left wing to the captain in the slot, and he swept the disc home inside the right post. Nick Wellenreiter also assisted as Procyszyn pushed a points streak to four games in which he has five goals and two assists for seven points.
Dubrovtsev connected on the power play at 17:32, snapping the puck from high in the left circle. Parker Vaughan and Amidovski assisted on Dubrovtsev’s 11th goal. In a four-game points run, the Russian import has three goals and four assists for seven points.
Carey struck 25 seconds later from the right faceoff dot off a rush. Dubrovtsev and Nolan Laird drew assists on Carey’s 14th goal.
Gervais completed the scoring on the power play at 2:36 of the third period, going to the slot to tip a Jonathan Kapageridis drive from the blue line. Vaughan had the other assist on Gervais’s 21st goal, his ninth in 21 games since a trade from the Saginaw Spirit.
Cali opened the scoring at 15:49 of the first period after Amidovski intercepted an attempted breakout pass on the right-wing boards. He fed the puck to Cali, who snapped his 13th goal from the top of the right circle.
The Battalion enjoyed a large advantage in territorial play in the period, leading the shots count 9-6 but failing to capitalize on the only penalty, a tripping call against Haoxi Wang for taking down Wellenreiter at 17:56.
The Battalion plays host to the Oshawa Generals at 7 p.m. Thursday on Cascades Casino Night.
BATTALION BULLETS: The game sponsor was Cooper Equipment Rentals … In the teams’ season series, the Battalion went 4-1-1. The host Troops won 6-2 on Nov. 2 before a 2-1 overtime loss Dec. 7 at Niagara and a 7-3 road win Dec. 14. Host Niagara won 2-1 on Feb. 1, and the Battalion thumped the IceDogs 9-1 on home ice Feb. 15 … In 250 games, Procyszyn has 82 goals and 88 assists for 170 points, tied with Kyle Jackson for 19th place in franchise history … The Battalion went 2-for-3 on the power play. Niagara was 0-for-3 … Opening lines had Cali centring left winger Gervais and right winger Amidovski, Cam Warren centring left winger Laird and right winger Vaughan and Dubrovtsev pivoting left winger Arseny Pronin and right winger Carey. Centre Procyszyn and right winger Wellenreiter had rotating linemates … Defence pairs were Bronson Ride with Hayden Barch, Aaron Enright with Kent Greer and Kapageridis with Adrian Manzo. Carter Kunopaski also saw action … In addition to Pitre and Harper, the Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Alexander Karmanov and Shamar Moses … Cole Vreugdenhil again backed up Lisson … Niagara’s Ryan Roobroeck missed a 10th game with a high-ankle sprain … Reyth Smith, a former member of the Battalion, returned from a four-game suspension issued after he received an instigating minor, major and game misconduct for a fight in the last five minutes of a 6-2 loss Feb. 16 at Sudbury … James Kraft and Kevin McArthur were the referees.
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