Troops win via shootout
Jacob Therrien scored in a shootout to lift the North Bay Battalion to a 3-2 victory over the Owen Sound Attack in Ontario Hockey League exhibition play Sunday.
Lirim Amidovski and Andrew LeBlanc scored third-period goals to bring North Bay back from a 2-0 deficit before Therrien scored the only goal of the shootout, which, as is the preseason protocol, immediately followed regulation time.
Goaltender Mike McIvor, who made 21 saves through three periods, saw his first action, not having played in training camp or the first exhibition game. The Battalion was blanked 5-0 by the visiting Ottawa 67’s in its preseason opener Friday night.
Starting goaltender Matthew Koprowski stopped all nine shots he faced before Carter George came on in relief at 8:54 of the second period. He allowed two goals on 22 shots through the third frame. Owen Sound has a won-lost-extended record of 0-1-1.
Scott Wray, an assistant with the Battalion for seven seasons, made his return to Memorial Gardens as Owen Sound’s head coach.
The Attack shot first in the shootout, but McIvor denied Harry Nansi, Landen Hookey and, to clinch the win, Jake Crawford. After Therrien’s goal, George foiled Owen Van Steensel, the second and last Battalion shooter, who hit the post.
Amidovski pulled North Bay within a goal at 4:51 of the final frame, cashing the rebound of a Nolan Laird shot off a drive to the net. Natan Teshome had the other assist.
LeBlanc tied it at 19:00 with McIvor on the bench for a sixth skater. Therrien fed the puck across the crease to LeBlanc at the right side for the conversion, with Jacob LeBlanc also assisting.
Mbuyi opened the scoring at 6:23 of the second period, collecting a loose puck at the left side and snapping it behind McIvor. Nansi provided the lone assist.
Ethier struck at 8:54, spinning in the right-wing circle and ripping the disc home on assists by Max Bleicher and Antonio Tersigni.
Koprowski robbed Laird with a pointblank save in the sixth minute, and Teshome was foiled by George on a last-minute break-in.
The Battalion outshot the visitors 7-4 in the scoreless first period, in which Owen Sound’s Ty Therrien was issued the only penalty, for tripping at 14:41.
The Troops failed to capitalize on the power play, but Andrew LeBlanc tipped a shot just wide of the left post shortly afterwards in the 18th minute.
The Battalion visits Ottawa at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, in its third of four preseason games.
BATTALION BULLETS: The Battalion went 0-for-2 on the power play. Owen Sound was 0-for-1 … Opening line combinations saw Ethan Procyszyn centring left winger Van Steensel and right winger Therrien, LeBlanc pivoting left winger Ihnat Pazii and right winger Ryder Carey and Laird centring left winger Teshome and right winger Amidovski. Dylan Richter centred left winger Reyth Smith and right winger Stepan Chukharev … Defence pairings were Brayden Turley with Jacob LeBlanc, Zach Wilson with Wyatt Kennedy and Aaron Enright with Kent Greer… The Battalion was without Declan Gallivan, Dalyn Wakely, Anthony Romani, Tyson Rismond and Bronson Ride … Procyszyn and Van Steensel served as alternate captains … Goaltender Carter Nadon has been assigned to the junior A Haliburton County Huskies, leaving the Troops with 25 on the preseason roster … Wray, taken by the then-Owen Sound Platers in the fourth round of the 1996 OHL Priority Selection, played 21 games before joining the North Bay Centennials. In 150 games for North Bay, he had 38 goals and 48 assists for 86 points with 141 penalty minutes. After finishing his OHL career with the Plymouth Whalers in 1999-00, he played in six pro leagues before retiring in 2014. He then coached the junior A Powassan Voodoos for three seasons, winning the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League title in 2017.
