Attack nips Battalion 3-2
Taos Jordan’s goal at 10:15 of the third period lifted the Owen Sound Attack to a 3-2 victory Sunday over the North Bay Battalion on the final day of Ontario Hockey League preseason action.
Declan Waddick and Rafik Varosyan also scored for Owen Sound, while goaltender Matthew Koprowski provided 30 saves at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
Owen Sound posted a won-lost-extended record of 2-1-1 in exhibition play.
Natan Teshome and Lirim Amidovski scored for the Battalion. Starting goaltender Charlie Larocque allowed one goal on 18 shots before being relieved by Carter Nadon for the third period. Nadon gave up two goals on 13 shots.
North Bay, which defeated Owen Sound 3-2 via shootout at home Sept. 8, completed its exhibition schedule with two wins and two losses. The Battalion opens its regular season at 7 p.m. Friday against the visiting Peterborough Petes.
The Attack, which trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes, tied it at 7:19 of the third period when Varosyan steered a rebound just inside the left post. Trent Gates and Jake Crawford were credited with the assists.
With the teams skating four a side, Jordan snapped the puck home from the left circle off a diagonal pass from Bruce McDonald. Braedyn Rogers contributed the other assist.
The Battalion pulled Nadon for a sixth skater with 1:27 to play but couldn’t find the equalizer. Owen Van Steensel and Owen Sound’s James Petrovski fought at 19:56, with each receiving a major and, in keeping with preseason protocol, a game misconduct. Petrovski drew an instigating minor.
Amidovski gave the Troops their second lead with the man advantage at 18:16 of the middle period, taking a cross-crease pass from Andrew LeBlanc and converting from the left side. Jacob Therrien also drew an assist on the tic-tac-toe play.
Koprowski denied Ryder Carey in tight at 12:07 off a two-man break-in with Teshome, and Larocque was strong in net when the Attack put on concerted offence in the second half of the frame as the teams each had 13 shots.
Teshome opened the scoring at 16:44 of the first period, breaking away on a counter-rush and rifling the puck behind Koprowski from the left circle. Carey had the only assist.
Waddick tied it at 19:59 when the puck emerged from the left-wing corner and Waddick, alone in front, swiped it past Larocque’s blocker. Harry Nansi assisted.
Therrien and Landon Hookey went off for roughing at 4:27 after a scrum following a Therrien setup to Van Steensel that saw Koprowski go to his back to cover up. Each team had a brief power play off infractions 13 seconds apart in the 13th minute before Bronson Ride and Hookey received fighting majors and game misconducts at 19:44.
BATTALION BULLETS: The Battalion went 1-for-4 on the power play. Owen Sound was 0-for-3 … Opening line combinations saw Nolan Laird centring left winger Van Steensel and right winger Therrien, LeBlanc pivoting left winger Ihnat Pazii and right winger Amidovski and Carey centring left winger Teshome and right winger Stepan Chukharev. Centre Dylan Richter and left winger Reyth Smith had various linemates … Defence pairings were Ride with Wyatt Kennedy, Brayden Turley with Kent Greer and Aaron Enright with Zach Wilson. Tyson Rismond also action … The Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Declan Gallivan, Dalyn Wakely, Anthony Romani, Jacob LeBlanc and Ethan Procyszyn … McIvor and Procyszyn were en route back from the Anaheim Ducks’ National Hockey League training camp, while Wakely and Romani remained with the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks respectively … Kennedy and Van Steensel again served as alternate captains … Varosyan, a Russian who turns 17 on Oct. 1, was a second-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft this year … Among the missing for Owen Sound were Carter George, Konnor Smith, Sam McCue, Colby Barlow and Ty Therrien, who served the first game of a two-game suspension for actions in a 4-2 home-ice win Wednesday night over the Barrie Colts … Cameron Fynney and Andrew Willmetts were the referees.
