Battalion Win in OT

Owen Van Steensel’s second goal of the game, at 3:02 of overtime, lifted the North Bay Battalion to a 6-5 victory Sunday over the Sudbury Wolves in a fiercely contested Ontario Hockey League game.

Ethan Procyszyn scored one goal and earned three assists, and Jacob LeBlanc had one goal and two assists. Reyth Smith and Stepan Chukharev each contributed one goal, while Van Steensel added an assist.

Goaltender Mike McIvor provided 41 saves, including five in overtime, as North Bay improved its won-lost-extended record to 9-9-2 for 20 points, vaulting past the idle Brampton Steelheads into fourth place in the Central Division.

Rowan Henderson scored two goals and added an assist and Quentin Musty had one goal and two assists for Sudbury, which got one goal and one assist from Kocha Delic and a goal from Blake Clayton before a crowd of 3,210 as each team dressed 11 forwards and seven defencemen.

Goaltender Nate Krawchuk made 34 saves, including against Van Steensel on a penalty shot, for the Wolves, 10-7-3 for 23 points, third in the division.

In the extra period, Procyszyn dashed down the right wing on an odd-man rush and centred the puck to Van Steensel, who converted for his ninth goal of the season. LeBlanc had the second assist as the Troops scored on their only shot.

After Krawchuk snagged Van Steensel’s penalty shot 34 seconds into the third period following a thrown stick by Nick DeAngelis, Procyszyn stuffed home Van Steensel’s rebound for a 3-2 lead at 6:11. Jacob Therrien also assisted on Procyszyn’s team-leading 15th goal.

Video review confirmed that Chukharev beat Krawchuk over the glove on a shot that rebounded quickly out of the net at 8:04 as North Bay took a two-goal lead.

But Sudbury promptly responded with three goals in a span of 2:28, sparked by Delic’s tally at 8:25. Henderson struck through traffic at 10:38 and drove hard to the net for a third goal on the season 15 seconds later for a 5-4 lead.

With McIvor gone for a sixth skater, defenceman LeBlanc precipitated overtime at 19:04 as the Battalion stormed the Sudbury zone. Procyszyn had the lone assist on LeBlanc’s fourth goal.

After the teams battled to a 1-1 tie through 20 minutes, Musty scored on the power play at 6:35 of the second period, slipping around Wyatt Kennedy and beating McIvor between the legs off a left-wing rush. Delic and Kieron Walton assisted on Musty’s fifth goal.

Smith tied it at 15:12, converting the rebound of a shot off the right wing by LeBlanc. Ryder Carey had the other assist on rookie Smith’s third goal.

Van Steensel opened the scoring at 1:59 of the first period after Procyszyn procured the puck in the neutral zone and fed Shamar Moses on the right wing. He centred the disc to Van Steensel.

Clayton was credited with a shorthanded goal at 17:16 when Henderson dished the puck from the left-wing corner off a rush and it glanced off Clayton’s skate in the slot for his second goal.

The Troops failed to scored on a two-man advantage lasting 1:17 early in the frame, and a plethora of penalties peppered the rest of the period. Moses and Nathan Villeneuve drew majors and game misconducts at 20:00 for a fight off a faceoff.

The Battalion plays host to the Guelph Storm at 7 p.m. Thursday on CAA North & East Ontario Night.

BATTALION BULLETS: Canor Day featured heavy equipment outside Memorial Gardens and a second-intermission wheelbarrow race. Special Olympics also were recognized, with several athletes introduced … It was the third of eight meetings between the teams. The Wolves posted a 4-3 road win in overtime Oct. 20 and prevailed 3-1 at home Oct. 25. McIvor, who came on in relief for the second period of a 5-3 loss last Thursday night to the visiting Windsor Spitfires, made his first start since being shaken up in the latter game. The next encounter is Dec. 20 at Sudbury … The Battalion went 0-for-5 on the power play. The Wolves were 1-for-5 … Opening lines had Procyszyn centring left winger Van Steensel and right winger Moses, Andrew LeBlanc pivoting left winger Chukharev and right winger Therrien and Carey centring left winger Nolan Laird and right winger Lirim Amidovski. Centre Briir Long and left winger Smith had various linemates … Defence pairings were Bronson Ride with Kennedy, Brayden Turley with Jacob LeBlanc and Zach Wilson with Kent Greer. Aaron Enright also saw action … The Battalion was without Declan Gallivan, Dylan Richter, Ihnat Pazii, Anthony Romani and Natan Teshome … Sudbury’s Chase Coughlan completed a two-game suspension for a head-checking major and game misconduct in a 3-1 win Nov. 10 over the host Owen Sound Attack … Mike Cairns and Cameron Fynney were the referees. Photo/article credit - North Bay Battalion