Battalion defenseman Dylan Blujus and Niagara IceDogs forward/Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Carter Verhaeghe chase down a puck during the Troops' 5-1 home win./DENIS DUBOIS PHOTO
North Bay Battalion head coach Stan Butler wasn’t ready to divulge the secret to the OHL’s fourth ranked penalty kill (82.8%), but that it needs to be good in compensation for a power play that ranks last in the league.
“If you’re power play’s not going to score, your penalty kill better not give up anything,” he said.
They went scoreless on six opportunities but the Troops (23-17-4-2) PK brought a bit of offense in a 5-1 win over the Niagara IceDogs (15-24-2-4) Sunday afternoon.
Ben Thomson scored on a shorthanded breakaway 59 seconds into the third period, after the Troops walked into the final frame with a 3-0 lead. The goals came in the second period from Nick Paul (who had two on the night), Mike Amadio and Miles Liberati.
Butler felt the first period was very even but that his boys stayed with it and got some big goals.
Amadio got on the board first, corralling a puck between the goal post and goaltender Blake Richard’s pad at 9:28 of the second period. A returning Barclay Goodrow had an assist on the goal.
“His fitness and everything was good,” Butler said of his captain, “With him, it’s just a matter of the tenderness of his ribs and he felt that they were pretty good and he went from there.”
Kyle Locke and Cody Caron started fighting off the ensuing centre ice face off, with the Battalion defense man getting better of the exchange.
That sparked the bench as Paul added his first of the night at 14:13, stepping into a 40-foot shot off an Alex Henriksson drop pass.
Paul says his team is playing their best hockey right now and Stan told them everyone has to step up and prove their roles.
The Dallas Stars prospect is moving further ahead of last year, tying and surpassing his 28 points from his rookie year with the two markers.
Jamie Lewis found Liberati streaking towards the net. The defenseman carried it and made no mistake for the 3-0 lead at 18:32 and then it was somewhat familiar territory for Butler and Co.
His Troops carried a 3-1 lead into the third against Barrie on Thursday night. Then, Butler says they “kind of backed off a bit” and surrendered two goals, losing 4-3 in a shootout.
He was pleased with the effort this time around, putting the “pedal to the metal” with two quick goals and “settled into the game the way we needed to.”
Thomson beat Niagara goaltender Blake Richard low blocker side and then the Troops benefitted from a lucky bounce a minute later.
Aaron Haydon attempted to clear the puck away from his own net but it went off of Paul’s leg and into the net for a 5-0 North Bay lead.
“Good luck going my way, getting some bounces and it’s doing well for me,” Paul said.
Matt Gillard rushed the net and tapped in a pass from Ben Hughes at 7:45 to break Smith’s shutout bid but that’s all he would surrender. The Battalion goaltender, making his seventh start in a row, collected 20 saves overall.
Butler says Smith wouldn’t keep playing if he wasn’t playing well.
“He was good in Mississauga the other night; he was good again today,” he said, “He’s given up one goal a game in the last couple games. He’s in the top five of the league in goals against.”
Richard took the loss in net for Niagara, making 37 saves on 42 shots.
There are a couple players nursing injuries, including Alex Henriksson with a hand injury. Butler says he needs an X-ray and they’ll know better then. Matt MacLeod is sitting out with his ankle and Brenden Miller was also out of the lineup with a hip injury.
With 22 games left on the year, 14 of them are at home, as opposed to the eight on the road.
Butler says they need to be consistent, play well and win at home, which they have been doing with a 7-0-2 record in their last nine at the Gardens.
“If we win our games at home, we go .500 on the road,” he said, “We go 4-4 on the road and 10-4 at home, probably sets us up pretty good to have a good chance to get a home-ice spot for the playoffs.”
As for their 15 per cent success rate on the PP, Butler knows assistant coach John Goodwin is working hard on it and hopefully “it will get sorted out.”
“And that will make us (have) a much better special teams (overall),” he said.
The Troops finished the afternoon tied for 3rd in the Eastern Conference with Kingston, who are on the road in Guelph for a Sunday evening game.
North Bay’s 52 points also sit them five points behind Central Division-leading Sudbury to finish the week.
A new week begins Thursday night, when the Saginaw Spirit travels to North Bay for the first time since relocating from the Gateway City in 2002. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.
Game Notes
-The attendance was 3,132.
-Niagara forward Brendan Perlini was ranked 8th in the recent NHL Central Scouting mid-term report. Defenseman Aaron Haydon was also listed on the report at 28th among North American skaters.
-It was Special Olympics “Big Ticket Day” and as such, both teams and referees wore red laces. The same laces were available for sale to fans as well.
