Marcus McIvor blocks a Brendan Lemieux shot. PHOTO BY MATT GORDON.
Things did not look good early for the North Bay Battalion but the team battled back on the strength of some stellar goaltending and two goals from forward Ben Thomson to beat the Barrie Colts 3-2 Sunday night at the Barrie Molson Center.
The win clinches the series for the Troops (4-2) and propels them to the Eastern Conference Final where they will face the number one seeded Oshawa Generals.
The Colts came out strong in the first, definitely looking like a team on the brink of elimination. The host squad kept the visitors without a shot for the first ten minutes of the game and quickly grabbed the lead when Garrett Hooey finished off a nice passing play just 1:23 into the game.
“They came out flying, we really had our backs up early on,” said Battalion Head Coach Stan Butler. “It was one of those games where we just had to hang on early,” he added.
Things went from bad to worse for the Battalion as Captain Barclay Goodrow took back to back minor penalties.
The first, just one minute after Hooey’s opening goal and the latter coming just seconds after stepping out of the box. North Bay was able to kill off both penalties as netminder Jake Smith shut the door with 13 first period saves.
The Battalion knotted the game up mid-way through the opening stanza when Nick Paul netted his 7th of the playoffs on the power play. North Bay dominated the special team game on Sunday night going 1 for 4 on the power play and holding Barrie at bay on all 5 of their man advantages.
"We got the first one and wanted the 2nd and 3rd and have them wait for game 7, but our power play really struggled and we didn't cash in when we needed too," said Barrie Colts Head Coach Dale Hawerchuk.
The first period ended much the way it began with a flurry of activity in front of Smith, but the diminutive puck stopper kept the game tied into the intermission.
The visitors got a big boost early in the second when Thomson netted his 3rd of the playoffs just 25 seconds into the period. Linemate Nick Paul found Thomson in the slot with a beautiful cross ice backhand feed and he made no mistake putting it behind Colts goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
“Those two were huge,” said Goodrow of Thomson and Paul.
“Obviously, we have a pretty big line, so we try to be a force down low, and we’ve been able to get some big goals right now.”
The remainder of the period provided back forth action as the teams traded chances, but neither was able to make any of them count.
The hosts had the best chance to break the deadlock at the 11:25 mark when a puck slid past Smith on goal mouth scramble.
The goal judge felt the puck had crossed the line and lit the red light, exciting the home crowd but referee Scott Oakman immediately waved off the goal.
The official did call upstairs for a review which confirmed the call on the ice as no goal.
Surprisingly the final period of the night started slow with only shot registered by either team in the first 4 minutes. The visitors seemed content to get the puck deep and attempt to cycle to kill time while the Colts were unable to break through the Battalion’s 1-2-2 trap.
At the 8:30 mark of the frame North Bay defenseman Dylan Blujus was called for hooking giving Barrie a golden opportunity to get back into the game. However, it was the Battalion who took advantage as Thomson capitalized on a miscue at the blue line and put one by Blackwood on a shorthanded breakaway.
The Colts poured on the pressure as the game came to a close and were able to get one goal back with 13 seconds remaining and the goalie pulled. However, the Troops were able to win the ensuing faceoff and kill the remaining time.
After the game Butler had a lot of praise for his players rebounding from a tough loss in game 4 in this same arena just 4 nights prior.
“We have a really great group of character guys. They knew we were up against a good team with 12 guys that went on a run to the finals last year. They had to be prepared and I think they were,“ stated the bench boss.
Overage Colts forward Mitchell Theoret was obviously dejected after the loss, bringing his major junior career to an end and spoke about how tough North Bay was to play.
“They were a tough team and played really well, I think they are going to give Oshawa a run for their money,” said the 6’2” forward from Montreal. When asked what advice he would give the younger players on his team, his message was simple: “Just don’t take the time for granted, 5 years can go really fast.”
The Battalion now advance to the Conference Final for just the second time in franchise history. The only other time being the 2008-89 Cody Hodgson, Matt Duchene led Brampton Battalion who lost in the OHL final to the Windsor Spitfires.
That series will get underway Friday in Oshawa, game two goes Sunday in Oshawa as well. North Bay will host games 3 and 4 the following Tuesday and Wednesday. The season series between the two clubs was tied 2-2 with each team winning one at home and one on the road.
Ice Chips: The Colts outshot the Battalion 31-22; 3 stars were Tomson, Smith and Paul; Attendance was a sold out 4164; Nick Paul is tied for 2nd in the OHL with 7 playoff goals, one behind Erie’s Andre Burakovsky; Smith is 3rd in the OHL playoffs with a 2.08 Goals Against Average
