Jake Smith shut the door and even chipped in with an assist, as the North Bay Battalion score three unanswered in the third period to beat the Sudbury Wolves 3-0. PHOTO by: TOM MARTINEAU
The North Bay Battalion seem to save their best for last when at home. After scoring 5 straight goals against Peterborough in the third period last Friday, they scored all three of their goals in the final frame on Thursday, shutting out the lowly Sudbury Wolves 3-0.
Two came off the stick of Mike Amadio, the other was by Alex Henriksson on a wrap around that sneaked between the pads of Samuel Tanguay.
“I need to be one of those guys the team leans on and looks to for offense, so it’s a good thing I am scoring right now,” said Amadio.
The Battalion played a strong defensive first period and did not allow a shot on goal until the seventeen minute mark. In the second North Bay seemed in a daze allowing four giveaways and were outshot in the period.
“I was glad out guys woke up in the third period and played the way they need to play to be successful. I didn’t think in the first two periods that we fore checked enough,” shared North Bay head coach Stan Butler.
He also credits the win to a solid effort by his netminder Jake Smith, who finished the evening with 18 saves and helped the offense with an assist on the game winning goal.
“He is probably one of the best athletic goalies around. He competes hard and finds ways to stop the puck. Any team when you have a good goalie it gives you a chance every night to win and that’s important.”
The game is the first of a home and home series between the two clubs and Amadio understands his team will need to play better if they want to grab back to back wins.
“We had a slow start. We did a lot of good things, but we did a lot of bad things too, so we better pick it up tomorrow in Sudbury.”
Butler says his players need to continue buying into the team’s game plan.
“When we play quote, ‘Battalion hockey’, we don’t give up a lot of shots and we are a hard team to play against. It’s just a matter of our guys understanding that we need to play that way for sixty minutes.”
Thursday’s win snaps a two game losing streak and gives the Battalion a six point lead atop the Central Division.
