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Huether's heroics lift Battalion over Wolves

Just two months after being traded away from the Sudbury Wolves, Ray Huether found the perfect way to remind his former team what they gave up.

Just two months after being traded away from the Sudbury Wolves, Ray Huether found the perfect way to remind his former team what they gave up.

The Battalion forward’s third period goal was the deciding factor against the Wolves on Friday night, giving the troops a 2-1 win over their Northern Ontario rival in Sudbury.

Battalion goaltender Jake Smith put in another solid performance en route to earning first star of the game, turning aside 34 Sudbury shots and helping the Battalion improve to 12-5-3-1 on the campaign.

The game began with frantic back-and-forth neutral zone play, with each team registering just one shot each in the first five minutes.

Battalion left-winger David Sherman eventually opened the scoring just six minutes into the match, with his third of the season eluding Wolves’ goaltender Samuel Tanguay.

Despite substantial Battalion pressure in the second period, it was the Wolves who managed to make the most of their opportunities.

Fourth-year forward Nathan Pancel took a centering feed from Nicholas Baptiste, giving him the time and space he needed to fire a wrist shot top shelf to tie the game heading into the third period.

Amidst a barrage of Sudbury shots and scoring chances in the final frame, the Battalion managed to negate the Wolves' momentum in a big way. With veteran goaltender Smith turning aside a flurry of Sudbury shots, the stage was set for Huether’s heroics.

Huether, taking advantage of a frantic scrum in front of the Sudbury net, buried his third of the season past his former goaltender Tanguay, who had a Battalion player on top of him. 

The 4,127 in attendance were noticeably upset with what they thought should be a disallowed goal. Despite the reaction though, the referees didn’t deem the goal worthy of a review, giving the Battalion the one goal lead in the late stages of the game.

The Battalion would go on to withstand strong offensive pressure from the Wolves for the rest of the period, solidifying the home-and-home sweep and improving their record to 3-0 against the Wolves this season. 

With the two points, the Battalion extend their Central Division lead with 28 points, eight more than the Barrie Colts. The troops will now switch their focus to their home game against the Guelph Storm next Thursday, November 27, at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.


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Liam Berti

About the Author: Liam Berti

Liam Berti is a University of Ottawa journalism graduate who has since worked for BayToday as the City Council and North Bay Battalion reporter.
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