The Oshawa Generals ruined the North Bay Battalion's Centennial throwback and teddy bear toss by scoring five unanswered goals on Friday night, beating the troops 5-2 at Memorial Gardens. PHOTO BY TOM MARTINEAU
Despite scoring 16 seconds into the game and getting off to an early two-goal lead, the North Bay Battalion dropped their final game before the holiday break on Friday night, losing 5-2 to the Oshawa Generals.
The first-place Generals (26-4-1) proved why they are atop the league's standings, scoring five unanswered goals from five different goal scorers in the comeback.
Oshawa goaltender Ken Appleby, a native of North Bay, made 25 saves en route to his 23rd win of the season. After the questionable start, Appleby made a series of sprawling saves and big stops in front of his hometown family and friends in the win.
"Their compete level was just better than ours," said Battalion head coach Stan Butler after the game. "That's why they're the best team in Canada right now, because their compete-level is the same all the time."
Just 16 seconds into the opening frame, North Bay defenseman Miles Liberati continued to fill a much-needed secondary scoring void for the Battalion (16-9-5-1). Winger Hampus Olsson fired a weak wrist shot on Appleby from the blue line, with the rebound bouncing right on to Liberati’s stick and into the open cage, extending his point-streak for four games.
It was the annual teddy bear toss night, which were scheduled to be thrown to the ice in the second intermission. Clearly overwhelmed with excitement though, the North Bay fans used Liberati's goal as a reason to celebrate, which brought an avalanche of 1,134 stuffed animals to the ice.
Just moments after the clean up, the 3,726 North Bay fans were treated to a flash of brilliance from Battalion centre Brett McKenzie. Taking on a pair of General defenders himself, McKenzie used his speed to drive around the outside and walk in alone on Appleby, burying his fourth of the season for the early two-goal lead.
But, not to be discouraged by the early deficit on the road, the Generals quickly fought their way back.
Less than two minutes later, the league’s best power play unit went to work with Generals blue-liner Stephen Desrocher beating Jake Smith from the point. Thirty-seconds later, the quick Generals transition game generated a four-on-two rush, with Michael Turner scoring his fifth of the season.
"We got off to a little bit of a shaky start, but we tried battling back and we had guys that really helped out by stepping up, blocking shots and scoring those two goals right away," said Appleby after the game. "That really regenerated my confidence."
Looking to regain the momentum for his team, Battalion defenseman Zach Shankar threw an enormous hit on Generals’ Aidan Wallace, leaving Wallace on the ice for minutes. But Shankar was given a five-minute major plus a game misconduct for checking to the head, opening the door for the Generals'.
While the Generals couldn’t find a way to convert on the ensuing power play, they maintained the momentum and pressure for the rest of the game.
In a surge of offensive power, the Generals scored three even-strength goals over the final 25 minutes, with Sam Harding getting the game-winner and Cliff Pu and Hunter Smith adding insurance markers to the collective sigh of the Memorial Gardens crowd.
"I think the biggest thing for us in the first half [of the season] is we have been up and we have been down," said Butler. "I think that's the biggest thing; we have got to become a more consistent team."
Fifteen Centennial alumni were on hand for Friday night’s game, with notables Jason Houle, Tim Favot, Ron Bertrand and Dennis Bonvie taking to centre ice for the ceremonial puck-drop. Bonvie, the most penalized player in professional hockey history with 4,804 penalty minutes, was given a standing ovation by the North Bay fans.
The crowd also went wild for the video montage of the Centennials’ championship run in 1994, which seemed to motivate the troops for the opening stages of the game, but gradually wore off as the Generals mounted their comeback.
The Battalion enter the holiday break having gone 5-4-2 in their last 11 games and are now just two points ahead of the Barrie Colts for the Central Division lead.
"I think we've just got to try and clear our heads," said McKenzie after the game. "Over the break we definitely have to think about what's coming up in the new year."
The troops return to action on New Years Eve against the Ottawa 67s at Memorial Gardens. Game time is 1 p.m.
