Skip to content

Battalion fillet Steelheads (VIDEO)

Battalion forward Zach Shankar delivers a hit in the second period of Wednesday night's 5-1 win over the Mississauga Steelheads at Memorial Gardens.

Battalion forward Zach Shankar delivers a hit in the second period of Wednesday night's 5-1 win over the Mississauga Steelheads at Memorial Gardens. PHOTO BY TOM MARTINEAU

It took a little while to get going, but once the North Bay Battalion found their stride they were too much for the Mississauga Steelheads to handle on Wednesday night. 

A three-goal explosion in the second period helped push the troops to a 5-1 over the visitors at Memorial Gardens. Mike Amadio lead the way with three assists, while linemates Ryan Kujawinski and Nick Paul had a goal and assist of their own. 

“I was just happy with the way we played for 60 minutes," Battalion head coach Stan Butler said after the game. "I thought we got off to a good start and got the lead, and I think we are a better team when we have the lead.”

Goaltender Jake Smith was named first star of the game for his 25 save performance, with Paul and defenceman Miles Liberati earning the second and third stars, respectively. 

“I thought they came hard at us early in the third period and had us on our heels, but Jake made three or four great saves and we were lucky to level it out and go from there,” said Butler. 

The scoring started when Amadio delivered a flawless centering pass through traffic from the right half boards for Brett McKenzie to take in stride. McKenzie took no time to pick his spot and fired a quick release wrist shot to the top left corner for the first goal of the game.

The troops got caught flat-footed in the early stages of the second though. Just over a minute into the frame the Steelheads sprung on a three-on-one rush that finished with a crisp tick-tack-toe play in the back of the net.

Steelhead offensive leader Jimmy Lodge was left with the empty cage, potting his 24th of the campaign.

But all that seemed to do was re-ignite the Battalion, who went on a three-goal tear in the last eight minutes of the period. Hampus Olsson kicked the flurry off with a tipped-in point shot before Liberati stole the spotlight with a wide drive and fancy finish through the five hole of Brennan.

Paul rounded out the frame with a low wrist shot from in close, his third goal in as many games.

The Steelheads managed to mount some threatening pressure early on in the final period, but Smith made a sequence of stunning saves to fend off any kind of Mississauga comeback. 

The troops eventually began dictating the play again in most areas of the game. First-line forward Ryan Kujawinski earned the collective awes of the crowd with a bar-down wrist shot that could barely be seen, only heard, and the final touch on a strong performance. 

The troops' Central Division rival Barrie Colts were also in action against the Sudbury Wolves on Wednesday night, with the Colts taking the 6-2 win and maintaining their three-point lead over the troops for the top spot. 

The Battalion have now won two in a row and will shift their focus to Friday night when they travel to Sault Ste. Marie to take on the dominant Greyhounds, who are on an eight-game winning streak.

“They’re a real puck possession team and if you don’t manage the puck, they have more skill than Mississauga has, so they are going to put the puck in your net," said Butler. 

“Our team is a funny team; we seem to play at the level of the team that we are playing against, so hopefully we can do that this Friday night as well,” he concluded.

Game time is 7:07 p.m. at the Essar Centre. 

View the highlights below:


Reader Feedback

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.
Read more