Skip to content

Battalion come out on top in sudden death stunner (PHOTOS & VIDEO)

North Bay Battalion forward Ryan Kujawinski, far left, celebrates his game winning goal in the second sudden death overtime period against the Barrie Colts in game four of their series on Thursday night.

North Bay Battalion forward Ryan Kujawinski, far left, celebrates his game winning goal in the second sudden death overtime period against the Barrie Colts in game four of their series on Thursday night. PHOTOS BY TOM MARTINEAU

The North Bay Battalion are playing like a confident hockey team right now.

But that confidence was almost shattered in spectacular fashion against the Barrie Colts on Thursday night.

After controlling much of the game, the Troops surrendered three goals in the third period and gave the Colts a glimpse of life in sudden death overtime.

But North Bay’s two big trade deadline acquisitions combined on a pretty odd-man passing play to steal game four of the Eastern Conference semi final series in a stunning way. 

Ryan Kujawinski scored the sudden death strike on a two-on-one with Nick Moutrey less than four minutes into the period, giving the Troops a commanding 3-1 series lead heading back to Barrie.

“I think the most energy I had in the period was when I was skating down the ice celebrating the goal,” Kujawinski said after the game. “We knew we had to bring our intensity up; we were still playing pretty good hockey, but we just had to bring it up a notch and that’s exactly what we did.”

While the scoreboard showed a close game, it was anything but close for the majority of the night.

Captain Marcus McIvor and the Battalion power play broke Barrie's Mackenzie Blackwood early with their first opportunity with the man advantage. 

The Troops' captain walked in from the right point and fired a low wrist shot, which Blackwood kicked out perfectly. Only problem was, the rebound redirected off his defenceman’s skate and floated in on the empty side of the net. 

The guys in green dominated every aspect of the early game, outshooting the Colts 16-4  in the first period and frustrating the Barrie boys beyond belief, who struggled to advance the puck through the neutral zone.

The Battalion power play continued to pick Barrie apart in the second after Nick Paul emerged from the Colts’ corner and fed Mike Amadio a perfect one-time pass, which he potted just inside the short side post.

Blackwood knocked the net off while sliding over, but the referees decided the puck was in the back of the net before it became dislodged, keeping the two-goal lead intact.

An entire period of convincing play later though, the Battalion finally broke down.

A flunked Battalion breakout cost the Troops their first goal after Barrie defenceman Rasmus Andersson scored his first of the post season, giving the Colts a glimpse of much-needed life.

Barrie would suffer from a breakout fail of their own just 40 seconds later, turning the puck over on a quick transition pass just within Moutrey’s reach, who buried his third goal in as many games in the top left corner. 

But despite the response, the rest of the period belonged to Barrie. Or, more particularly, it belonged to Roy Radke.

Rookie forward Radke came streaking down the left side, beating a Battalion defender with his speed and squeezing the puck in the tight gap between goaltender Jake Smith and his post for Barrie's second tally. 

Then, just five minutes later, Radke officially became the Colts’ comeback kid by having his centering pass redirect off defenceman Kyle Wood’s leg and bounce over a sprawling Jake Smith.

Fluky or not, Radke’s second strike set the stage for a stunning sudden death showdown.

These fans came ready for the antics of Barrie's Joe Blandisi. Photo by Jeff Turl.

One back and forth overtime period wasn’t enough to settle the score, so the two teams suited up for the fifth period of the night.

And that’s where the two newest members of the Battalion put on a show North Bay fans had waited a long time for.

Recognizing the two-on-one, Moutrey drew all the attention to his side and set Kujawinski up for a perfect one-timer that he fired over the glove of Blackwood. 

“I really didn’t know how good of a shot that was until I watched it in the coaches room afterwards, but there’s no doubt it, that was a heck of a shot,” Battalion head coach Stan Butler said after the game. 

“I was proud of our guys and the way they persevered,” said Butler. “I think they have a lot of character and I think a lot of that is because we have guys that were there last year.”

In the end, the Battalion outshot the Colts 49-19, never allowing the visitors more than 10 shots in a period.

Thursday’s onslaught means the Battalion have now outshot the Colts 159-90 in the series. 

The Colts now return home in the elimination hot seat, needing just one loss to cease their season.

Game five is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night at the Barrie Molson Centre.

“With your identity in the playoffs, you’ve got to find it; but in order to be really successful, you’ve got to sustain it,” Butler concluded.  “We are at a stage now where we probably have found that identity, but if we don’t sustain it, it doesn’t matter.” 

Battalion vs Colts game 4 2OT GWG April 16th, 2015 from Chris Dawson on Vimeo.

 


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