Make it seven in a row for the North Bay Battalion as they downed the Peterborough Petes by a score of 5-3 off the strength of two goals by Kyle McDonald.
“It was a really good junior hockey game,” explained head coach Ryan Oulahen post game.
“There was a lot of fast pace, lot of good execution both ways, not a lot of special teams and I thought that helped the pace.
“I really liked our game tonight. Give them credit too, I thought they played really well. They tested us, they came out really hard and we adjusted to that and got to business. McDonald was a difference maker for us tonight.”
The Troops looked to get off to a hot start as McDonald batted a puck past Petes netminder Michael Simpson. However, since McDonald’s stick was above the crossbar when it hit the puck, it was ruled as a high stick. No matter for the Battalion though, as a few moments later, Kyle Jackson (31) found the net for a goal that counted. Yet, the Petes countered with World Junior gold medalist, Owen Beck (23) tying the game before Tucker Robertson (36) beat Dom DiVincentiis to give Peterborough a 2-1 lead after the first.
In the second, the Petes continued the pressure before a Liam Arnsby (12) goal tied the game and gave North Bay some life.
A few moments later, McDonald (32) netted one that counted to give the Troops a brief lead. Just over two minutes later, Konnor Smith (3) tied the game back up and the two teams went in to the intermission at 3-3.
After a lot of back and forth between the two sides, McDonald (33) found the back of the net for the game winning goal just over 12 minutes in to the third. Following that up, Owen Van Steensel (9) finished things off with an empty netter with 11 seconds remaining.
Making his return to the Troops lineup was Justin Ertel. The Dallas Stars prospect missed 22 games, but let his presence be known early, even dropping the gloves.
“I don’t think he would have been at that pace if he played last week, even if he was healthy enough,” assessed Oulahen.
"He looked like he hasn’t missed a beat. His first or second shift he got the crowd going, but he kept it simple and was a presence.
“We noticed him out there and he helped our team.”
In a potential first round playoff match up preview, the Battalion host the Sudbury Wolves Sunday.
“I’m really happy that we have the two days and using a two game week to recover,” Oulahen statement.
"We know the ins and outs of Sudbury and how they want to play since this is the eighth time we have played them.
“They’re still jockeying for positioning, and we are too, it’s a big hockey game.”
You can catch that game live on the Frontline Gameday Broadcast YouTube channel starting at 1:50 p.m.
