Battalion winning streak halted by Rangers

All good things must come to an end, and for the North Bay Battalion, their seven game winning streak was halted Sunday by the Kitchener Rangers by a score of 4-3.

“I thought we had a hard time getting things going,” Troops head coach Ryan Oulahen explained post game. “At the start of the game you could tell it was two tired teams that played last night.

“Little bit sloppy, little bit slow, but then some energy started to get going but then I found we had a hard time grasping any sequence where we could sustain anything in the first two periods. We gave it a good run in the third which I’m happy about, but overall to reset. There’s no secret that we won seven in a row and were playing with house money for awhile, but it’s a good time to reset, get back in practice and start another one.”

Kitchener, which lost Saturday to the Sudbury Wolves 6-1, opened the scoring halfway through the first as Matthew Sop found Filip Mešár (6) from behind the net, beating Charlie Robertson. The Troops looked to have life shortly after on the powerplay as Ty Nelson beat Rangers netminder Marco Costantini. However, upon the goal wound up being called back on goaltender interference. That call proved to be huge as moments later on the same powerplay, Joseph Serpa (6) beat Robertson for a shorthanded tally. The Rangers led 2-0 after the first period.

Looking for life in the middle frame, Kyle McDonald (9) put North Bay on the board off a nice passing play by Owen Van Steensel, leaving McDonald in alone to dance around Costantini. Four minutes after the McDonald goal cut in to the lead, Kitchener captain Francesco Pinelli (10) reestablished  the two goal cushion, before Trent Swick (4) made it 4-1 after 40 minutes of play.

In the third, the Battalion came out hard, limiting Kitchener to one shot all period. In the final frame, Kyle Jackson (7) cut in to the lead just under six minutes in. Six minutes after that goal, Dalyn Wakely (9), fresh off a three point night Saturday in Barrie, pulled the Troops to within a goal. Yet, with the goaltender pulled and a powerplay in the final minute, Kitchener was able to turn away all shots and preserve the 4-3 win.

The Battalion will be back in action Thursday when they host the Kingston Frontenacs.

“It’s a really good chance for us to look at the games Monday,” Oulahen explained. “Even though you are winning, you are never playing the way you really want, so we’ll look at video, practice Tuesday and Wednesday and hopefully be a better team Thursday.”

You can catch that game live on the Frontline Gameday Broadcast starting at 6:50 p.m.