NORTH BAY, Ont. – The North Bay Battalion put forth a better effort in their return to home ice but it wasn’t enough as the rival Sudbury Wolves edged out a 3-2 victory Friday night.
Kalle Loponen scored the winner on the powerplay at 16:11 of the third on a powerplay precipitated by a questionable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Battalion’s Nick Grima, who fired a puck towards the net that the referee alleged was after the whistle. A too many men penalty to the Troops’ bench followed that and Sudbury’s powerplay was able to convert on a five-on-three.
“I thought we were really good for the first two periods, but we had powerplay opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of unfortunately.” said Battalion head coach Stan Butler.
“In the third period there were a couple bad mistakes on goals. The second goal is a bad missed coverage in our own zone and we just can’t make those types of mistakes.”
The Battalion put forth a solid effort before 2,416 at Memorial Gardens, playing its most complete game in a few weeks after the Grand Slam of Curling evicted the club from the arena. The Troops were happy to return home following a disastrous five-game road trip during which they went 0-5-0 and averaged more than eight goals against per game. The loss is North Bay’s sixth in a row, the last victory coming back on Thanksgiving Day in a 7-5 triumph over the Soo Greyhounds.
The first two periods belonged to the Battalion, which was foiled multiple times by its former netminder Christian Purboo. It has been a mixed bag overall so far this season for Purboo, who has the daunting task of replacing last year’s OHL Most Outstanding Player in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who departed Sudbury in the offseason to join the Buffalo Sabres’ farm system. Matthew Struthers and Luke Moncada were able to beat Purboo on rushes up the ice in the second to give the Battalion a lead that ultimately would not last.
Sudbury claimed the win on the back of a strong third period, where they outshot the Troops 12-4 and scored the tying and winning goals. Any hope of a comeback for the Battalion was snuffed out when Brandon Coe was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for slew footing with 90 seconds left, though they generated a solid chance in the final minute when Moncada was denied on a one-time chance on the lip of the crease.
Personnel from both teams were absent attending the annual World U17 Hockey Challenge tournament which begins Saturday in Swift Current, Saskatchewan and Medicine Hat, Alberta. Landon McCollum and Chase Stillman, the Wolves’ top two draft picks from last year, were out for Sudbury while top pick Liam Arnsby was missing for North Bay, along with athletic therapist Andrew Sachkiw who is on the staff of Team Canada Black. Also gone, on a scouting assignment, was assistant coach Adam Dennis, who had his usual position on the bench filled by skills coach Ryan Oulahen.
The Battalion is idle Saturday and plays its next game Sunday at home against the Peterborough Petes. Sunday’s matchup is the team’s annual Remembrance Day Salute, where military members will conduct a ceremonial faceoff and the Troops will wear special camouflage-themed jerseys for the contest.
