BATTALION LIVE BLOG - BATTALION VS GENERALS GAME 1
Game over! Troops hold on and win it 1-0.
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Dal Colle with a chance, he misses. Smoskowitz has a chance with a wide open net but he can't convert with 15 seconds left.
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Puck in Battalion zone Vande Sompel with a chance, he hits side of net. Gens trying to get into the Battalion zone.
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Battalion keep putting pressure on, nice stop by Altshuller off Thomson. Net now empty less than a minute to play.
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Gens come in offside, with 1:33 left.
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Faceoff outside Battalion blueline with 1:50 to play.
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We approach 2 minutes left, Battalion do a nice job keeping puck in Gens zone.
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Under 3 minutes left in regulation. Troops get puck in deep Gens struggle to get set up.
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Gens get some pressure, Josh Sterk gets away a quick shot and Smith smothers the puck. Face off in Battalion zone.
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Miller with the only helper on Paul's goal. We have 3:30 left in regulation now.
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WOW, Nick Paul gets around the Gens Dman and finally beats Altshuller to make it 1-0 Troops! Paul fought off the check of Chris Carlisle to get the shot away for his 8th goal of the playoffs.
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Troops work down low, Paul with a backhand shot stopped by Altshuller as Battalion cycle the puck nicely down low. Less than 5 min left in regulation.
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5:50 to go as Gens ice it again. Shots are 46-21 for Battalion.
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We are 14 minutes in, Oshawa with a icing call against them.
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Sam Harding with a chance near the slot and Smith makes a nice high shoulder save and the rebound is knocked away.
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We nearly hit the 13 minute mark of the 3rd.
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Wow, great chance on a point shot that Jamie Lewis crashed the net. Altshuller's mask comes off.
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Praplan with a nice feed from behind the net to Amadio, he can't get to it, but nice chance. Praplan playing well on this night.
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Only 9:11 left in regulation, still 0-0 at the TV timeout.
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We are still scoreless, here but Storm now up 5-2 in the 3rd. Storm took game 1 5-4.
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Nice rush from Dal Colle, drop pass to Busch and Blujus with a nice diving block by Blujus. 10:30 left in 3rd.
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We are 8:30 in to the 3rd period.
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Battalion continue to take shots from everywhere, but Altshuller won't allow a goal like some of the goals the Troops scored from bad angles in the Barrie series.
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Battalion get 3 quick shots on Altshuller as the energy line of Jarvis-Lewis-Santos creates a couple good chances.
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Closing in on 5 minute mark in a tight checking 3rd period. 5-0 Gens with shots on goal to start the 3rd period.
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We are about 3 minutes in to 3rd, still 0-0.
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Praplan with a good chance dipping and diving into the slot but can't convert on a nice rush.
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MItchell Vande Sompel with a good chance in tight on the left side.
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Puck has been dropped, Thomson hits Suellentrop early in the 3rd.
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We are about to drop the puck to start the 3rd period.
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Daniel Altshuller came in with a .939 save percentage coming into this game. It is getting better as he's perfect turning away 36 shots in the first 2 periods of play.
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In a 2nd period intermission interview on Rogers TV, Gens forward Michael Dal Colle talked about the series and what they have to do to be successful versus the Battalion.
"We have to match their physicality, generate chances down low and we can score that way," said Dal Colle, who is currently rated #5 in Central Scouting for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
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0-0 END OF 2ND PERIOD
End of the 2nd period. We are still 0-0 after 2 periods of play. Altshuller has made 36 stops over 2 periods of play.
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Penalty is over, we are in final minute of 2nd period. Gens take an icing call, actually 28 seconds left in the period now.
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Nice shorthanded chance for Gens, Mitch Vande Sompel sets up Aidan Wallace in the slot but he puts it right into the belly of Smith.
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1:30 left in PP less than 2:30 left in 2nd. Battalion finally setting up the PP.
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Wow, nice 3 way passing play in front of Altshuller. Opportunity created again by the Goodrow-Thomson-Paul line.
The result is Will Petschenig goes to the box again for Gens for late 2nd period PP for Troops.
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The Petschenig penalty is over and the Gens get a good chance thwarted by Jake Smith. Shots 32-16 with 4:08 left in the 2nd. Still no score.
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Less than 5 min left in 2nd. Wood with shot through screen of Nick Paul and Altshuller with the save. He's faced 32 shots already on this night.
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Just over minute left in 2nd Gens penalty.
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McIvor shot and rebound shot taken by Nick Paul, great save by Altshuller. 1st penalty is over.
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On a Nick Paul rush, the Gens try to dump the puck out and put it over the glass. Troops have 5 on 3 PP for 42 seconds.
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1 minute left in the power play, Battalion can't get set up.
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Less than 7:30 left in 2nd. Battalion trying to set up their PP which struggled on 1st opportunity.
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Battalion with some good puck possession in Gens zone and Josh Brown goes to the box. Troops back to PP.
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During TV timeout Stan Butler commented to Rogers TV:
"We need to get more traffic in front of the net and get some rebounds."
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Michael Dal Colle with a good chance rushing down left wing and his shot stopped by Jake Smith.
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We are past midpoint of 2nd period.
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Penalty is over, Gens even get a good shorthanded chance from a bad angle on Smith.
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Good passing play, cross crease pass, Goodrow can't tip it past Altshuller. 1:14 left in the PP. Faceoff outside Gens blueline.
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Generals Aidan Wallace gets a hooking call on a faceoff, and Troops get their 1st PP of the series.
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Shot from Latour catches the cross bar past Smith.
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Shots 22-10 in favour the Troops with 13:30 left in the 2nd.
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Pass in front to Matt MacLeod and Altshuller makes the point blank stop. Then Gens come down and get a good chance that Smith covers up for a face off.
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Hunter Smith on long cross ice pass fires a one-timer that Jake Smith turns away. 15 min left in 2nd.
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Harding and Smoskowitz witha solid chance. We are still scoreless. 16:10 left.
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Energy line of Lewis-Jarvis-Santos, wins a draw and creates a good chance. 17:30 left in 2nd.
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Nice rush and passing between Dal Colle and Sterk resulting in a good Gens chance. Nearly 2 min into 2nd period.
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2nd period underway in Oshawa.
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In the other series, the Storm lead the Erie Otters 2-0 tonight.
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During the Rogers TV intermission, here's what Barclay Goodrow shared about the series and the opening period:
"It's been great so far a lot of North Bay fans cheering us on so great to see and we love to play in front of an atmosphere like this.
"We knew this first period was going to be a battle.
"We need to find a way to get one past Altshuller and then protect the lead.
"When we play are game we can be the best team in teh league but we have to limit our mistakes."
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Praplan with a breakaway chance but buzzer sounds, 15-7 shots in favour of Troops, 0-0 after 20 minutes of play...
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Amadio gets hammered by giant Hunter Smith, less than 20 left
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Puck in Troops end, 1 min left in period.
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Odd man rush for Gens, Latour's blast is grabbed by Smith.
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Dal Colle gets a shot away just after PP and Smith with stop.
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Goodrow dumps it down and the PP is over.
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Sterk beats Smith upstairs and rattles off the post. No Goal. 17 seconds still left in PP.
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Josh Sterk with a great chance, appeared to go off at least 1 post and goes underneath Jake Smith. Play is under review...
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Miller looking for Paul on a stretch pass shorthanded, they elect to just dump it down. 35 seconds left in PP.
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Good puck possession for Gens on PP but no good chances. Puck cleared in to Gens bench leads to a stoppage.
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Battalion 2nd in PK in the playoffs and Gens 2nd in PP in playoffs.
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First penalty call goes to Dylan Blujus called for interference.
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Bradley Latour with a shot and Smith dives to cover up to make his 4th stop of the night.
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Thomson creating more chances as the top line gets a couple more chances on Altshuller. The Nepean native covers up. Less than 5 min left in 1st.
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Gens maybe showing some rust after their long rest.
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Gens not used to this so far in the playoffs.
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Praplan gets another shot from outside, blockered away by Altshuller. Shots 12-3 for Battalion.
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Less than 7 minutes left in the period. The coaches said the less penalties the better and so far no calls...
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Another chance in front as Thomson gets another good chance as Goodrow creates the opportunity for the gritty forward.
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Praplan and MacLeod showing some good chemistry early. Praplan only has 2 points so far in the playoffs.
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Battalion getting the edge so far in the first half of the 1st. Good start for the Troops.
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Turnover by Battalion and a great chance for a pinching Brenden Miller in the slot on a feed from Goodrow. Close call. Check that it was Thomson in the slot.
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Another shot on Altshuller as he covers up. Nearing middle of 1st.
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MacLeod tries a cross ice pass to Praplan, his one-timer is blocked.
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Loose puck picked up and quick shot stopped by Altshuller on the shot by Ben Thomson.
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Miller shuts down a Gens 2 on 1. The Jacob Busch shot blocked by Miller. 13:53 left in the 1st.
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Amadio feeds McKenzie outside the slot and Altshuller makes a good save and covers the puck. Shots 4-3 so far in favour of Troops.
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Goodrow with a quick shot on Altshuller, he had to be sharp on that one. We are almost 4 minutes in.
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Gens get some good puck possession in the Battalion end but can't get any shots through
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Puck is dropped, Suellentrop starts with a big hit on Ben Thomson
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There are Battalion fans sighted at the game not only wearing green jerseys but also green face paint and body paint!
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In other Battalion related news, former Battalion captain Cody Hodgson was named to play for Team Canada in the upcoming World Hockey Championships.
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Gens being introduces, North Bay's Kenny Appleby introduced 2nd behind starting netminder Daniel Altshuller.
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Battalion being introduced for the Conference Final.
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Both coaches discussed in a Eastern Conference Media Call, agreed they hope for few penalty calls in this series.
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Game 2 of the Western Conference final between the Erie Otters and the Guelph Storm takes place tonight. The Storm took game 1 in Guelph 5-4 on Thursday.
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Yes, Jake Smith gets the nod in goal for the Troops again. Butler compares his style to former Detroit Red Wings goaltender Manny Legace.
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This past week, Generals head coach DJ Smith was named the OHL's coach of the year.
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Daniel Altshuller gets the start for the Gens. Local product Kenny Appleby started the previous 2 games in North Bay in the second half of the season.
Altshuller, a 2012 3rd round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, is on top of nearly every goaltending category in the OHL playoffs. He already has 3 shutouts this playoff season.
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The Battalion and Gens split the regular season series 2-2, but the Troops do get an edge as one of their losses game in OT.
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The Troops will be without Zach Bratina and Alex Henriksson again for tonight's contest.
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Like their last meeting in March in the Gardens, the Gens will be without forward Scott Laughton, who is sitting out the 3rd game of a 3-game suspension.
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Battalion fans getting a good look at some top end talent for this years NHL Draft.
In round 1 we saw potential top 10 pick Brendan Perlini from the Ice Dogs, who the Battalion shut down I might add.
In round 2, we got a good look at the potential #1 overall pick in Aaron Ekblad of the Colts.
In this series another top 5 pick possibly in the Gens leading scorer Michael Del Colle.
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You can watch the game live on Cogeco Cable 12
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