Eight points from the top line of the Kitchener Rangers were too much for the North Bay Battalion to overcome, suffering a fifth straight loss, and 9 of 10 overall. On Friday night at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium it was Riley Damiani (1-2-3) Nick McHugh (1-1-2) and Greg Meireles (0-3-3) who paved the way for the Rangers to snap their own four game losing streak, with a 4-2 victory of the Battalion (11-16-1-1).
Two goals within a span of 43 seconds in the third by the Rangers gave them the gap they needed to put the Battalion away. Chase Campbell (5) broke the tie at 6:06, and at 6:49 it was that top line going right back on the attack with McHugh (6) getting the set up from Damiani and Meireles to add an insurance marker for Kitchener.
“It is what it is, their top players were better tonight and that was the difference,” says Assistant Coach Adam Dennis.
It was the second straight game in which North Bay overcame a first period deficit, tying the contest before eventually falling and picking up no points.
“We had a little dip in the third period. We had a little push back but quite frankly we need our top guys to be better,” says Dennis.
“If you look at the story of the game, their top line beat our top line.”
Alexy Lipanov (7) opened the scoring at the 16:47 point of the first period. It was a power-play goal, on the third opportunity of the opening frame. Kitchener would get the man advantage six times overall in the game.
Over the last 12 games played, North Bay has been held to two power-play chances or less in 10 of those contests. They have been shorthanded 52 times (including the six against the Rangers) compared to getting the advantage 24 times. Still, North Bay’s power play ranks among the tops in the league, and the Penalty Kill holds steady near the top five.
“Looking at the shots, they weren’t too far off,” says Dennis of the differential in special teams play, while the Rangers had the edge 34-29 on the shot clock.
“When you factor in its six power plays to two, you would think there should be a bigger swing in the shot totals, but the refs saw what they saw. They have a job to do, they’re human.”
“We have to find ways to win,” added Dennis.
Finding ways to win can be increasingly hard when the team is consistently playing catch up.
After Lipanov got that opening goal, Damiani (13) sent the Rangers (13-14-2-0) ahead by two with his goal near the end of the first at 19:23.
“I thought our start was good and [We] take three penalties in the first period and it’s not easy to generate much after that, I thought, for the most part, we held pretty strong,” says Dennis.
The Troops looked to their Captain to get them going in the second, as Justin Brazeau (26) received a pass in the slot from Matthew Struthers. It was the only time it seemed all night that Kitchener didn’t have someone tagging Brazeau on the ice. With all kinds of time and space, Brazeau lifted one past Rangers goaltender Luke Richardson, to put the visiting Troops on the board.
Down 2-1, North Bay continued to pour the pressure into the attacking zone. And after serving four consecutive penalties, they finally drew a power play for themselves. Ironically, it was the league leader in Penalty Minutes, Daniel Walker, drawing the call from the refs, and showing composure after the whistle as Justin McPherson took some health hacks at Walker in front of the Kitchener net.
The secondary power play unit was able to tie the game at 16:55 when Simon Rose took the shot from the point and it was tipped by Mason Primeau (9) past Richardson. It’s Primeau’s sixth goal in a Battalion uniform in just his tenth game with the club.
But just like last Sunday against Ottawa, the Troops were not able to win the third period.
Dennis says despite the team playing well at times, it’s still a five-game losing streak and the Battalion will have to dig their way out of it, “it’s going to be when these guys decide to stop it,” he says of the slide.
“It’s where we’re at right now, we’re 95 percent there. We need to find that extra five percent and go get it done.”
The Battalion did welcome a familiar face back to the lineup as Luke Burghardt made his season debut.
Burghardt had been forced to retire due to spinal injuries and announced during the summer that he would not be playing. However, he was able to work his way back from those issues and suit up with the Troops on Friday night.
“It was a shock for my body a little bit,” says Burghardt,
“I felt pretty good out there, good to be back with Brazeau and Struthers and hopefully moving on we’ll start clicking.”
And missing the first 28 games of the season, Burghardt was given a test right out of the gate, in suiting up against a strong and fast Rangers team.
“First game was going to be hard, I knew that,” he says on getting back into the lineup. “Hopefully it just gets easier and I’ll start feeling better out there.”
The coaching staff is also hoping Burghardt can not only feel better but give them that added depth to the top of their lineup.
“We’re excited to get Luke back, I thought he showed that he hasn’t lost that speed," said Dennis.
"He did a lot of good things out there and his game is going to come.”
The Troops are hoping as a group it all comes together soon. They have two Eastern Conference opponents coming up to finish this three in three road trip. Up next, the Niagara IceDogs at the Meridian Centre and on Sunday it’s the Bulldogs in Hamilton.
