The North Bay Battalion fell behind early and was unable to recover as the visiting Sudbury Wolves took a 7-1 decision at Memorial Gardens on Friday night.
Blake Murray scored a hat trick, his second on the road in North Bay after potting three goals on Sept. 27, 2017, to pace the Wolves, who also received a two-goal effort from Nolan Hutcheson. Former first overall OHL draft pick David Levin chipped in with a goal and two assists for the Wolves, who won their third consecutive game.
“I’m embarrassed,” Battalion assistant coach Adam Dennis said bluntly after the game.
“We were not very disciplined. I don’t know how you win a game when you take eight penalties, two of them five-minute majors, and also have the start that we had.”
Sudbury went three for eight with the man advantage. Supplementary discipline is likely for the Battalion’s Matthew Struthers and Daniel Walker, who were given matches penalties for kicking and attempt to injure respectively. According to the OHL rule book, match penalties carry an indefinite suspension “until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue”, meaning both will likely miss Sunday’s home game against the 67’s if not additional games next weekend.
Recent acquisition Mason Primeau scored the lone goal for the Troops on a first period deflection, which cut the Sudbury lead to 3-1. The Battalion also appeared to have cut into a 4-1 deficit at the second period buzzer, though the Kurtis Evans shot, initially ruled a goal on the ice, was deemed to have crossed the goal line after time had expired.
Tonight’s game ends a stretch of five consecutive games for North Bay against Central Division opponents. The Battalion entered Thursday’s game in last place in the division with 21 points, though it sat just five points behind the Wolves and Mississauga for first place, each sporting identical 12-6-2 records for 26 points apiece. The division remains the league’s closest in terms of points separating last from first.
The night was a success off the ice, with the Ottawa Senators sponsoring the game and former Senator and North Bay Centennial fan favourite Chris Neil in attendance for both autographs and a pre-game puck drop. Neil told Country 600 CKAT during the second intermission that it was his first time back at Memorial Gardens since his last season of junior hockey in 1998-99 and spoke warmly of the North Bay fans and his time with the Centennials.
Attendance was 2,645, the second highest total of the season at Memorial Gardens. The next Battalion game is Sunday at 3 p.m. when the Troops welcome the CHL’s second ranked team, the Ottawa 67’s. The Troops won the first meeting 4-3 on Oct. 3.
