The hot streak continues for the North Bay Battalion as the Troops picked up their seventh straight win with a 7-2 victory over the Colts on Saturday night in Barrie and lead the Central Division with a 12-4-0-0 record.
The Battalion came out of the gates raring to go and just 43 seconds into the contest Ty Nelson (6) ripped a shot from just inside the blue line goaltender Anson Thornton for the night's opening tally.
North Bay didn’t stop there and it became a short night for Thornton.
At 6:27 Matvey Petrov backhanded a puck toward the goal from the far side boards and Thornton wasn’t able to get his pads down quick enough to keep the puck out, resulting in Petrov’s 9th goal of the season and stretches his point streak to 13 games dating back to October 7th.
The next Battalion goal was a beautiful individual effort by Anthony Romani. After Justin Ertel threw a big hit on the boards below the face-off circle in the Barrie zone, Romani found the lose puck and from below the goal line he dragged it around a defender, set himself up in the slot and put a backhanded shot on net that found its way through for a 3-0 Troops lead. It was the goal that chased Thornton from the net and it was part of the perfect game plan for the Battalion according to the Captain Liam Arnsby.
“I thought we played a strong game. We knew they came in late from London last night, so our plan was to get the jump on them early and we executed that very well,” he says.
Arnsby had an assist on the opening goal and got the Battalion back on the board in the second period on a shorthanded breakaway goal that put North Bay ahead 4-0.
“I saw the puck go back off the draw so I just got into my spot for the kill. Then I saw their player come loose with it so I tried reading the play, then he just whiffed on the pass and I turned on the burners and got rewarded for it,” says Arnsby.
Arnsby would add an assist later on in the game giving him a three-point night. The Florida Panthers prospect now has 4 goals and 13 points on the season, and he’s currently riding a six-game point streak.
“I just think my confidence and my line mates have really helped with the point production this year,” he says.
“I’m an older player in this league and now I’ve gone to an NHL camp and I’m using my experience to translate into having productive games.”
Dallas Stars prospect Ertel (5) picked up his second point of the night at 19:38 of the second period, finishing off a nifty tic-tac-toe play that started with Kyle Jackson getting the puck off the boards, feeding it to Nic Sima at the goal line who dished it off to Ertel in the slot. It put the Battalion up 5-0 going into the third.
Barrie answered back with two goals within the first seven minutes of the period, both from San Jose Sharks 2021 fourth round draft pick Ethan Cardwell (12, 13).
But Dalyn Wakely had a strong finish to the game picking up a pair of goals (7, 8). One on the power play at 9:03 and another at 14:21 to finish with a three-point night and first star of the game honours.
Dom DiVincintiis made 26 saves on 28 shots. The Winnipeg Jets prospect is now 10-3-0-0 with a 2.72 Goals Against Average through his first 13 games this season.
The Battalion will put that win streak on the line as they host the Kitchener Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
“The group is feeling good right now,” says Arnsby. “I think we have some good swagger and some confidence and we’re just looking to continue building on that.”
You can catch that game broadcasted live on the Frontline Broadcast YouTube channel.
