A big third period from Sam Bitten paced the OHL-leading Ottawa 67’s to a 7-4 victory over the North Bay Battalion on Sunday afternoon.
Bitten deflected a puck over to Kody Clark for the game winner at the 1:05 mark of the final frame and added a pair of goals to seal the win for the visitors, who were coming off an 8-2 blowout of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Friday night. Linemates Clark and Sasha Chmelevski each had a goal and two assists to complement Bitten’s four-point output.
“I thought our effort was our best of the weekend, but having said that, we had a hard time controlling their speed and they cashed in on more of their chances,” said assistant coach Adam Dennis after the game.
The Battalion fell into an early 3-0 hole and were able to tie the score before the 67’s pulled away in the third, handing North Bay a third consecutive loss.
Ottawa’s Tye Felhaber, the league’s second-leading scorer and only overage player on the 67’s roster, opened the scoring at 8:44 of the first period. The goal extended his personal point streak to ten games. Felhaber was one of six Ottawa players to enjoy multi-point games. Ottawa has an OHL-best record of 19-3-3, good for 41 points and first place in the Eastern Conference.
The Battalion dressed only 11 forwards and were without Matthew Struthers and Daniel Walker, each indefinitely suspended for match penalty infractions incurred Friday night against Sudbury. Adam McMaster filled the role of first line centre between Justin Brazeau and Brad Chenier in Struthers’ stead and was a bright spot for the Troops, scoring two goals including a highlight reel marker in the second period.
The game, which was scheduled for a late 3 p.m. start due to the North Bay Santa Claus Parade, began similarly to Friday with the Battalion falling behind by multiple goals in the first period. This time however, North Bay was able to rally to tie the score at three, capped off by a beautiful goal from Brazeau on the powerplay in the second period. The visitors responded 56 seconds later to regain the lead which they would not relinquish.
The Troops are idle until hosting the Saginaw Spirit on Thursday for Coach4Food Night, with fans encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to the game in support of the North Bay Food Bank.
