Maybe Brett Hargrave should've been centering his own line all along.
After being moved to the middle of the North Bay Battalion's third line in coach Stan Butler's latest shuffle, the local product hit his stride against the Saginaw Spirit on Thursday night, scoring the game-winning goal in the first period and dazzling his hometown fans with a wide one-man drive in the final frame to snap the team’s losing skid.
The cross-conference battle couldn’t have come at a better time for the Battalion, who beat the Spirit 4-1 at Memorial Gardens, lifting them to a tie for third place in the Eastern Conference.
But back to Hargrave.
The fourth-year forward has been used in almost every and any situation in Butler’s regime, and finally that tenacity was rewarded in his strongest performance of the year.
“That’s the best he’s played since he’s been here,” Butler said after the game. “He probably showed the skills of why he was drafted tenth overall in the league.
“Hopefully for him it’s a wake up call for him just to see that when he really plays his game and he’s skating what he’s capable of doing in this league,” he added. “That’s the way he needs to play to be successful.”
Secondary scorers Cam Dineen and Justin Brazeau provided the backup attack, while goaltender Jake Smith stopped 28 Saginaw shots to earn the second star.
The new-look forward lines were confident and quick through the neutral zone all night, while Saginaw, who are now winless in their last six games, stumbled in the early going and failed to mount any meaningful sustained attack.
The Troops, who thrive when their puck possession is on point, showed confident puck movement and smooth, tight transitions through the middle of the ice from the early going.
“We’ve been trying to work on a lot of puck movement quickness, getting our defence to get their toes up ice and move the puck quicker,” said Butler. “I thought today’s game was one of our more complete games of the year.
“It was more of the type of game that I was used to standing behind and watching last year as the coach of the team,” he added. “I felt that Saginaw was playing well, but I never felt that we were ever in any kind of trouble.”
Launched by a big defensive zone faceoff win, defenceman Dineen started the scoring as he silenced all with his smooth skating past a stand-still Saginaw defence, sneaking in all-alone to score on his signature forehand-backhand dangle.
Moments later, Spirit forward Mitchell Stephens was sprung on a similar play down the Battalion halfboards and looked to ring his wrist shot off the cross bar from an impossibly tight angle.
Play continued on for a few whistleless minutes before an icing call prompted a video review from the officials, which showed that Stephens’ shot actually snuck inside the top of the net for the equalizer.
But Hargrave’s first and most important marker of the evening was the clear pivot point and momentum changer for the guys in green.
Capitalizing on an awful defensive turnover behind the Saginaw net, Hargrave picked up a lose puck and fired a spinning forehand shot while being dragged down to the ice.
“It was a great second-effort kind of goal, and that all comes down to him and his work ethic,” said Butler.
Rookie Brazeau carried that momentum into the second period with an impressive burst of speed from his own blue line, winning a race to a loose puck in the Saginaw zone and sailing a backhand shot inside the farside post.
The Spirit were able to put a little bit of pressure on the North Bay net, but the bulk of the shots were weak and from the perimeter, none of which stood a chance against Smith.
Hargrave, who looked to have an extra jump in his step all night, then silenced that effort as he exploded down the left side and blew past every player on the ice in a determined drive to the net for the three-goal nail in the coffin.
“I think it’s nice to come out of the corner in your own end and drive through the neutral zone with speed because you don’t have to get caught up on the wall,” he said of playing the new position. “With guys like [Steve] Harland and [Daniil] Vertiy giving you the puck, it’s really nice.”
His coach, too, recognized the difference.
“You’ve got to be a little courageous to go to the net when you drive around the defence,” said Butler. “He’s just got to play at that speed and we thought that moving him into the middle frees him up a little bit and allows him to play with a little more speed.”
The Spirit’s frustration in the late stages was palpable, with the team making countless questionable late hits and goading attempts. But the Battalion stayed stoic and rode out the win for what their coach called one of their most complete efforts yet.
Butler’s new-look forward lineup seemed to catalyze some strong chemistry, particularly the trio of Hargrave, Vertiy and Harland. Elsewhere, Maurizio Colella stepped into a first-line role with Mike Amadio and Mathew Santos, while the second line of Brett McKenzie, Zach Poirier and David Sherman had their strong moments too.
“We’ve been trying to challenge ourselves as coaches, not only with [Hargrave], but with the team in general to try and make our team better,” said Butler.
Forward Mike Baird was out of the lineup for the first game in an indefinite suspension for a hit to the head of Niagara IceDogs forward Pavel Jenys last week. The suspension is the veteran forward’s third of the season, the length of which Butler said the league is still deciding.
The Battalion now have a day off before travelling to Kingston to fight the conference-best Frontenacs on Saturday.
