The Sudbury Wolves sported their alternate green jerseys at Sudbury Arena on St. Patrick's Day and found good fortune in the form of a playoff-clinching win. The North Bay Battalion's 5-2 loss, however, has pushed the Troops to the brink of playoff elimination. Even worse, North Bay now must have a series of events go exactly right for the team to have a chance at even a tiebreaker situation.
Dmitry Sokolov scored a hat-trick and added one assist to lead the Wolves. Adam Thilander and Daniil Verity replied in a losing cause.
North Bay has one game remaining, Sunday afternoon at home versus the Kingston Frontenacs. With Sudbury clinching Friday, the only team that the Troops can catch in the standings is the Niagara IceDogs. The IceDogs host the Wolves Saturday night and make the short trip to face the Mississauga Steelheads Sunday afternoon. For North Bay's game Sunday to mean anything, they must hope that Niagara does not earn a point in either of their weekend tilts.
In the second half of a crucial home-and-home series with the Sudbury Wolves, Thursday night's 4-0 triumph by the Battalion surely weighed heavily on the minds of the players and coaching staffs of both teams as they travelled west on Highway 17. The win moved the Troops to within striking distance of the Wolves in the Eastern Conference standings and putting North Bay's rivals in danger of missing the playoffs as well.
The North Bay win, one of their finest of the season, could have been much more lopsided if not for the goaltending of Jake McGrath. The Troops dominated for 60 minutes, exhibiting the sort of three-zone team play that an often frustrated Stan Butler has admitted to rarely being able to coax out of this group so far this season.
Butler was absent from both halves of the series with Sudbury, deciding instead to scout midget-aged players at the OHL Cup. John Dean served as the bench boss, with Adam Dennis taking on more responsibility in his assistant's role.
Julian Sime got the nod in goal for the Battalion one night after he registered a shutout win against the Wolves.
Steve Harland continued his hot play of late, teeing up defenceman Thilander who was creeping in from the point on the powerplay. Thilander beat McGrath with a hard shot that beat McGrath high to his blocker side. Thilander's sixth was also assisted by Brady Lyle.
Dmitry Sokolov tapped home an easy goal at the post to tie things 1-1, his team-leading 45th. Kyle Capobianco shot, and a deflection saw the puck land right in the path of the high-scoring Russian, who beat a scrambling Sime. Ryan Valentini was credited with the second assist on the play.
A chippy, fast-paced first period at the Sudbury Arena ended tied 1-1, with the Wolves holding a 17-11 advantage in shots.
The Battalion spent much of the second period on their heels. The team seemed to get away from all of the good habits that made the team successful Thursday night.
The Troops killed off a Brett McKenzie minor for interference, and soon after went to the powerplay as Ryan Valentini was whistled for a roughing penalty. North Bay's Brady Lyle stumbled and the Wolves' Chandler Yakimowicz headed in on Sime for a shorthanded chance. Sime made the save, bailing out his defenceman in the process.
With 2:24 to play in the second period, Verity tipped a Zach Shankar shot that found its way through traffic past McGrath. Verity's 15th was North Bay's second powerplay marker of the night, a rare occurrence.
With one minute to play in the second, Sokolov struck again, tying the game 2-2, taking the wind out of the sails of the visitors, who looked as though they were about to emerge from the period ahead despite being soundly outplayed. The powerplay goal was assisted by Macauley Carson and Yakimowicz.
Sudbury led in shots after two periods, 33-17. The Battalion was 7-9-0-1 when tied after two.
Just 20 seconds into the third, Sudbury took their first lead of the game, scoring at 4-on-4 with Brad Chenier and Sudbury's Kyle Capobianco serving roughing penalties. Patrick Sanvido scored his third, assisted by Michael Pezzetta and Yakimowicz.
With 14:20 to play, Valentini was sprung by a perfect Sokolov pass. Sime tried to poke check the puck, but Valentini read the play and scored, putting the Wolves ahead 4-2. David Levin was credited with the second assist.
The Troops never could mount much of a comeback. Sokolov rounded out the scoring with his third of the game, scored into the empty net with Sime pulled. The script was completely flipped from Thursday night, with the Wolves clearly deserving of the win Friday.
The Battalion faces the Kingston Frontenacs on Fan Appreciation Day at Memorial Gardens, Sunday at 2 p.m.
