It takes a lot to live up to the moniker of being a bounce back performer.
But North Bay Battalion goaltender Jake Smith did just that on Thursday as he shone in the Troops’ 2-0 shutout win to even their Eastern Conference quarter final series against the Peterborough Petes at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.
Smith’s 29 saves earned him first-star honours, squaring up to the Petes' prolific scorers all night and standing tall on countless quality scoring chances for his fifth-career post-season clean sheet performance.
But Peterborough native Jacob Ball made a strong case for the top nod too by scoring the game-winning goal on a second period snap shot from the slot to tie the series at two wins each heading back to North Bay.
Defenceman Riley Bruce potted the insurance marker on a third period power play, while his linemate Mark Shoemaker notched his first multi-point playoff game by assisting both goals.
“We definitely needed a win tonight,” Bruce said simply after the game.“It’s definitely a tough rink to play in here. Overall it’s a tough series - they’re coming out and they’re playing hard so we’ve got to come out and bring it even more.
“All the guys came out playing hard and it was nice to get the two points,” he added.
The Troops responded to a devastating overtime loss on Tuesday with a stronger performance from beginning to end on Thursday.
It seemed only fitting that after one of the most exciting, back-and-forth offensive showcases in game three that neither team was able to crack the scoreboard in the first period of game four.
After some early miscommunications in their own zone, the Battalion looked to have the slight edge and were far more organized than the Petes with their breakouts and tight blueline transitions.
But the Petes still tested Smith with quality chances early, including a partial breakaway by Greg Betzold and two other shots that rang iron, ultimately out-shooting the Troops 11-7 through the first frame.
Battalion started the second period on the power play and while they weren’t able to convert on that chance either, they continued to press ahead with a full head of steam, narrowing the shot differential early and coming close on countless opportunities.
Finally, they made good on that wave of momentum and got on the board first. Off a quick transition, Ball found himself set up perfectly in the slot and snapped an absolute gem glove side while falling to his knees for his first of the post-season.
Winger Steve Harland was the set-up man on the goal, extending his four-game point scoring streak over which the crafty rookie has scored two goals and two assists.
Max Kislinger looked to put the Troops up by two moments later, but a premature whistle by the poorly positioned official blew the play dead as the import potted a rebound into the open net.
That false alarm woke up the sleeping Petes, but the Troops weathered the storm thanks in large part to Smith.
The Battalion did what they characteristically do best and played an extremely tight third period defensively, but Smith was still called upon for countless clutch moments as the game neared its end.
One of them included the save of the series so far, as the playoff veteran stretched out across his crease to flash the glove on a Logan DeNoble open-net opportunity to sustain the shutout.
"I do whatever I can to stop the puck and I was fortunate enough to make that one and that was a big save in a key moment of the game,” Smith said to the OHL Tonight at the end of the contest. “If that goes in the back of the net I think it's a different game."
That proved to be huge as Bruce would score the insurance marker by leaning into a one-timer from the farthest point of the blue line to elude goaltender Matthew Mancina just inside the glove side post.
“[Game 3] was definitely a rough one defensively for both teams, I mean that's not how we play, we are not a run and gun team and tonight we showed that this is our style of game and we played the way the Battalion are supposed to play," Smith said in his post-game interview.
Overall, the North Bay power play went one-for-five, while their penalty kill silenced the Pete's extra-man unit on their three chances.
With the win, the Troops level the series at two wins each and regain home ice advantage in the remaining best-of-three series. They won't have long to relish the win though as both teams travel North for game five at Memorial Gardens on Friday night. Game time is 7 p.m.
