Amidovski powers Troops
Lirim Amidovski scored a hat trick, including an empty-net goal, to rally the North Bay Battalion to a 3-1 Ontario Hockey League victory Sunday over the Sudbury Wolves that got the Troops within three points of the Peterborough Petes in the battle for Eastern Conference playoff positioning.
Goaltender Jack Lisson contributed 22 saves in a stellar performance before a Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens crowd of 3,110.
North Bay improved its won-lost-extended record to 35-25-3 for 73 points, second in the Central Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. Fourth-place Peterborough, which lost 6-3 to the host Ottawa 67’s, is at 76 points. Both teams have five games left to play as they fight for home-ice advantage in a highly probable postseason matchup.
Jan Chovan scored for the Wolves, while goaltender Paolo Frasca allowed two goals on 40 shots by the black-clad Battalion. Sudbury is 25-35-2 for 52 points, fourth in the division.
“I thought it was a pretty complete game by us, to be honest,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen. “It probably didn’t need to be as close as it was. Really tough in the ending there to go down five on three, but we got through it. Some guys made some huge plays, blocked shots, secondary efforts. That’s great to see at this time, because that’s what it’s going to be like in the playoffs.”
Oulahen said the game, after two straight losses, took on particular importance.
“Today was pretty much a must-win to keep us in the fight here, so the guys knew that.”
The Battalion, which trailed 1-0 through 20 minutes, tied it as a two-man advantage lasting 28 seconds ended at 8:42 of the second period. Amidovski one-timed the puck from the left dot off a pass from Cam Warren in the high slot. Sebastien Gervais also assisted.
Amidovski spun at the blue line and lofted the disc through heavy traffic to the crease, where it bounced between Frasca’s legs at 15:03. Ryder Cali and Kent Greer were credited with assists.
The Troops, who struggled in the first period but dominated territorial play in the second, outshooting the visitors 18-6, staved off Sudbury’s third-period efforts to tie it.
The Wolves stormed the net in the 14th minute, with Lisson forced to foil Adam Nemec on a close-in threat during a scrum. The goaltender lost his stick during the sequence, but the Battalion eventually cleared the zone.
Sudbury was handed a two-man advantage lasting 1:09 after Nick Wellenreiter and Cali went off for slashing and delay of game at 15:29 and 16:20 respectively, but Lisson produced a big left-pad save against Nemec in the goalmouth.
With Frasca gone for a sixth attacker, Amidovski seized the puck in the neutral zone and skated it alone to the net at 19:53 for his 25th goal, his third straight in the game.
Chovan gave Sudbury the early lead with a power-play goal at 12:20 of the first period. Daniel Berehowsky, behind the net, passed the puck to Chovan at the left side of the crease, and he banked it off Lisson on the short side for a team-leading 23rd goal. Jean-Cristoph Lemieux drew the other assist.
The Battalion plays host to the Brantford Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Thursday on Country Night presented by Gateway Golf.
BATTALION BULLETS: The game was the occasion for Sarge’s Birthday Bash presented by CAA North & East Ontario … After seven of eight meetings, the Battalion is 6-1-0. The visiting Troops won 4-3 in overtime Sept. 19 and 3-1 on Oct. 3 before losing 6-2 on Jan. 2. The host Battalion won 5-2 on Jan. 4 and 2-1 on Jan. 15. North Bay prevailed 6-3 at Sudbury on Feb. 27. The last meeting is March 22 at North Bay … The Troops’ Ethan Procyszyn had six-game goals and points streaks ended. He had eight goals and two assists for 10 points in the span … Wellenreiter saw the end of a six-game points streak in which he had three goals and five assists for eight points … Cali topped the Troops with six shots on goal. Lemieux led Sudbury with four … The Battalion went 1-for-2 on the power play. Sudbury was 1-for-5 … Opening lines had Procyszyn centring left winger Kaden Pitre and right winger Wellenreiter, Cali pivoting left winger Gervais and right winger Amidovski and Warren centring left winger Nolan Laird and right winger Parker Vaughan. Evgeny Dubrovtsev centred left winger Arseny Pronin and right winger Ryder Carey … Defence pairs were Bronson Ride with Hayden Barch, Aaron Enright with Greer and Carter Kunopaski with Adrian Manzo … The Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Jonathan Kapageridis, Brandt Harper, Alexander Karmanov and Shamar Moses … Pitre played his 200th OHL game, his 33rd with North Bay after a trade from the Flint Firebirds.
