Roobroeck nets late winner
Ryan Roobroeck scored at 19:58 of the third period to give the Niagara IceDogs a dramatic 2-1 victory Sunday over the North Bay Battalion and a tie for second place in the Ontario Hockey League’s Central Division.
Hayden Reid also scored, while goaltender Charlie Robertson provided 29 saves before a Meridian Centre crowd of 2,980.
Niagara moved its won-lost-extended record to 24-20-4 for 52 points, the same as North Bay, which is 25-21-2.
Kent Greer had the Battalion goal. Goaltender Jack Lisson made 32 saves as the Troops, who defeated the London Knights 3-2 via shootout Friday night, completed a three-game road trip. The Battalion finished a season-high five consecutive away games with a record of 1-4-0.
Roobroeck beat Lisson high to the glove side through a screen from the mid slot for the winner. Ryerson Edgar and Ethan Czata assisted on Roobroeck’s team-leading 28th goal of the season.
Greer tied it on the power play at 15:56, just five seconds after Haoxi Wang went off for holding Ethan Procyszyn in the Niagara zone. Nick Wellenreiter and Kaden Pitre had the assists on defenceman Greer’s eighth goal, which came off a left-wing faceoff as he slipped into the right circle from the point.
Pitre was denied on a cruise across the crease in the first minute of the frame, and Lisson foiled a one-timer from an open Roobroeck at 3:31. An Evgeny Dubrovtsev wrister appeared to catch Robertson by surprise, forcing the former Battalion goaltender to make a somewhat awkward save at 14:37.
Riley Patterson left for the Niagara dressing room at 19:12 after blocking a shot.
Reid was credited with his 10th goal at 7:49 of the second period when his shot on a drive off the right wing contacted Aaron Enright’s stick in the crease and trickled across the goal line. Reid slid into Lisson, and the referees went straight to video review, overturning a no-goal signal on the ice. Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen, who convinced the stripes to have a second look, considered a challenge for goaltender interference but decided against it.
Lisson held firm at 3:04 with several IceDogs jamming at the puck at the left post, and Niagara went on to forge a 16-9 edge in shots on goal in the frame.
The Battalion carried the action early in the first period before the hosts asserted themselves and built a 12-10 edge in shots. Off a two-on-one rush, Parker Vaughan ended up at the right post to no avail after the puck hit Robertson in the pads and a quick whistle stopped play at 5:55.
North Bay killed the only penalty, a roughing call against Lirim Amidovski at 10:34.
The Battalion plays host to the Windsor Spitfires at 7 p.m. Thursday in its first home game since a 5-4 overtime decision Jan. 22 over the Brantford Bulldogs.
BATTALION BULLETS: The game, one of three constituting YourTV Hockey Day in the OHL, was the fourth of six meetings, with North Bay holding a record of 2-1-1. The Battalion won 6-2 at home Nov. 2 before two road dates, a 2-1 loss in overtime Dec. 7 and a 7-3 win Dec. 14. The next encounter is Feb. 15 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens … Dubrovtsev led the Troops with five shots on goal. Roobroeck paced Niagara with six … The Battalion went 1-for-2 on the power play. Niagara was 0-for-1 … Opening lines included Procyszyn centring left winger Pitre and right winger Wellenreiter, Ryder Cali centring left winger Sebastien Gervais and right winger Amidovski and Cam Warren pivoting left winger Shamar Moses and right winger Vaughan. Dubrovtsev centred left winger Nolan Laird and right winger Ryder Carey … Defence pairs were Bronson Ride with Greer, Enright with Hayden Barch and Jonathan Kapageridis with Adrian Manzo … The Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Brandt Harper, Alexander Karmanov, Carter Kunopaski and Arseny Pronin … Harper was sick … The Troops, who opened the trip with a 4-3 loss Thursday night to Windsor, spent Wednesday through Friday nights at London before busing to St. Catharines on Saturday … Among the missing for Niagara was Callum Cheynowski … Patterson saw the end of a nine-game points streak in which he had eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points … Aaron Neely and Derek Risebrough were the referees.
