Troops down flopping Fish

Kaden Pitre and Ethan Procyszyn each scored one goal and added an assist to lead the North Bay Battalion to a 5-3 Ontario Hockey League victory over the Brampton Steelheads in a Family Day matinee Monday.

Parker Vaughan, Sebastien Gervais and Evgeny Dubrovtsev had a goal apiece, and goaltender Cole Vreugdenhil, making his third start and first in nine games, provided 31 saves as the Troops posted a third consecutive win before 2,665 at the CAA Centre.

North Bay, which spanked the visiting Niagara IceDogs 9-1 Sunday, improved its won-lost-extended record to 29-22-3 for 61 points, second in the Central Division, four points ahead of Niagara, which fell 6-2 to the host Sudbury Wolves.

Julian DiMiglio scored one goal and earned an assist and MacGregor Richmond and Troy Patton each had a goal for the Steelheads, while goaltender Luke Johnson, who fashioned a club-record 58 saves in a 3-2 loss via shootout last Thursday night at North Bay, managed 24 saves.

Brampton, 0-3-3 in its last six games, is 15-29-9 for 39 points, fifth in the division and now seven points behind Sudbury and the last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

After leading 1-0 through 20 minutes, the Battalion scored three goals in the first 3:16 of the middle period, sparked by Gervais at 20 seconds when he sneaked the puck inside the left post at the crease. Aaron Enright and Ryder Cali assisted on Gervais’s 18th goal of the season and his sixth in 16 games since a trade from the Saginaw Spirit.

Fellow trade acquisition Pitre struck 31 seconds later, driving off the left wing and snapping the puck past Johnson on assists by Nick Wellenreiter and Procyszyn. It was Pitre’s 16th goal and his 11th in 26 games since arriving from the Flint Firebirds.

Procyszyn then scored what proved to be the winner, his team-leading 22nd goal, from the mid slot off a rush to make it 4-0, assisted by Cali and Pitre, before Richmond replied with his fifth goal at 6:32 on a screened shot from the slot.

DeMiglio pulled Brampton within two goals at 11:07 with a power-play backhander in tight off a quick pass from Kieran Witkowski. Carter Hicks also assisted on DeMiglio’s 11th goal.

Dubrovtsev restored order for the Troops when he got his stick on a Kent Greer drive at 15:03. Ryder Carey had the other assist on Dubrovtsev’s eighth goal.

Brampton pressed in the final period, outshooting the Battalion 15-5, but got only Patton’s 10th goal at 10:56 off what looked to be a broken play.

Vaughan opened the scoring at 19:38 of the first period off a rush, taking a centring pass from Cam Warren on the left side and wiring the puck past Johnson from between the hash marks. Jonathan Kapageridis had the other assist on Vaughan’s 13th goal.

Each team had a four-second power play after rapid-fire minor penalties in the fifth minute of the frame, in which the Troops outshot the hosts 11-9.

The Battalion opens a three-game road trip when it visits the Peterborough Petes at 7:05 p.m. Thursday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.

BATTALION BULLETS: It was the fifth of six meetings, with the Battalion having gone 4-1-0. The host Steelheads won 2-1 on Oct. 25 before the Battalion prevailed 4-3 in overtime at home Dec. 11 and 5-1 at Brampton on Jan. 9. The Troops then posted the victory via shootout last week. The final engagement is March 19 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens … Procyszyn has a four-game points streak in which he has four goals and six assists for 10 points … Gervais returned after sitting out Sunday with flu … The Battalion went 0-for-4 on the power play. Brampton was 1-for-3 … Opening lines featured Procyszyn centring left winger Pitre and right winger Wellenreiter, Cali centring left winger Gervais and right winger Lirim Amidovski and Warren skating between left winger Nolan Laird and right winger Vaughan. Dubrovtsev centred left winger Arseny Pronin and right winger Carey … Defence pairings were Enright with Hayden Barch, Kapageridis with Greer and Alexander Karmanov with Brandt Harper … The Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Adrian Manzo, Carter Kunopaski, Shamar Moses and Bronson Ride … Ride, who has completed a two-game suspension issued after a 7-4 home-ice loss to the Barrie Colts on Feb. 8, had flu … Wellenreiter turns 20 on Tuesday … Jack Lisson backed up Vreugdenhil, who has a 2-1-0 record, a 3.67 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage … Ryan Harrison and Andrew Willmetts were the referees.