A great effort by Dom DiVincentiis and the Battalion wasn’t enough as the Troops fell to the Oshawa Generals 4-3 in overtime on New Year’s Eve.
“This one for sure stings,” assessed head coach Ryan Oulahen. “We had the game, full control, I loved our third period and I thought it was a game where we would end with two points, I really did. I thought we did enough good.
“Disappointed in the way that ends. It’s a tough one to give up, the tying one alone and the overtime…a tough sequence there.”
Just over four minutes into the game, Anthony Romani (27) got the New Years celebrations started as Owen Van Steensel picked off a Generals clearing attempt and found Romani all alone. After a two goal effort on Friday in Sudbury, it was Romani’s third in two games.
The good times didn’t last too long, however, as Oshawa’s Stuart Rolofs (12) tied the game just over two minutes later. Seconds later, 24 to be precise, Beckett Sennecke (10) gave the Generals the lead, ringing the puck off the post and past Dom DiVincentiis. However, after those frantic few minutes, that was all the goal scoring in the first, as Oshawa led 2-1 after the first period.
After a scoreless second period, the Battalion tied the game up quickly in the third. Just under a minute in, Dalyn Wakely (16) picked up the loose puck in the Gens zone, turned on the jets and beat Noah Bender on a slick wrap around.
“I thought we really had to fight for our chances,” Oulahen added. “A team that does a lot of clutching, grabbing and holding and today they got away with that stuff and it was hard for us to generate chances.
“We finished on some things that we had to, I loved Wakely’s goal.”
Minutes later, the rough stuff started as Stef Forgione dropped the gloves with Jonathon Pylypuik, with the win decisively going to Forgione as he took down his man quickly.
With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, the Battalion looked to seal the deal as Ethan Procyszyn (9) gave North Bay the lead on a wrap around goal of his own, sliding it between the legs of Bender.
“A big man goal by Ethan and we want to continue for those guys to produce,” said Oulahen.
However, with the goalie pulled and time winding down, Roobroeck (9) added his first of two on the night, beating DiVincentiis from the slot to send the game to overtime.
Overtime didn’t last long as Roobroeck (10) finished the game off for Oshawa 1:09 into the extra frame.
Although the first half of 2023/24 has felt inconsistent at times for the Battalion, and the team ends it off on a bit of a sour note against Oshawa, Oulahen says there is plenty of positives to look back on as the calendar flips to 2024.
“It’s a night where you get to reflect on the year that was and we had a heck of a year. Heck of a 2023 for the Battalion franchise and I think we want to continue to grow on that and build more momentum in 2024.”
With back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, and a second straight Central Division banner hanging from the rafters, it’s hard to argue with his logic.
North Bay will look to get 2024 off to a winning start on Thursday when they host the Brantford Bulldogs. Puck drop from Memorial Gardens is at 7:00 p.m., and you can catch the post game reactions live with the Frontline’s After Action Report moments after the final buzzer.