It was a reigniting of the Highway 17 rivalry Thursday at Memorial Gardens as the North Bay Battalion welcomed the Sudbury Wolves to town. The game is the first in a home-and-home between the two clubs, with this one going to the Wolves with a 5-4 decision in the shootout.
The meeting was also the first since the OHL trade deadline when both teams acquired new players and the first victory for Sudbury in North Bay since January 23, 2022.
“The first eight to 10 minutes, I thought we were a little hesitant,” head coach Ryan Oulahen said post game. “We talked about being controlled and I thought we were a little bit safe controlled rather than being on our toes and dictating the game.
“That’s something I talked about in the timeouts and in first intermission and from there on I thought the game was well played. We had our chances, I really liked a lot of things we did and I thought we were really strong five-on-five tonight. That third period wore on our legs a bit being in the box so much, and that’s something we have to fix tomorrow and then we get into a shootout and that’s why we don’t have those in the playoffs.”
The Wolves looked to have more jump in their step early as the team controlled a lot of the play, but were stifled by big saves by Dom DiVincentiis. However, that momentum eventually paid off as St. Louis Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorský (24) beat DiVincentiis between the legs on a powerplay.
Late in the period, DiVincentiis made an awkward looking save with the rebound resulting in the perfect pass to David Goyette’s (27) stick with a wide open net. With that goal, the Wolves took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
In the second, the Troops took over. Starting things just over five minutes in was a Dalyn Wakely shot that was kicked aside by Jakub Vondraš, only to find a wide open Owen Van Steensel (21), who made no mistake converting on that chance. The Battalion jumped all over the momentum caused by the goal as 21 seconds later Jacob Therrien (16) sniped the puck past Vondraš and quickly the game was tied 2-2. Moments later, Van Steensel (22) netted his second of the game and period as Romani found him streaking down the left wing side all along, making no mistake and giving the Troops a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.
The three Battalion goals were scored in a 3:36 time frame.
In the third the Wolves mounted the comeback, starting just under a minute in as Quentin Musty (22) tied it back up. A few moments after that, Therrien took a penalty, much to the displeasure of the Seventh Man, but with a solid penalty kill, Therrien (17) benefitted from a loose puck left right in front of Vondraš, to slide the puck five hole to gain the lead again.
Yet, Sudbury did not go anywhere as Kocha Delic (15) tied the game back up with a laser past DiVincentiis, forcing the game to overtime.
In the extra frame there was no scoring, with North Bay controlling the majority of the play including a two-on-one by Dalyn Wakely and Anthony Romani late, but Vondraš stood his ground.
Still trying to decide a winner, the game went to a shootout that lasted six rounds. Scoring for the Battalion was Ty Nelson, and for Sudbury was Dvorský and Zacharie Giroux to give the extra point to the Wolves.
The Battalion were without the services of Ethan Procyszyn. The big centre traveled to Moncton New Brunswick for the CHL Top Prospects game, but suffered an injury early in the game. Oulahen says Procyszyn looks to be day-to-day at the moment.
“He had a freak little incident and it sounds like it isn’t too serious. However, I don’t know his status this weekend.”
The two teams meet up again tomorrow in the Nickel City as the Battalion look for some revenge on their rivals and Oulahen expects more playoff atmosphere.
“In different segments of the season, it really ramps up. From the beginning of the year to Christmas, that’s one thing. Christmas to the end of the regular season, it ramps up and this is as close to a playoff game, and not just any playoff game but an elite playoff game.
“Those are two really good teams going head to head and you expect nothing less tomorrow.”
