The North Bay Battalion began a six-game road trip in style by taking out the rival Barrie Colts with an 8-3 victory Saturday night.
“It’s a good win here,” Battalion head coach Ryan Oulahen said before the trip back to North Bay. “We know Barrie is a really good hockey team and with them playing three in three, I thought we were able to utilize our speed and come out with a good outcome.”
Rookie Dalyn Wakely got the Troops on the scoreboard with his second of the season, only 9:36 in. Just over a minute later, Matvey Petrov scored his first of three. Kyle Jackson added another as well as Barrie getting on the board thanks to Brandt Clarke and North Bay held a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes played.
Shortly after puck drop for the second, the Colts threatened with a goal from Beau Jelsma before Barrie product Mitchell Russell continued his fast start for the Battalion with another goal.
“Playing in Barrie for me is pretty special,” Russell said. “Have a lot of friends and family come out tonight and I enjoyed the night.”
Podolioukh added his second OHL goal on a penalty shot, while Wakely scored his second of the night to round out North Bay’s scoring. Anthont Tabak had the third goal for Barrie.
“Goal scorers find ways to score goals,” Oulahen stated.
“I think for Matvey, it’s pretty impressive. For Dalyn, it’s nice to see him get on the scoresheet. We feel like he’s someone who has contributed in many ways but for sure it’s nice to see him on the scoresheet.”
After the loss to the Generals on Thursday, the Troops went 0/6 on the powerplay. On Saturday, they went 3/4 with the man advantage, and added a penalty shot.
“Sometimes that’s junior hockey,” the coach explained. “We did feel like last game, there were chances and we didn’t bare down and finish.”
“Tonight it just seemed like everything was going in, in terms of that. The message to the guys is to stick with it no matter the outcome, and we’ll turn out fine.”
It’s a quick turnaround for North Bay as they head to Sudbury for a dance with the Wolves on Sunday. Puck drop is at 2 p.m. You can listen to the game on YouTube through the Frontline Broadcast.
