Beleaguered Troops fall to Greyhounds

A beleaguered North Bay Battalion team looked to defend home ice on Wednesday, however, the Troops ended up falling 6-2 to their northern rivals, the Soo Greyhounds.

North Bay was without the services of some key players thanks to illnesses and players away at World Junior camps.

“I don’t want to start with excuses for sure,” head coach Ryan Oulahen said. “That’s a really good hockey team over there and they play with a ton of speed and skill, and they make things hard.

“Our two games we’ve had success against them is probably our two most complete efforts. When you don’t have your A game so to speak, and running everything on all cylinders, you’re going to struggle against them. I thought at times we were okay, and other times we lacked stuff. It’s been a tough week for us for sure, but it’s hockey and everyone goes through these things and we will battle through it.”

In his first OHL game, Reyth Smith (1) made the teddy bears rain. The Powassan Voodoos rookie was fed the puck in the slot from Paul Christopoulos, sniping the puck past Charlie Schenkel, a sight Voodoos fans have become accustomed to seeing at the Powassan Sportsplex this season.

“It’s kind of just a blur,” Smith said of his goal. “I got out on a line with Romani and OV (Owen Van Steensel), those are two key guys. Kind of just saw the seam pass come through and I was just thinking shoot.

“I didn’t really see the bears, and I know it was a joke before that I was going to score and next thing you know the guys were on me and it was good and a lot of fun.”

“We saw something special with the teddy bear toss going to Reyth Smith, and he had a great game tonight,” added Oulahen. “You see some positives that happen and it’s an opportunity when guys leave for the World Juniors and things happen, you have to relish those opportunities and if more guys do that like Reyth, we’ll pull together.

“I have gotten to see him play a lot. He’s in a phenomenal situation in Powassan, being a top player, playing in a lot of situations and be a go to guy. What you see is he jumps in with a lot of swagger, which I expected. He played with confidence, he was able to make things happen. I am a big believer in that kid and he’s going to be a really good player for us down the road.”

A few minutes later the Greyhounds responded, as Christopher Brown (3) found the puck behind Mike McIvor in the blue paint, after McIvor made the initial stop off the Connor Clattenburg shot.

Four minutes into the second period the Soo broke the tie as on the powerplay, Justin Cloutier (14) buried a give-and-go play past McIvor. The Greyhounds continued to press as Marco Mignosa beat out a delayed icing, threw the puck on net and the rebound found Brenden Sirizzotti (9) alone for an easy tap in. A little over a minute later and the Soo added again as Alex Kostov (4) pushed the score to 4-1 Greyhounds. Continuing the momentum in the second, the Greyhounds looked like they had the powerplay as Kostov (5) netted the shorthanded marker. On the same powerplay, Ethan Procyszyn (8) got the Troops back into it, making the score 5-2.

The third period started with promise for the Battalion as the team killed off a five minute penalty, but midway through the Hounds broke through again as Sirizzotti (10) found a loose puck in the slot, beating McIvor high. That proved to be it for the scoring in this one, giving the Soo Greyhounds a 6-2 victory.

Earlier in the day it was revealed Battalion defender Ty Nelson and goaltender Dom DiVincentiis had been cut from Team Canada’s World Junior try out camp, a fact that didn’t sit well with Oulahen.

“If I was coach of the team, there would be no way they wouldn’t make it. I would want them on my team, so it’s kind of bittersweet that we get them back, but they earned it and they deserved it.

“You think of two guys that do everything right, I thought for sure it would go their way. That’s two guys that will have a chip on their shoulder, so watch out. That will be a good thing for us.”

The Battalion have two more games before the holiday break, a trip to Erie on Friday, and a date with Niagara on Saturday. Depending on how the team plays, Oulahen says his Christmas gifts could come early.

“I would love a couple of wins before we get through the week. It’s a special time in junior hockey with an extended break, and it’s good to relax and hangout with the family.

“It’s such a grind during the season and especially as of late we’re looking forward to being a family over here. Hopefully everyone stays safe and has a happy holiday.”