They’ll be coming home with just two points. The North Bay Battalion (3-2-0-0) started the weekend with a big come from behind win over Peterborough on Thursday, but in the ensuing two contests, they couldn’t convert in the moments they needed, losing 6-3 to Ottawa (2-1-0-0) on Saturday afternoon, which followed a 9-0 loss in Kingston on Friday night.
The Battalion were very much in this contest right up until the final five minutes in which the 67’s Luca Pinelli gave his team a 4-2 lead with a power play goal at 16:11.
It was Pinelli’s (3) second of the game, getting the puck at the top of the slot and fired a shot past a screened Charlie Larocque, for the game winning goal.
Both Pinelli and Cooper Foster scored hat tricks for the home side, while holding the Battalion to 19 shots, three in the first period and seven in the third period, while peppering North Bay goaltender Larocque (1-1-0-0) with 33.
Larocque was getting his second career start in net for the Battalion, coming off his first career win last Saturday in Barrie. The first year netminder was born in Ottawa and raised in Kanata and spoke to the OHL Tonight broadcast during the intermission.
“It means a lot to get this start. There’s a lot of people I love in the crowd tonight. Family and some former teammates of mine and being able to play in front of all of them is amazing to me.”
Larocque also got the start in the Battalion’s preseason game in Ottawa where he was perfect in net, stopping all 19 shots in a 4-0 shutout on Sept 20. The 6th round draft pick (2023, #117 overall) said playing with the Carleton Place Jr. Canadiens last year prepared him for this next stage of his career.
He said, “We had a great goaltending tandem, there wasn’t a clear starter between myself and Ty [Ferguson] and we both pushed each other which made us better. He’s actually in attendance today, it was great to see him.”
Ottawa had not played in almost a week, winning a 4-3 game in overtime in Oshawa against the Generals last Sunday. North Bay was playing their third game since Thursday evening, a stretch of three games in two and a half days and through the opening twenty minutes, it looked like the 67’s were the more well rested squad, outshooting the Troops 14-3, but Larocque stopped all 14 shots.
Five minutes into the game, Ottawa thought they had scored the opening goal. Henry Mews went for a wrap around on Larocque’s glove side and tucked it under the pad of the North Bay netminder. Larocque looked to have the puck frozen before a scramble on the doorstep led to Will Gerrior shoving the pad over the line, dislodging the puck from underneath Larocque and the call on the ice was called a goal. After a lengthy review the goal the call was turned over, with the officials deeming that the play from Gerrior was interfering with Larocque’s ability to make the save.
Larocque made a huge save in the later stages of the first period when the 67’s top line came into the North Bay zone with numbers. Foster was on the far side boards and passed it into the circle to Pinelli. Pinelli then fed the pass over to Kimi Körbler who was all alone in front of the net, but his shot was stopped by the glove of Larocque on the point-blank chance.
Another big stop came moments later as Jack Denver made a pass to Mews, fired the shot from the slot which bounced off the chest of Larocque and settled at the top of the crease. Larocque was searching for the puck, looking to the far side boards while the puck was behind him, and at the last second, he threw his body across the crease just as an Ottawa player tried to poke it in.
The Battalion escaped the first unscathed and Larocque said, “We just have to play our game these next two periods. Get the pucks in deep, get on top of them quick and hopefully I can keep making saves.”
Ryder Carey scored the first goal of his OHL career at 8:15 of the second period. The 2024 first round draft pick (#16 overall) found himself on a 3-on-1 into the Ottawa zone and with lots of space in front of him, he fired a shot towards the 67’s net that went bar down for the opening marker. Ottawa goaltender Collin Mackenzie (1-1-0-0) barely moved on the shot that went over his shoulder, for a 1-0 North Bay lead. Carey is the third first-year player to record a goal this season, joining Reyth Smith and fellow 2024 draft pick Kent Greer, who scored in Thursday’s win over Peterborough.
The 67’s answered back a few minutes later when Pinelli stole the puck in the neutral zone and drove in on the breakaway. He took a shot across his body going high glove side, beating Larocque at 13:06 to tie the game 1-1.
The Troops then took their second penalty of the game and the 67’s capitalized. Pinelli was just inside the blue line, and he wired a pass over to Foster who slapped in the one timer from the near side circle. The Pittsburgh Penguins sixth round draft pick (2023, #174 overall) managed to get the puck just inside the near side post at 14:27.
The next few minutes belong to Jacob Therrien. The third year forward drew penalties on back-to-back shifts for North Bay. First it was a tripping call on Caden Kelly and twenty seconds later it was an interference call against Chase Yanni. That gave the Battalion a lengthy 5-on-3 and Therrien helped the Troops take advantage, putting the puck on net and the rebound going right to Ethan Procyszyn (4) who tapped it in, tying the game 2-2 at 16:34.
Ottawa regained the lead at 5:38 of the third when Foster (4) scored his second of the game, getting the deflection on a Bradley Horner shot from the top of the zone. There was nothing Larocque could do on the redirection, and it put the 67’s ahead 3-2. It was the second straight game in which Foster has scored a pair of goals for Ottawa.
After Pinelli’s goal, the Battalion found themselves on the power play and pulled the goaltender to get a 6-on-4 advantage, but it unfortunately backfired when Foster (5) potted in the empty net, shorthanded, hat-trick goal for a 5-2 Ottawa lead.
North Bay got one back when Aaron Enright (1), joined the ranks as first-year players with a goal. His first career point came on the power play at 18:29 to inch North Bay closer, making the score 5-3.
That’s as close as North Bay would get as Pinelli (4) secured his hat trick with an empty net goal at 19:33.
North Bay were 2 for 3 on the power play and 1 for 3 on the penalty kill in front of 2567 in attendance at TD Place in Ottawa. This ends North Bay’s first really tough trip in 2024-25, playing three games in less than 72 hours, and while at times they seemed to be getting out played by Ottawa, they also showed inspiring determination to fight back after being trounced by Kingston one day earlier. Larocque made some spectacular saves in net and there was plenty to like in North Bay’s game against Ottawa. They’ll get five days of rest, and practice time in before their next game which takes them to Erie to play the Otters next Friday.
