NORTH BAY, Ont. — Pasquale Zito scored two goals to pace the North Bay Battalion to a 7-3 Ontario Hockey Leaguue victory Saturday night over the Barrie Colts and a lead of three games to two in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal.
Matvey Petrov had one goal and two assists and Dalyn Wakely and Kyle McDonald one goal and one assist apiece, while Luc Brzustowski and Avery Winslow each provided a goal for second-place North Bay. Ty Nelson contributed three assists, and goaltender Dom DiVincentiis made 20 saves before a sold-out crowd of 4,203 at Memorial Gardens.
Tai York, Jacob Frasca and Brandt Clarke scored for third-place Barrie as goaltender Anson Thornton gave up seven goals on 30 shots.
The Battalion will attempt to end the series in the sixth game, scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Barrie. A seventh, if necessary, will be played Tuesday night at North Bay.
“It’s only the third one, and there’s a lot of work still to be done,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen. “I just love our group right now.
“I think you could see us feeding off the crowd here now. It is interesting. It’s not easy to go and play in front of that crowd sometimes, for the first time. You saw the way we came out. Our guys were nervous, but now they’re learning to play in front of that crowd and what gets them going. We talked about it. ‘Let’s give them some stuff to cheer about.’”
Frasca scored his fourth goal of the playoffs on the power play 37 seconds into the middle period to give Barrie a 2-1 lead before the Battalion erupted for three goals in a span of 1:26, sparked by Brzustowski at 6:49. He beat Thornton with a lob from high on the left wing, with McDonald and Wakely assisting on the defenceman’s first OHL postseason goal.
Zito put home a Petrov rebound at 7:54 after they passed the puck back and forth between themselves in the mid slot, and Winslow netted what proved to be the winner 21 seconds later, converting off a two-on-one rush with Owen Van Steensel. Liam Arnsby had the other assist on defenceman Winslow’s first goal.
Defenceman Clarke connected on a short-range backhander at 4:55 of the third period to pull the Colts within 4-3, but Zito, assisted by Tnias Mathurin, hit the short side from the left boards at 11:24 and Wakely capitalized at the lip of the crease at 12:11 after Tyler Savard failed to clear a puck.
The chippy Savard took a roughing penalty 14 seconds later and was followed to the box by Connor Punnett at 12:55, giving the Troops a two-man advantage. McDonald one-timed a power-play shot from the back door on the left wing at 13:12 for his league-leading 11th goal. Nelson and Petrov had assists.
York was credited with the first goal at 8:41 of the opening period after running into DiVincentiis, all while displaying a kicking motion. The Battalion challenged for goaltender interference but was denied upon video review. Cooper Matthews and Josh Kavanagh received assists on York’s fourth goal.
Petrov tied it on the power play at 12:34, going to deep on the left wing to convert a diagonal pass from Nelson from a sharp angle. Kyle Jackson had the other assist on Petrov’s second goal of the postseason and in two games.
The game at Barrie can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: The Battalion is 44-38 in playoffs since relocation from Brampton in 2013, including 24-16 at home … The Battalion is 11-15 all-time in the fifth game of a playoff series, including 8-6 at home. The Troops are 7-4 as North Bay and 6-0 on Chippewa Street … In 24 playoff games, Petrov has four goals and 23 assists for 27 points and 10th place in franchise history. Petrov has a nine-game points streak in which he has two goal and 13 assists for 15 points … In 24 games, Nelson has four goals and 21 assists for 25 points, tied with Evgeny Grachev and McDonald, who has 17 goals and eight assists in 24 games, for 11th place all-time … Jackson has 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points, 14th in franchise annals … McDonald’s 17 goals are sixth all-time, while Petrov’s 23 assists are fourth and Nelson’s 21 assists are sixth … In 24 games, Arnsby has 46 penalty minutes, tied with Mat Clark and Nick Duff for seventh all-time … The Battalion went 2-for-6 on the power play. Barrie was 1-for-3 … The Battalion, which again dressed 11 forwards and seven defencemen, scratched Wyatt Kennedy, Jacob Therrien, Brayden Turley, Ethan Procyszyn and Brett Bouchard … Barrie scratches included Callum Chisholm and Evan Vierling … Clarke has at least one point in all 10 postseason games he has played, with seven goals and 15 assists for a league-leading 22 points … Mike Cairns and Dave Lewis were the referees.
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