Nick Moutrey struts his stuff in the second period scoring the game winner as North Bay defeated the Belleville Bulls 3-1. PHOTO BY TOM MARTINEAU.
Ryan Kujawinski led the charge with a goal and an assist as the North Bay Battalion dominated the Belleville Bulls at the Gardens Thursday night.
Jake Smith was moments away from recording the shutout, but Trent Fox spoiled it with twelve seconds left in the game.
From the beginning North Bay had the extra jump over the Bulls, who were without their star defenceman Jordan Subban and starting netminder Charlie Graham. Both were healthy scratches.
“It wasn’t a real fancy game, but a good workman like game. We did the things we had to do to win and not every game is going to be a perfect game, but the one good thing about tonight is that we got perfect results,” shared Battalion head coach Stan Butler.
Battalion forward Zach Bratina played his first game since November 21st. The shifty forward, who suffered a concussion, created a number of quality scoring chances alongside linemates Ray Huether and Mathew Santos. PHOTO BY TOM MARTINEAU.
From the moment the puck dropped, the troops skated around the visiting Bulls, forcing five turnovers in the opening minutes of the game. That pressure paid dividends as Mike Amadio’s blast at the 5 minute mark gave North Bay the early lead. The Battalion continued to play aggressive and disciplined hockey, while on the defensive side, limited Belleville to just three shots on net in the opening frame.
The territorial dominance continued in the second as the host team added a pair of goals to their lead. One of them was by far the goal of the night when Nick Moutrey slid the puck between the defender’s legs, backhanded the puck to himself and then tapped it in. Mike Amadio nearly scored his second of the game while on the power play, after he split the defence with a burst of speed, but was denied by the quick glove of Connor Hicks. On its next power play, North Bay would capitalized on a quick wrister by Kujawinski.
“That is how you have to play in the playoffs and improve every game and play that kind of style. Just hard work and the transitional game is big for us and we did a good job of that tonight,” added Kujawinski. “I thought the whole team played really well. Every line played good. We’re really clicking and playing hard down low and that’s what you want.”
“He (Kujawinski) was good tonight,” said Butler. He’s real good on that powerplay, he’s got a great release with his shot. He’s got that type of shot that not everybody can do it. He’s got a release point where even when a goalie is ready for him, he can blow it by him.”
Belleville managed to outshoot and outscore the Battalion in the third, however North Bay still controlled the tempo for most of the period.
The Battalion is back in action on Saturday and Bulter confirmed that he will start Jake Kment against the Wolves in Sudbury. Jake Smith will be back between the pipes when Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters are in town on Sunday.
Battalion vs Bulls March 5 2015 from Chris Dawson on Vimeo.
