NORTH BAY, ON- The Brampton Steelheads battled back for a 5-4 overtime victory against the North Bay Battalion after Spencer Sova had a five-assist game.
The Steelheads had a dominant first period, which secured them an early lead, but as the Battalion increased their offence in the second, the Trout had to come back to tie it in the third. Sova had an incredible game, as he assisted on all four regulation goals before securing his final assist with the overtime winner.
The Steelheads knew how to get things started as they entered their second matchup against the Battalion. Looking to come back from their loss the night before, the Trout came out hard in period one, scoring three goals to take the lead.
Not even a minute into the game, Jack Van Volsen kicked off the scoring after receiving a centring pass from Martin Vaculik. Getting a pass from Sova in the neutral zone, Vaculik brought the puck into the Battalion’s zone before passing the puck to Van Volsen out front. With the open lane, Van Volsen sent the puck over the glove of Carter Nadon.
The Battalion soon pushed back as they followed with a goal of their own. Stephan Chukharev brought the puck deep into Brampton’s zone before making a backhand pass to Andrew Leblanc. Despite facing up against Carson Rehkopf out front, Leblanc was able to sneak it over the pads of Jacob Gibbons.
North Bay had a few chances in the first, especially with two power plays following Gabriel Chiarot’s holding and Van Volsen’s high-sticking penalties. Yet, it was no match for the Steelhead’s penalty kill, who remained strong out front.
Notably, the Steelhead’s power play line finally broke the scoring drought, adding two goals to the board to close the period.
Wyatt Kennedy’s holding penalty gave the Trout their first man advantage. Getting the puck at the point, Finn Harding sent a pass over to Sova, who centred it at the blue line and fired toward Nadon. With some traffic out front, Rehkopf was able to tip the puck into the net, giving the Steelheads the lead.
The power play line did not stop there as Sova added another assist to his tally. Following a tripping call on the Battalion, Sova sent a pass down to Porter Martone at the right face-off dot. Making a quick move to change his angle, Martone sent a hard shot on Nadon’s short side, leading to a top-corner goal.
The Steelheads entered the second with a two-goal lead and remained firm on the defence for the period’s first half. With the Battalion on the charge, Gibbons made huge saves to keep the Trout’s lead.
Despite the stronghold at the start of the period, the Battalion increased their offence, leading to two goals to tie the game. Natan Teshome brought the game within one after he scored his first OHL goal.
Following a three-on-one battle in the corner, Nolan Laird was able to direct the puck out front to Teshome. With no defenders to stop him, Teshome made a quick wrist shot, which deflected off the pads of Gibbons into the net.
A similar play led to the Battalion’s third goal of the game. Another battle in the corner allowed Shamar Moses to make a sneaky pass over to Ethan Procyszyn for the one-timer.
Procyszyn continued his scoring into the third with a goal within the first minute of the period. With a two-on-one opportunity, Procyszyn brought the puck into the Steelhead’s zone and sent a pass across to Owen Van Steensel on the left side. With Gibbons covering off the left post, Van Steensel made a cross-crease pass back over to Procynszyn, who sent it into the net.
One goal would not stop the Steelheads, as Gibbons finished the period with multiple game-defying saves, allowing for a Brampton battleback. It was Rehkopf who tied the game with an incredible goal just outside the Battalion’s right face-off dot.
After getting a pass from Sova in the neutral zone, Rehkopf brought the puck into the offensive end. Utilizing the screen from the Battalion defence, Rehkopf sent the puck top shelf, over the shoulder of Nadon.
With no goals scored in the remaining minutes of the third, the game was sent into overtime.
The Steelheads got possession off the faceoff and immediately drove into the offensive zone. Luke Misa sent a pass at the blue line over to Sova, who fired a shot on goal. With a rebound off of Nadon, Adam Zidlicky one-timed it into the net, securing the Steelhead’s overtime victory.
With Steelheads match report
