Fans in North Bay were in for some entertaining back and forth action as they took in Game 1 of Round 2 of the OHL playoff series between Northern Ontario rivals the Sudbury Wolves and the North Bay Battalion.
Coach Ken MacKenzie went with Marcus Vandenberg in goal for the Wolves while Mike McIvor was in net for North Bay.
Andrew LeBlanc got the scoring started for North Bay with his first goal of the playoffs 6:33 into the opening period to give the Troops an early 1-0 lead over Sudbury.
Both Sudbury and North Bay had plenty of scoring chances in the period, but both Vandenberg and McIvor stood tall in goal for their respective teams, and the score remained 1-0 for the Battalion after the first period of play.
Just over one minute into the second period, Wolves Captain David Goyette scored on the power play, his fifth goal of the playoffs to tie the score 1-1.
Just over 30 seconds later Justin Ertel scored his fourth goal of the playoffs to regain the lead for North Bay by a score of 2-1.
With 10:12 remaining in the second period, Sudbury once again tied the game thanks to Quentin Musty’s second goal of the playoffs, making the score 2-2.
With 3:55 to go in the middle frame, the Troops once again grabbed a lead with a goal from LeBlanc, his second of the game and of the playoffs, making the score 3-2 for North Bay with one period remaining in the hockey game.
Both teams matched up evenly in the third period, but all of the scoring was in North Bay’s favour, starting with a goal from Ethan Procyszyn, his first of the playoffs, to make the score 4-2 for the Battalion.
Dalyn Wakely capped off the scoring with 51 seconds remaining in the game to cap off a 5-2 victory for North Bay over Sudbury.
After the loss, the Sudbury Wolves find themselves down 1-0 in the second round of the 2024 Ontario Hockey League playoffs.
The Wolves look to rebound and tie the series in Game 2, which takes place at the Memorial Gardens in North Bay on April 13 with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers Sudbury Wolves and Sudbury Five games for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].
