It is often said that goaltenders are the backbone of a hockey team, and can be the determining factor in whether or not a team wins a game on any given night.
This proved to be the case on Thursday night in North Bay when the Battalion came away with a 2-1 victory over the Sudbury Wolves. The reason the score was that low is thanks to Bjorn Bronas, who made 31 saves on 33 shots in goal for the Sudbury Wolves.
North Bay Battalion goaltender Jack Lisson goaltender had similar stats, saving 33 of 34 shots for his team.
The loss drops the Pack’s record to 15-25-1 on the season.
Ryder Cali got the scoring started just under seven minutes into the first period, his 11th goal of the season on a scrambled play in front of Bronas, assisted by Cam Warren and Shamar Moses, giving the North Bay Battalion a 1-0 lead.
Just over two minutes later, Battalion right-winger Lirim Amidovski scored his 12th goal of the season coming in on Bronas all alone on the breakaway, with the assist going to Sebastien Gervais, giving the Troops an insurance goal and a 2-0 lead.
With 8:15 remaining in the opening period, Wolves over-ager Chase Coughlan scored his 11th goal of the season picking up a rebound from Hudson Martin’s initial shot, with Hudson Martin and Rowan Henderson picking up the assists, cutting North Bay’s lead in half to 2-1 at the end of the first period of play.
The second period was a busy one for the goaltenders, with North Bay slightly outshooting Sudbury in the period by a margin of 12-10, but neither team could find the back of the net, with Bronas coming up huge on a quick shot from Parker Vaughan, keeping the puck out just over five minutes into the middle frame, along with two more saves seconds later, keeping the score at 2-1 with one period left to play in the game.
The Sudbury Wolves turned it around in the third period, outshooting North Bay 12-7 in the period, but just like the second period, neither team could solve the goaltenders, with Bronas once again coming up big with just under five minutes left to play after giving the puck away to a Battalion player, resulting in a 2-1 victory for the North Bay Battalion over the Sudbury Wolves.
The Sudbury Wolves are back on home ice on Jan. 16 against the Flint Firebirds, with puck drop scheduled for 7:05 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].