Seattle Kraken prospect Ty Nelson registered a four-point night and was the hero for his team. North Bay staves off elimination once again in the OHL Eastern Conference Finals
Seattle Kraken prospect Ty Nelson registered a four-point night and was the hero for his team. North Bay staves off elimination once again in the OHL Eastern Conference Finals
The North Bay Battalion avoided the sweep against Oshawa in Game 4 after Sandis Vilmanis scored the overtime winner Wednesday night. Last night the OHL Eastern Conference Finals headed south to Oshawa for a second-straight elimination game.
The Generals were missing blueliner Connor Punnett for a second consecutive game along with right winger Matthew Buckley, who was injured in the overtime of Game 4.
The offense for the Battalion was dried up through the first three games of the series but came alive in Game 4. North Bay were hoping their breakout offensively would snowball into Game 5.
The first period was scoreless but featured a highlight-reel glove save by Battalion netminder Mike McIvor. After some end-to-end frantic action, Rasmus Kumpulainen dishes the puck over to Stuart Rolofs but is absolutely robbed by McIvor to keep the game tied at zero.
Lucas Rodriguez, who is only in Oshawa's lineup due to the injury of Connor Punnett, opened the scoring with a seeing-eye shot from the point. Rodriguez is a former fifth-round pick by the Generals in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection and has only played a total of 38 games. His goal in the second period was the first of his OHL career.
Ty Nelson, who had a four-point game, did what he loves to do. Shoot the puck towards the net. His shooters-mentality paid off in the second period as he created a rebound off his shot for Anthony Romani to bang home for his second goal in two games since returning from injury.
The leading goal-scorer for the Battalion at the end of the regular season double-dipped later on, putting his team up by one heading into the third. Unfortunately, Romani left the game early in the third and did not return.
In the third, Dalyn Wakely took a penalty 200ft from his own net after clipping Jacob Oster behind the net, which put the Generals on the powerplay for Luca Marrelli to fire home his second of the post-season from the point. Two and a half minutes later, it was another Gens defenseman to score, this time it was Luca D'Amato.
However, the Battalion tied the game up quickly. Ty Nelson and Justin Ertel execute on a set play off of a defensive zone faceoff win and tied this hockey game up 3-3.
The fireworks didn't stop there. Oshawa's third-line and hometown boy Luke Torrance capitalized on a turnover at the offensive blueline. But the celebration was short-lived, as this time it was Ertel to Nelson for North Bay, and now a 4-4 game with less than nine minutes left.
The Generals were given a gift in overtime after Liam Arnsby boarded Stuart Rolofs from behind, sending them to the powerplay. Dylan Roobroeck had two glorious opportunities in the slot on the man advantage, but McIvor was there to shut the door.
Oshawa dominated the first overtime period, outshooting the Battalion 14-7, but McIvor finished the game with 41 saves and made numerous high-quality saves in the extra frame.
But then, 4:53 into the second overtime, Sandis Vilmanis exchanged the puck to Ty Nelson who channeled his inner Rick Nash, put his shoulder down, and drove the net from the boards to score the game-winner. North Bay avoids elimination for the second straight game as the pressure now shifts to Oshawa to find a way to close out this series.
Ty Nelson was the first overall pick by North Bay in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection. He led all defensemen in scoring in last year's post-season. And he had been relatively quiet offensively up until this game.
Game 6 takes place Sunday afternoon at 2pm EST in North Bay with momentum surrounding the home team.