Battalion wrap up

It was a tough weekend to be a Battalion fan, or player for that matter. After a trying 2-1 victory marred by officiating controversy on January 22nd, Battalion coach Stan Butler received an eight game suspension for an altercation with referee Mike Marley on the ice and again in the Powerade Centre corridor.

The Troops were looking forward to getting back at it with division rival Barrie on Friday night. A quick 2-0 lead put Brampton in an early hole that they never could climb out of. The Colts pressed hard physically all game taking the body to the Battalion at every possible opportunity. While Ian Watters and Jamie Lewis would score for the Battalion, it would make little difference. The Colts would put up six goals on an otherwise stingy Brampton defense, two of which by Tanner Pearson to give him 30 on the season.

“We had a good first period and we just kept it going” said Barrie Captain Colin Behenna who scored the second goal of the game short-handed. “We battled hard, blocked shots and stuck to our game plan.”

Brampton wouldn’t have to wait long for a chance to get back on track as they headed to Oshawa for a Saturday night contest. After being down 2-1 through 20-minutes, the Troops rallied scoring two in the second and holding on for a 3-2 victory over the Generals. Captain Sam Carrick recorded his 25th goal of the season on the game-winning goal.

The Battalion then came home to face the visiting Niagara Ice Dogs on Sunday. Brett Ritchie put the Dogs up by one midway through the first and Brampton would never recover only managing 15 shots on Mark Visentin. Andrew Agozzino would score his 30th of the season in a first period scramble in front of goalie Matej Machovsky. The goal was Agozzino’s 149th as a member of the Ice Dogs, good for top spot in franchise history. Steven Shipley would add an early goal in the third and Visentin would close the door on Brampton for a 3-0 victory. The win was Visentin’s 7th of the month and his third straight shut-out.

“I thought we played really great” said Ice Dogs forward Ryan Strome. A sucker punch from Sudbury Wolves forward Brody Silk left Strome with a broken nose as well as other facial fractures and forced the talented forward to the sidelines. “We wanted to bounce back from a tough game and I think we did a good job.”