Owen Sound prevails 5-3

NORTH BAY, Ont. — The Owen Sound Attack scored three unanswered second-period goals, including two by Julian Fantino 15 seconds apart, in defeating the North Bay Battalion 5-3 Sunday in Ontario Hockey League preseason action.

Thomas Chafe and Antonio Tersigni each had one goal and one assist and Gavin Bryant added an empty-netter for Owen Sound.

Starting goaltender Nick Chenard allowed one goal on 13 shots before being relieved by George Carter, a third-round pick in the OHL Priority Selection in April, who gave up two goals on nine shots.

Owen Sound, which dressed 11 forwards and seven defencemen, had 14 veterans in the lineup. The Attack won 5-4 via shootout Sept. 5 over the host Barrie Colts in its only previous exhibition game.

Kyle McDonald scored two goals and Nikita Tarasevich one for North Bay, which played its first of three preseason games and the only one at Memorial Gardens.

Goaltender Dom DiVincentiis surrendered four goals on 31 shots. Sitting out for the Battalion were five players who will be off to National Hockey League rookie camps in the coming days, as 12 veterans were in uniform.

The Battalion led 1-0 after 20 minutes, but Fantino struck twice early in the middle period, tying it at 1:02 off a weird deflection as he worked from the right-wing corner. Fantino followed with his fourth goal of the preseason.

Chafe knocked home a loose puck at 13:04, and Tersigni connected off a rush 2:52 into the third period to make it 4-1 before the Troops responded on an unassisted Tarasevich breakaway at 8:54.

McDonald, on assists by rookies Ethan Procyszyn and Brayden Turley, put the puck into a gaping net from the left side at 18:27 to pull North Bay within a goal, but Bryant benefited from a turnover in the Battalion zone and cashed the empty-netter at 19:43.

McDonald connected at 9:47 of the first period with the teams skating four a side. He swooped across the top of the Attack zone before beating Chenard from the right circle. Nic Sima and Alexander Lukin drew assists.

Owen Sound forged a 15-9 edge in shots in the frame, but DiVincentiis was up to the test, even drawing a roughing penalty in a pileup with Cedricson Okitundu, who was charged with goaltender interference at 7:56.

The Battalion returns to action in a rematch at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, at Owen Sound.

BATTALION BULLETS: The Battalion went 0-for-1 on the power play. Owen Sound was 0-for-3 … Opening Battalion line combinations featured Dalyn Wakely centring left winger Owen Van Steensel and right winger Sima, Liam Arnsby pivoting left winger Tarasevich and right winger McDonald and Michael Podolioukh centring left winger Chase MacQueen-Spence and Anthony Romani on right wing. Brett Bouchard centred Jacob Therrien on left wing and right winger Procyszyn … Defence pairings saw Paul Christopoulos with Lukin, Wyatt Kennedy with Turley and Cam Gauvreau alongside Tyson Rismond … Charlie Robertson backed up DiVincentiis … The Battalion was without Tnias Mathurin, Avery Winslow, Justin Ertel, Matvey Petrov, Ty Nelson, Kyle Jackson and Mike McIvor … Therrien, Procyszyn, Turley and Rismond made their OHL debuts … Procyszyn was North Bay’s first-round pick, 20th overall, in April, while Turley was selected in the third round … Seven drafted Battalion members are to leave for NHL camps, numbering forwards Petrov, Ertel, Jackson and Arnsby, defencemen Nelson and Mathurin and goaltender DiVincentiis. In addition, McDonald and Wakely will join the Ottawa Senators as free-agent invitees … Among the missing for Owen Sound were Ethan Burroughs and Colby Barlow.