Returning Maleyko Wins OT Thriller For Battalion
Battalion Captain Jason Maleyko, playing his first game since suffering a broken nose against Sarnia on January 30, scored at 2:49 of overtime and Raffi Torres scored a goal and three assists to lift the Battalion to a 5-4 win over the Erie Otters at the Brampton Centre.
Prior to the game Battalion Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Stan Butler said that in order for his troops to be successful against Midwest Division leading Erie, they would have to “score on (our) opportunities and capitalize on the chances (we) get..” Well, the Battalion heeded those words, scoring three power play goals on their way to their second win of the season over the Otters.
Winger Richard Kearns, making his first appearance since suffering a concussion against the Kitchener Rangers on January 28, opened the scoring at 2:36 of the first period, banging home a Scott Thompson feed for his eighth goal of the year. A little less than ten minutes later, Aaron VanLeusen scored his first of two power play goals with Erie forward Brad Yeo serving four minutes in the penalty box for checking from behind. The Barrie native drilled a Torres pass past Otters netminder J.F. Perras for his 12th goal of the season.
The Otters got on the board at 18:30 of the opening frame as Brad Boyes took advantage of a Battalion defensive zone giveaway to set up a wide-open Troy Ilijow. Erie tied the game on a power play less than a minute into the second when Arvid Rekis skated in from the left point and fired a shot past a screened David Chant in the Battalion net.
Raffi Torres took care of two milestones with one shot at 8:05 of the second with the Otters a man short. Centre Jeff Bateman circled out from the corner and dumped the puck back to Torres who broke out of the corner and buried the puck in the top shelf on the short side. The goal was Torres’ 35th of the season, equaling the team mark he set last year, and marked the seventh consecutive game in which he had scored at least one goal, extending his team record,. Derek Roy of the Kitchener Rangers and Jason Jaspers of the Sudbury Wolves each had seven game streaks earlier this season. Jonas Andersson of the North Bay Centennials also extended his streak to seven games on Thursday with two goals against the Oshawa Generals.
Brampton extended its lead to 4-2 3:11 into the third when VanLeusen tipped in a Jay Harrison shot with Erie defenceman Riley Moher in the penalty box for high sticking.
The Otters came back and converted with the man advantage at 8:30 of the third when Shane Nash banged home a rebound from a point shot by Darren McMillan. Brad Yeo tied the game less than three minutes later when he drilled a wrist shot past David Chant into the far corner.
The game remained scoreless through the remainder of the final stanza but the Battalion had the best chance to win as VanLeusen scooped up an Otter giveaway and raced in from the blueline in search of a hat-trick only to be denied by a fine save from J.F. Perras.
The Battalion pressed the issue in the overtime period and counted their second extra-time victory of the season when Jason Maleyko corralled a loose pack behind the Otters net and slid a wrap-around past a stranded Perras for his fifth of the season. Ironically, Maleyko had scored the teams first ever OT winner on New Year’s Eve against Mississauga.
Torres’ four points gave him 71 on the season equaling Jason Spezza’s club mark, set last year. Jeff Bateman added two assists, giving him 50 points on the year. Goaltender David Chant picked up the win and evened his record at 14-14-5.
The Battalion outshot the Otters 37-28. The victory was Brampton’s 11th home ice win of the season.
Brampton (20-27-7-3) is now one point behind the Guelph Storm in the OHL Midwest Division while the Otters (25-27-2-2) remain two points ahead of the idle Kitchener Rangers.
The Battalion heads to London on February 18 and returns to the Bunker to entertain the Owen Sound Platers on February 20. Erie heads to the Sound for a doubleheader with the Platers on Friday and Saturday.
