Battalion suffers second loss in less than 24 hours

Former IceDogs netminder Brent Moran faced sustained pressure early in the game, and that effort on the part of the host team was rewarded 1:43 into the first period with Johnny Corneil’s team-high 29th goal of the season.

Kirill Maksimov was Johnnyon-the-spot for Niagara in front of the open net tapping in a crosscrease pass to put the hosts up 2-0.

Corneil answered a one-timer from Brett Hargrave’that beat Stephen Dhillon glove side and put North Bay on the scoreboard with his second goal of the afternoon.

Fans were still returning to their seats when Kyle Langdon, on a breakaway from the far blue-line with the IceDogs playing shorthanded, faked Moran out of position and scored in the backhand.

That wasn’t the only time in the second period that the Battlion seemed inappropriately named. Their defence also appeared to be AWOL when Maksimov, left all alone in front of Moran for a tap-in on the power play, and Akil Thomas, given plenty of time and space to beat Moran stick side from just below the faceoff circle, put the IceDogs a 6-1 cushion after two periods of play.

Maksimov’s second goal of the game, also on the power play, was his eighth in the past four games. He also scored in the shootout in Friday’s victory over the Owen Sound Attack.

It was the Battlion’s second loss in less than 24 hours. North Bay squandered a chance to keep pace with Niagara in the playoff race when they dropped a 6-0 decision on the road Saturday night to the worst team in the league, the Barrie Colts.

The Battalion came into St. Catharines for the final meeting of the season series leading the IceDogs 3-2-0-1, six points to five, in head-to-head play. Niagara earned a consolation point in a 6-5 shootout loss Nov. 4 at Meridian Centre.

Singing was Monument Choir, which is made up of people with disabilities … Billet families were presented with commemorative photos of their players in a red carpet onice ceremony before the game, as were the parents of the four players who live at home. This season four billets opened their homes to two players each.