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OHL North Bay Battalion

Battalion, Generals Tight Competitors

April 17, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - There was precious little to separate the North Bay Battalion and Oshawa Generals in their Ontario Hockey League season series.

The two division champions, who open the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Oshawa, split a curiously scheduled four games, with each winning once on the road. All four meetings came after New Year ' s, with the first two at Oshawa and the last two at North Bay.

The first-seeded Generals finished atop the conference and the East Division with a won-lost-extended record of 42-20-6 for 90 points. The Battalion, first in the Central Division and third in the conference at 38-24-6 for 82 points, is seeded second.

Oshawa is the only team in the conference that the Battalion franchise, playing its first season in North Bay after 15 years in Brampton, including 11 in the conference, hasn ' t previously met in the playoffs.

"The games were all great," said North Bay assistant coach John Goodwin. "Every game was pretty close. We scored four goals in the third period to win one, but for most of the game it was 1-1. They were all tight games that were decided either late or in overtime. "

The teams first met Jan. 1 at Oshawa, with the Generals claiming a 3-2 decision when Josh Sterk scored at 1:51 of overtime. The Battalion returned to the General Motors Centre on Jan. 31 and rode a four-goal third period to a 5-1 victory.

Goaltender Ken Appleby, a North Bay resident, made 29 saves, including against Nick Paul on a penalty shot in the final minute, to backstop the visiting Generals to a 3-2 win Feb. 16. Michael Dal Colle scored the winning goal at 19:14 of the third period.

The Troops prevailed 3-0 at Memorial Gardens on March 13, with Barclay Goodrow scoring two goals and goaltender Jake Smith making 20 saves for the shutout.

Oshawa is the only unbeaten team in the playoffs, having swept the Mississauga Steelheads and Peterborough Petes while recording three shutouts and outscoring opponents 32-13. North Bay has played 13 postseason games, more than any other team. The Battalion took seven games to dispatch the Niagara IceDogs before defeating the Barrie Colts in six. The Troops, who have scored 37 goals while allowing 28, have two shutouts.

Dal Colle, who finished sixth in season scoring with 95 points, is third in the playoffs with five goals and 11 assists for 16 points. Cole Cassels is eighth with six goals and seven assists for 13 points. Goodrow leads the Battalion with six goals and six assists for 12 points.

Smith and Oshawa ' s Daniel Altshuller have gone all the way in goal for their respective teams. Altshuller leads the OHL with a 1.50 playoff goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. Smith has a 2.08 goals-against average, ranking third in the league, and is sixth with a .916 save percentage.

Oshawa, which scored one goal in 17 power-play chances against the Battalion this season, is second among playoff teams with 13 goals in 43 opportunities for a scoring rate of 30.2 percent. The Troops, who scored two goals in 18 man-advantage situations against Oshawa, are 11th with the man advantage in the playoffs, with seven power-play goals in 57 chances, a 12.3-percent scoring rate.

North Bay ranks second in playoff penalty killing, having allowed five goals in 59 shorthanded situations for a kill rate of 91.5 percent. Oshawa penalty killers are ranked eighth, surrendering six power-play goal in 37 opportunities for an effectiveness of 83.8 percent.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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