OHL North Bay Battalion

Battalion Set for Three against Playoff Foes

Published on October 24, 2014 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - The Ontario Hockey League schedule maker produced quite the twist for the North Bay Battalion this week.

The three clubs the Battalion defeated in capturing the Eastern Conference title in the playoffs last spring face the Troops in the next three nights.

First up for the Battalion, which concludes a four-game home stand at 7 p.m. Thursday, are the Oshawa Generals. It's the teams' first meeting since the Troops swept the conference final.

The Battalion then hits the road for two games, visiting the Niagara IceDogs at 7 p.m. Friday and the Barrie Colts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. North Bay ousted Niagara in seven games in a first-round series and bounced Barrie in six games in a conference semifinal.

"This is a good test for us," said coach Stan Butler, whose Troops embark on their first stretch this season of three games in as many days. "It'll be another step in the evaluation process."

Said left winger Nick Paul: "We'll see how the younger guys respond to the schedule this week. This is a big challenge for us. We're playing some great teams. We have to stay mentally and physically focused."

The Battalion is second in the Central Division with a won-lost-extended record of 4-1-3 for 11 points after recording a season-high 49 shots in a 4-3 victory Sunday over the Mississauga Steelheads.

It was the 1,300th Canadian Hockey League game on Butler's coaching record, giving him a won-lost-tied log of 608-622-70. There are 1,096 Battalion games in his career total, from 15 seasons in Brampton and 76 games with North Bay. Butler coached Oshawa for 132 games and the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League for 72.

He said he remains frustrated with some areas of the Troops' play.

"We aren't playing what we call 'Battalion hockey.' We're scoring goals, and that's great, but we can still do that and also be fundamentally better on the halfboards. We have to cut down on our turnovers. There are a lot of things going on that we need to be a lot better with.

"I don't like how we play with a lead, and I don't like how we play in our own end. We have to tighten up in our own end and we have to understand how to play at certain times of the game, and we aren't quite there yet."

Oshawa tops the conference, riding a four-game winning streak and sporting a won-lost-extended record of 9-1-1 for 19 points. The Generals are 6-1-0 since left winger Michael Dal Colle returned from the New York Islanders, who chose him fifth overall in the National Hockey League Draft in June.

"The coaches always tell us the first game of a three-in-three usually predicts how the rest of the games go," said Paul, who leads North Bay in scoring with eight goals and three assists for 11 points. "We want to win that one. The Generals will come in with a chip on their shoulder, and we know that and will be prepared for that."

The trip to Niagara marks the Battalion's first visit to the Meridian Centre. The IceDogs, who relocated to St. Catharines in 2007 after nine years in Mississauga, formerly played at the Jack Gatecliff Arena, which dates to 1938 and where the Troops forged a regular-season record of 9-8-4.

The game is the first of six between the division rivals. Niagara was 2-7-0, having earned both wins at home, before a Wednesday night visit to the Erie Otters.

"We're excited to see that place," Paul said of the new arena. "The other rink was always a tough place to play. We'll play the way we always do against them. We know they'll come out hard, but we'll come harder."

The Battalion and Barrie have split two games, both at Memorial Gardens. The Colts skated to a 5-4 overtime win in the Troops' season opener Sept. 26 before the home side rode Paul's three-goal third-period performance to a 4-1 decision Oct. 13.

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