OHL North Bay Battalion

Cup Host Knights Invade North Bay

Published on January 29, 2014 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - The North Bay Battalion, riding high of late, enters a stretch of at least eight unusually demanding games when it hosts the London Knights in Ontario Hockey League action at 7 p.m. Thursday.

London, which has won the last two OHL titles and is to host the Memorial Cup tournament in May, boasts a plethora of talent, led by the likes of Chris Tierney, Max Domi, Bo Horvat and Nikita Zadorov. Zach Bell, traded by the Battalion on Nov. 19 for fellow defenceman Miles Liberati, also is with the Knights.

The Battalion has a won-lost-extended record of 25-17-6 for 56 points, second in the Central Division and tied for third in the Eastern Conference with the Kingston Frontenacs, who hold a game in hand. London is 31-11-5 for 67 points, third in the Midwest Division and fourth in the Western Conference.

The Battalion, which has won its last four games, is 12-2-5 in its last 19, a stretch that started with a 6-3 road victory over the Niagara IceDogs on Dec. 7. The Troops, 13-6-3 at home, are 9-0-2 in their last 11 games at Memorial Gardens, their last regulation-time loss at North Bay a 5-3 setback to the Sarnia Sting on Dec. 5. Having played all 47 games, centre Tierney tops London's points production, leading the club with 65, made up of a team-high 28 goals and 37 assists. Left winger Domi has 23 goals and a team-leading 41 assists for 64 points in 41 games, while right winger Horvat has 19 goals and 31 assists for 50 points in 35 games.

Left winger Tait Seguin, a North Bay resident, has one goal and three assists for four points in 29 games.

The Knights boast a solid blue line which includes Zadorov and three overagers in Bell, Alex Basso and Brady Austin.

Bell, who played four seasons with the Brampton Battalion, skated in two preseason games for North Bay before attending camp with the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and the St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League. He then played for the California-based Ontario Reign of the ECHL before his rights were dealt for Liberati and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2016 OHL Priority Selection.

Bell has two goals and five assists for seven points in 22 games with London, while Liberati has three goals in 24 games with the Troops.

Right winger Michael McCarron leads the Knights in penalty minutes with 81, while Domi is second with 72.

Jake Patterson figures to get the start in goal for London, as Anthony Stolarz is listed as out for four weeks with a lower-body injury.

Patterson made 24 saves for the shutout when the Knights defeated the Battalion 4-0 on Nov. 29 at Budweiser Gardens before a crowd of 9,046, the largest to see the Troops play this season.

The Battalion has drawn 72,600 to 22 home games, an average of 3,300 per game. That represents a 56-percent increase over the average of 2,120 through the same number of home dates at Brampton last season.

The Battalion visits the Oshawa Generals, 31-13-4 for 66 points atop the Eastern Conference and East Division, on Friday night before hosting the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the West Division leaders, on Sunday. After that, the Troops entertain the Central Division-leading Sudbury Wolves next Thursday night and visit the Plymouth Whalers and Windsor Spitfires on the Saturday night and Sunday. Windsor and Oshawa then visit North Bay in consecutive games.

All opponents in the span have winning records except Plymouth, a traditionally strong club which is 9-11-3 at home against 8-15-2 on the road.

Check out the North Bay Battalion Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 29, 2014


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.

OurSports Central