OHL North Bay Battalion

Owen Sound, Guelph Pose Stiff Tests

Published on October 8, 2014 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - The North Bay Battalion gets its first look at foes from the Ontario Hockey League's Western Conference this week, including a visit to the Guelph Storm.

The Battalion hosts the Owen Sound Attack at 7 p.m. Thursday before visiting Guelph at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Troops then entertain the Barrie Colts, a Central Division rival in the Eastern Conference, at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Monday.

Coach Stan Butler said Wednesday that rookie goaltender Evan Cormier will get his first start of the season against Owen Sound, while right winger Hampus Olsson, a first-year Swedish import, will make his debut after suffering an ulnar fracture during the exhibition campaign.

Captain Marcus McIvor said that the Troops, second in the division with a won-lost-extended record of 2-0-1 after two straight wins, look forward to picking up the pace in their schedule.

"This is when things start to get going for us. The schedule has been a little different over the first two weeks, but the guys are excited to get going now that we have three games ahead."

Owen Sound, 2-1-2, is tied with Guelph for second place in the Midwest Division. The Attack's 21 goals scored are third in the league, and its power play, which has netted a league-high nine goals, is ranked fourth with an effectiveness of 31 percent. Goaltenders Jack Flinn and Brandon Hope are fourth and fifth respectively in goals-against average.

"They're a good team," said McIvor. "We've focused all week on preparing for them and we'll be ready."

Battalion penalty killers rank 11th in the OHL, having allowed four goals in 20 shorthanded situations for a kill rate of 80 percent.

"We take a lot of pride in our penalty killing," noted McIvor. "We don't want to take a lot of penalties, but if we do we'll be ready to work as hard as we can to kill them off."

The Troops make their first trip to Guelph since May 9, when Kerby Rychel's goal at 19:33 of the third period gave the Storm a 4-3 victory in the fifth and final game of the OHL Championship Series.

"We'll definitely not be looking past Owen Sound, but the game in Guelph means a lot to us," allowed McIvor. "We want to beat those guys. It was tough to watch them celebrate, but the past is the past, and we have to focus on the future now. It's one more game in a 68-game schedule, and we're going in there hoping for a win."

Guelph, 3-1-0, has scored only nine goals, third fewest in the conference. The Storm offence figures to receive a boost when Robby Fabbri returns to the lineup after an extended stay at the training camp of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues, who chose him with the 21st overall pick in the NHL Draft last June. Fabbri, who had 87 points, including 45 goals, last season, was assigned to Guelph on Tuesday but wasn't expected to play against North Bay.

"They might not have scored much so far, but they have a lot of firepower up front, and we have to be ready for that at the back end," said McIvor. "We have to keep playing our style, which is a strong team game. We're stingy defensively, and that's the way we have to play against strong offensive teams."

The Barrie game will mark the Battalion's first rematch of the season. Joseph Blandisi scored three goals, including the winner at 1:10 of overtime, and added one assist to power the Colts to a 5-4 road win Sept. 26 in the Troops' season opener.

Blandisi leads the OHL in scoring with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in five games. The Colts sit atop the Central with a 3-1-1 record.

"The team Barrie sees Monday will be a lot different from the one they saw in the opener," said McIvor. "We had nerves in the opener, but we're starting to get comfortable as a team and learn how to play with each other. I like where we're at right now, but we need to get better to continue to compete with some of the better teams."

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2014


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