OHL North Bay Battalion

Sexagenarian Butler on Points, Cake, Icing

Published on February 3, 2016 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Stan Butler kept it simple Wednesday in terms of his birthday-week wishes.

"Four points would be nice," noted Butler, the North Bay Battalion's director of hockey operations and head coach, who turned 60 on Tuesday.

"We're in a dogfight here, and we'd love to get home ice for the playoffs, and hopefully it's something that we can do."

The Battalion has a won-lost-extended record of 25-16-6 for 56 points, second in the Ontario Hockey League's Central Division and third in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Niagara IceDogs. The Troops host the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at 7 p.m. Thursday before busing to St. Catharines to face the IceDogs at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Sault Ste. Marie is 21-20-6 for 48 points, third in the West Division and seventh in the Western Conference. The Greyhounds and Battalion lost in their respective conference finals last spring, the 'Hounds to the Erie Otters and the Troops to the Oshawa Generals, eventual Memorial Cup champions.

The Northern Ontario teams have met three times this season, the first two at Sault Ste. Marie. The Battalion won 3-1 on Oct. 10 before losing 5-4 via shootout Dec. 6. The Greyhounds prevailed 5-4 at Memorial Gardens on Jan. 14.

Since then, the Battalion has gone 5-0-2, garnering at least a point in seven straight games, its longest such streak this season, bettering a 5-0-1 run that started at Sault Ste. Marie and continued through Dec. 19.

"I think how it motivated us is we realized we needed to play better," Butler said of the last regulation-time loss. "(Coach) Drew Bannister's team is a good team. They're like us: They have some good players left from a really successful team, and we've got to realize that and come out flying Thursday night."

Blake Speers paces the 'Hounds in scoring with 47 points on 13 goals and 34 assists in 47 games. Fellow right winger Zachary Senyshyn has a team-leading 30 goals and 14 assists for 44 points in 46 games, while centre Gabe Guertler has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 47 games. Brandon Halverson and James Raaymakers are the goaltenders.

"You've got to stop their best players," said Butler. "It's no secret. Speers and Senyshyn and those guys are good players, and Guertler. You've got to stop them, and they've got two good goalies.

"I still think we're at a stage of the season where we've got to worry about our own team. If we were a birthday cake, the cake's made, the icing's still drying and we haven't put the roses on yet."

Butler, a native of East York, Ont., who's coached the Battalion since its inaugural season in Brampton in 1998-99, said he thinks the team has started to demonstrate a higher compete level.

"I think it's improving and we're moving in the right direction. Our guys are starting to realize that it's a given that every game you've got to bring it. Early in the year we were really inconsistent, even shift to shift or period by period, but I think for the most part now we've been a little bit better, but we've still got a ways to go."

Butler joined the Battalion in 1997, the year before the franchise began play, and oversaw scouting for the OHL Expansion Draft, the OHL Priority Selection and the OHL Overage Expansion Draft.

He was characterized in birthday wishes on Twitter from Craig Button, a hockey analyst in various forums, including TSN, and a former general manager of the Calgary Flames, as the best coach never to have coached in the National Hockey League.

Check out the North Bay Battalion Statistics

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



Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2016


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