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OHL North Bay Battalion

Storm Warning Issued for North Bay

November 27, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Coach Stan Butler sees a challenging week ahead for the North Bay Battalion.

The Battalion faces the Guelph Storm at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Storm's first visit to Memorial Gardens since a 10-1 romp in Game 4 of the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series on May 7.

The Troops then visit the Owen Sound Attack at 7:30 p.m. Saturday before entertaining the Niagara IceDogs at 3 p.m. Sunday.

"Guelph is coming in here, and they're starting to play well," said Butler. "That doesn't surprise me, as they've got a lot of players back from last season's team. Owen Sound is hanging in there with the big boys in the Western Conference, and then we have to come home and Niagara will be waiting for us."

The Battalion has a won-lost-extended record of 12-5-4 for 28 points atop the Central Division, six points ahead of the second-place Barrie Colts with a game in hand.

"We need to get better, and that starts in practice," said Butler. "We have to keep pushing them, and they have to keep pushing themselves. Our guys have to realize that we're playing good teams this week."

Guelph, which won the last three games of the OHL final to take the series in five, defeated the Battalion 3-2 in overtime at home Oct. 10. The Storm carried a 2-0 lead into the third period before Jared Steege and Kyle Wood scored power-play goals to tie it. Stephen Pierog struck at 3:20 of extra time with the Troops' Brenden Miller and Nick Paul in the penalty box.

"We got better as the game went on," said Butler, whose charges were outshot 11-4 in the scoreless first period. "They're a really good team, and we'll need to be ready for them from the drop of the puck."

Guelph, fifth in the Midwest Division at 12-9-1 for 25 points, has won its last two games, outscoring opponents 12-3.

"When you go on a big run and play as long as they did last season, it's about developing consistency," noted Butler. "They're still trying to sort things out, but I've watched their last couple of games, and they're very good."

Owen Sound, which skated to a 3-2 overtime win at North Bay the night before the Troops lost at Guelph, is 12-6-5 for 29 points, fourth in the Midwest.

"They're a big, strong team that plays hard," Butler said of the Attack. "They have good goaltending and they're well coached. They're a pretty complete team that makes you earn everything."

Niagara, which has lost three straight games, figures to be a much different opponent from the one that fell 6-2 to the visiting Battalion on Oct. 24.

The IceDogs, 6-16-0 and fourth in the Central, have made two significant trades since that game, acquiring overage goaltender Brandon Hope from Owen Sound and right winger Josh Ho-Sang from the Windsor Spitfires.

Hope has two wins, including one shutout, in three games with Niagara with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .975 save percentage. Ho-Sang, who has two assists in four games with the IceDogs, was a first-round pick of the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League Draft last June.

Niagara hopes to have another NHL first-rounder in the lineup this weekend. Left winger Brendan Perlini has yet to play for the IceDogs this season after suffering a broken finger in an NHL preseason game with the Arizona Coyotes, who chose him 12th overall in June.

The St. Catharines Standard reported that Perlini was to undergo an X-ray Tuesday, possibly being cleared to play as early as Thursday, when the IceDogs host the Belleville Bulls. Perlini had 71 points, including 34 goals, last season.

"Getting Perlini back and adding Hope and Ho-Sang means they've really strengthened their team," said Butler. "They aren't the team we saw in their rink. But this weekend we have to walk before we can run. Our goal right now is not Owen Sound or Niagara; we can only worry about Guelph."

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