OHL North Bay Battalion

Sudbury Poses Next Test

Published on February 20, 2018 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - The North Bay Battalion plays host to the Sudbury Wolves at 7 p.m. Wednesday as the Ontario Hockey League's battle for Eastern Conference playoff positions continues to heat up.

North Bay, with a won-lost-extended record of 26-22-9 for 61 points, is tied with the Niagara IceDogs for second place in the Central Division and fourth in the conference. Sudbury is 14-36-6 for 34 points, last in the division and conference.

But Battalion coach Stan Butler knows that the Wolves, who face a daunting task to qualify for the postseason, always are ready for North Bay, having defeated the visiting Troops 2-1 on Jan. 20 in the most recent meeting. Since that game, Sudbury is 1-9-0.

"I've watched a lot of their games this year and, where we've found ways to win those close games, they've found ways to lose those games," said Butler. "I mean, that's the swing that you run into sometimes. (Coach) Cory Stillman has them playing really hard and, as long as they get decent goaltending, they're a pretty hard team to beat."

North Bay, which visits Niagara, 0-7-3 in its last 10, on Saturday night and the conference-leading Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday, is 13-3-3 in its last 19 games, with 10 of the last 17 going beyond regulation time. In that span, the Battalion has won three of five overtime decisions and four of five shootout verdicts.

"They've been working hard; my hat's off to them," Butler said of the Troops. "Nothing's easy for this group. Everything's tough and, to their credit, they always find a way to be competitive."

The Battalion, which defeated the Mississauga Steelheads 4-3 in overtime at home Sunday, lost 5-4 in overtime Monday to the host Oshawa Generals, with Serron Noel scoring the winner on a breakaway nine seconds into the fourth period.

"Our kids played pretty well, even in Oshawa - three goals on the power play; two were five-on-three. I thought five-on-five we played pretty well. Unfortunately, in overtime we had a missed assignment. Two guys went to the same guy and, as a result of that, we didn't have to waste much energy in overtime."

The Generals, whom the Battalion defeated 3-2 at Memorial Gardens last Thursday night, are third in the East Division and sixth in the conference at 28-26-3 for 59 points, one more than the Ottawa 67's. Mississauga holds down the eighth and final conference playoff spot at 25-28-3 for 53 points, five ahead of the Peterborough Petes.

With three points separating the four teams in the fourth through seventh spots, Butler acknowledged that the Battalion still has plenty of work to do.

"We've still got to get better. I mean, what have we got left here? About a month in the season, so we've got to be four weeks better in another month. I think that's really, really important that we can do that because, at the end of the day, you've got to improve at this time of year. So we've still got a ways to go to be ready for the playoffs and make it that we're a tough team to play in the playoffs."

With 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points in 45 games, rookie centre Blake Murray leads the offence for Sudbury, which traded away several top points producers by the Jan. 10 deadline. Defenceman Cole Candella has four goals and 26 assists for 30 points in 56 games, while left winger Darian Pilon has scored 12 goals and added 17 assists for 29 points in 51 games. Left winger David Levin has 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points in 38 games.

Right winger Kirill Nizhnikov has seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 27 games since a Dec. 7 trade with the Barrie Colts which saw Sudbury give up four OHL Priority Selection picks, including two second-rounders. Centre Alexey Lipanov has two goals and as many assists for four points in 13 games since joining the Wolves from Barrie at the deadline for right winger Dimitry Sokolov and a conditional third-round pick in 2022.

Right winger Justin Brazeau, who's scored in each of the last four games, paces the Battalion with a team-leading 35 goals and 31 assists for 66 points, while left winger Luke Burghardt has 26 goals and a team-high 36 assists for 62 points. Defenceman Adam Thilander has scored six goals and earned 28 assists for 34 points. All have played 57 games.

Canadore Recruiting Night will see secondary school students from the North Bay area in attendance, with one winning a year of free tuition to Canadore College.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2018


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.

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