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OHL North Bay Battalion

'Team in Transition' Gains Road Split

November 9, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Coach Stan Butler's review of the North Bay Battalion's two-game Ontario Hockey League road trip was as mixed as the results.

"We're a team in transition right now," Butler said Sunday as the Battalion enjoyed a day off. "We're not a bad team, but we're not a really good team yet. It will depend on how we practise and get better as we go on.

"Our team is still trying to discover itself, and I think we still need a bit more out of our rookies. We're almost a quarter of the way through the season, and we need some production from them. I told the older players they need to accommodate the younger guys and make them feel good."

North Bay sits atop the Central Division with a won-lost-extended record of 9-3-4 for 22 points, four ahead of the second-place Barrie Colts with two games in hand.

The Battalion, despite outshooting the hosts 44-33, suffered a late-developing 2-1 loss to the Peterborough Petes on Thursday night, when Stephen Nosad scored at 19:54 of the third period.

The Troops then put on a workmanlike performance to defeat the Kingston Frontenacs 4-1 Friday night. Another road game Sunday, against yet a third East Division foe, the Ottawa 67's, was postponed because of ice problems at TD Place.

"It hurts any time you lose a game late," Butler said of the setback at Peterborough. "When you lose a tough game like that, it's always interesting to see how your team will bounce back the next game. I was happy to see how they performed against a pretty good Kingston team."

After two scoreless periods, the Petes' Nick Ritchie struck at 5:54 of the third frame before Brenden Miller tied it at 14:47. Nosad netted the winner when he directed a loose puck over the glove of Battalion goaltender Jake Smith.

"It was one of those games. If you've coached a long time, you know some games don't go like you want them to go, and that game was a prime example.

"Our guys were trying to win the game in the last minute rather than trying not to lose, and you need to be careful of that. When you're on the road in a tie game in the last minute, your first priority has to be to get that point. We had all the right guys out there, and as a coach the only time you can get angry at yourself when you lose like that is if you don't have the right people on the ice. That's when you second-guess yourself."

At Kingston, the teams played a scoreless first period before Nick Paul put the Battalion ahead at 11:49 of the second period. Mathew Santos struck on the power play at 19:56, and Brett McKenzie made it 3-0 at 3:13 of the third during a two-man advantage.

Spencer Watson replied for Kingston at 15:54, and the Frontenacs besieged Smith, especially after goaltender Lucas Peressini went to the bench for a sixth attacker with 2:20 left. But Smith was stout, producing key saves against Watson, Lawson Crouse and Robert Polesello before Mike Amadio finished the scoring into the empty net at 19:39.

"We played a really strong game other than the last three or four minutes, when we took our foot off the pedal," noted Butler. "We really didn't give them many opportunities. Our power play was good, and our penalty killing was good."

Smith, a 19-year-old in his third season with the Troops, has a record of 8-3-3 with one shutout, a 2.25 goals-against average, second in the OHL, and a .911 save percentage.

"Jake's been really good for us. He has the odd bad game, but not many. You need good goaltending to win in this league, and Jake gives us that on a nightly basis."

North Bay has a busy weekend looming, with three games in as many days starting at 7 p.m. Friday when the Petes invade Memorial Gardens. The Battalion visits Barrie at 7:30 p.m. Saturday before hosting the Mississauga Steelheads at 2 p.m. Sunday.

"This is a big week ahead with a lot at stake," said Butler. "We're going to emphasize that beginning at practice Monday."

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