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OHL North Bay Battalion

Troops Knock Fronts Down for the Count

April 3, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


KINGSTON, Ont. - The North Bay Battalion confounded the pundits yet again Thursday night, completing a sweep of the Kingston Frontenacs in their Ontario Hockey League playoff series.

The prognosticators hadn't cared that the Battalion finished third in the Eastern Conference, losing the Central Division title on a tiebreaker, and earned 13 points more than Kingston, third in the East Division and sixth in the conference.

But the Troops didn't care what the pundits said, establishing complete domination on the ice.

A 3-1 victory in the final game of the best-of-seven conference quarterfinal duplicated the score in Game 3 at the K-Rock Centre two nights earlier. In the first two games, the Battalion took 8-0 and 3-2 wins at home.

"I told the players, 'I'm proud of Round 1,'" said Battalion coach Stan Butler.

Prevailing opinion in Kingston and elsewhere was that, with Sam Bennett back from the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames and on fire with 24 points in 11 regular-season games, the Frontenacs had too much offence for the Troops.

Even without Bennett, Kingston saw Lawson Crouse finish the season with 51 points, Spencer Watson with 48 and defenceman Evan McEneny with 45. Juho Lammikko had 44 and Conor McGlynn 38.

Goaltender Lucas Peressini drew accolades as well, having posted a 2.32 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage, both second-ranked in the league.

A 6-0 Battalion victory on home ice in the regular-season finale was dismissed because both teams rested several regulars, but the 8-0 thrashing the Troops handed the Frontenacs five nights later couldn't be ignored.

The Battalion lineup for the series opener boasted 261 man-games in the 2014 playoffs, largely gained in the Troops' march to the OHL Championship Series. The first-game Kingston roster totaled 81 man-games.

While the other three results were closer than that of Game 1, North Bay outscored Kingston 17-4 in the series. Goaltender Jake Smith turned in a 1.00 GAA and .966 save percentage, both top numbers in the postseason. Those who gave Kingston the edge in goal may have forgotten how Smith shone in the playoffs last year.

The Battalion defence, led by Marcus McIvor, Miles Liberati, Brenden Miller and Kyle Wood, generally kept Kingston's attackers to the outside, and Butler's forwards performed their forechecking and backchecking chores diligently. By the second period of the final game, the Frontenacs were lucky to get out of their zone.

Mike Amadio had four goals and three assists and Nick Paul three goals and four assists to pace the Troops' offence with seven points apiece. Miller contributed two goals and four assists for six points, while Mathew Santos had three goals, an empty-netter Tuesday night and two, including the winner, in the series-clinching game.

Amadio, who scored the first Battalion goal in every game except the third, had two game-winners. Kingston had a lead once in the series, after Crouse opened the scoring on the power play at 3:48 of Game 2. It lasted 6:13 before Amadio replied with the man advantage.

Crouse had two goals and one assist and Bennett three assists for the Frontenacs. Lammikko and McEneny each managed one goal and one assist.

Kingston scored once in 19 power-play opportunities, while North Bay went 4-for-19 with the man advantage.

By midway in the third game, coach Paul McFarland had split up the line of Bennett, Crouse and Watson. In Game 4, Ryan Verbeek started with Bennett and Watson.

For McFarland, the series result was all too familiar. He was an assistant last year with the Oshawa Generals when North Bay swept them in the conference final.

For the Frontenacs, it was worse. They've lost eight straight playoff games, having won the first three in the opening round last year against the Peterborough Petes before collapsing.

Kingston hasn't won a playoff series since 1997-98, the season before the expansion Battalion began play in Brampton. The Frontenacs defeated Oshawa in seven games in a first-round series before losing a five-game OHL quarterfinal to the London Knights.

Since then, Kingston has lost 11 conference quarterfinals. In 2002, the North Bay Centennials defeated the visiting Frontenacs 6-2 in a tiebreaker game.

The Battalion now has swept five series, comprising four conference quarterfinals and the 2014 conference final.

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