Battalion readies playoff push
NORTH BAY, Ont. – The North Bay Battalion has reached the jumping-off point for its final drive to the playoffs.
The Battalion defeated the host Barrie Colts 3-2 Tuesday night to push its won-lost-extended record to 32-22-6 for 70 points atop the Ontario Hockey League’s Central Division.
The Sudbury Wolves garnered one point in a 2-1 loss via shootout Wednesday night to the visiting Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, leaving the Battalion and Wolves even in points, with the Troops getting the tiebreaker nod by virtue of two more wins.
The Battalion, which went 5-4-0 on the road to open the season because of ongoing work to Memorial Gardens, has eight games left on the schedule, the same as Sudbury, including six at home, starting with a visit by the league-leading Guelph Storm at 7 p.m. Thursday.
It’s the last date with a Western Conference team, meaning the final seven games figure to carry considerable weight in determining first-round playoff pairings in the Eastern Conference, in which the Battalion now sits second behind the Oshawa Generals. The Troops clinched a postseason berth last Thursday night with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Erie Otters.
After Guelph, the Battalion has home games against the Niagara IceDogs, Belleville Bulls, Sudbury, Oshawa and the Ottawa 67’s, with road dates against the Mississauga Steelheads and Sudbury. North Bay is 17-8-3 at home and 15-14-3 on the road.
Alex Henriksson, Vincent Praplan and Nick Paul, with what proved to be the winner late in the second period, scored a goal apiece as the Battalion turned back the challenge of the Colts, who are 31-25-3 for 65 points and who, with a regulation-time victory, would have been within a point of the Troops while holding a game in hand.
Goaltender Brendan O’Neill faced 37 shots, including a season-high 19 allowed in the final period as Barrie staged a concerted effort to score a tying goal after Garrett Hooey pulled the home side within one just 1:45 into the frame.
But the Colts’ comeback aspirations suffered serious blows when Aaron Ekblad and Brendan Lemieux were penalized for slashing and unsportsmanlike conduct respectively at 19:13, Lemieux also receiving a misconduct for abuse of an official.
The Troops failed to keep the puck in the offensive zone, and Barclay Goodrow, who turned 21 Wednesday, was called for tripping at 19:29 while backchecking against a Barrie breakout. With Colts goaltender Daniel Gibl on the bench for a fourth attacker, the teams were at even skating strength for the ensuing faceoff to O’Neill’s left.
Henriksson, with an open neutral zone in front of him, iced the puck in the closing seconds, apparently thinking that the Troops were shorthanded, bringing about another faceoff in the North Bay end, but the Battalion survived for the 500th victory in the franchise’s 16-year history.
Guelph, with a 46-10-3 record for 95 points atop the Midwest Division, boasts the best record in the OHL and five scorers among the league’s top 20.
Right winger Scott Kosmachuk leads Guelph points producers with 42 goals and 43 assists for 85 points in 59 games, while left winger Kerby Rychel has 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points in 49 games, including 12 goals and 27 assists for 39 points in 22 games since a trade from the Windsor Spitfires.
Centre Robby Fabbri has scored 39 goals and added 37 assists for 76 points in 49 games, while left winger Brock McGinn and right winger Zack Mitchell have 71 points apiece from 49 and 59 games respectively.
Guelph downed the visiting Battalion 7-2 on Oct. 25 in the teams’ only other meeting of the season, with Brett McKenzie and Jared Steege scoring the Troops’ goals.
