Battalion set to swing west
NORTH BAY, Ont. — The North Bay Battalion, fresh off a home-ice victory Sunday that ended a three-game losing skid, hits the road for three Ontario Hockey League games this weekend.
The Battalion meets the Flint Firebirds at 7 p.m. Friday before facing the Saginaw Spirit on Saturday night and the Sarnia Sting on Sunday to complete its only run this season of three games in as many days, all against West Division clubs.
North Bay has a won-lost-extended record of 8-8-0 for 16 points, third in the Central Division. Flint was 8-6-1 for 17 points, tied with Saginaw for third place in their division, before visiting the Soo Greyhounds on Wednesday night.
The trip marks the first three of six straight games against Western Conference opponents. With dates against the Kitchener Rangers and Greyhounds having preceded a 6-2 win over the division rival Niagara IceDogs, the Troops are in a stretch of eight games in nine against the opposite conference.
“They got off to maybe a little bit of an up-and-down start, but I’ve been really impressed with that team,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday of the Firebirds. “They develop a ton of offence.”
Oulahen, in his sixth season directing the Battalion, is familiar with Flint’s Dort Financial Center, having coached the Firebirds for two-plus years culminating in October, 2018.
“I know that building firsthand. It’s a home-ice advantage for sure. It’s a loud building, a loud crowd.”
The game Sunday saw the Battalion score a season-high six goals after three consecutive one-goal games, with the team’s younger members supplying a disproportionate part of the offence. Veterans Ethan Procyszyn, Lirim Amidovski and Shamar Moses, for example, have produced one, four and two goals respectively.
“These guys are playing the right way,” Oulahen said in defence of the vets. “In terms of the scoring chances for and against, if I were to show you what that is and what our record would be just based on that, it would be tops in the division. The chances are getting developed. Those types of things are happening.”
Parker Vaughan scored two goals, including the winner, and earned an assist against Niagara. Bronson Ride had one goal and one assist, and Kent Greer, Arseny Pronin and Ihnat Pazii also scored as the Battalion erupted for three goals in a span of 3:01 early in the final period, scored four unanswered goals in the frame and netted a total of five in a row.
“In the third, I just felt like our energy was really good, and we talked about keeping the pedal down and not sitting back, and I thought that was the case,” Oulahen said after the game.
He praised the play of Vaughan, who doubled his season goals total.
“He’s a great player. I wasn’t worried about him in terms of maybe the production because he touches all sorts of facets on the ice. He makes an impact in the game.
“He’s one of the hardest-working players I’ve been around in a long time. That’s on and off the ice, and I think the karma around that kid is just inevitable, and now you look to see his last couple of weekends have been pretty impressive, and hopefully we can keep that continuing.”
The game at Flint can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
