Oulahen set on fixing errors
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Coach Ryan Oulahen of the North Bay Battalion takes the view that a disappointing 7-2 road loss Sunday night to the Oshawa Generals poses plenty of potential for improvement.
“There were some systematic errors for sure, which is good,” Oulahen said Wednesday as his charges prepared to play host to the Brampton Steelheads at 7 p.m. Thursday.
“I like when it’s clear as day when you watch the film afterwards. Those are things that are pretty easy for us to correct and go over. It was pretty clear where a lot of their goals came from. It was that inner slot area, second efforts, and those are easy for us to identify and fix and just get all on the same page.
“We did a really good job on the Friday night limiting those chances, so that’s just what we’ve got to clean up here and be better for it.”
With the Battalion having defeated the visiting Barrie Colts 2-1 last Friday night in the Ontario Hockey League season opener for both teams, the Troops have a won-lost-extended record of 1-1-0. Centre Evgeny Dubrovtsev and right winger Kam Hodgson, with his first OHL goal, scored for North Bay at Oshawa.
Apart from several injured players, the Battalion will be without Parker Vaughan and Alexander Karmanov for the Brampton game. Right winger Vaughan drew a two-game suspension after taking a match penalty for slew-footing as time expired at Oshawa. Defenceman Karmanov, back from the training camp of the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks, will serve the last of a three-game suspension following a crosschecking major and game misconduct in a 6-2 preseason loss Sept. 6 to the visiting Sudbury Wolves.
Oulahen suggested that the injury and suspension situations provide chances for others, citing goaltender Owen Loftus and centre Alexandre Saulnier, the Battalion’s top two picks in the OHL Priority Selection in June, as examples of those getting added opportunity.
“Typically, in all seasons, you want to play everybody early on. I certainly use the bench as much as I possibly can here because there’s part of development that has to take place, and we know that some mistakes are going to happen. We’ve got to fix those now, and then you get better along the way.
“We’ve proven and shown that by the time the second half comes around, because we’ve played those players and played them in minutes, we’re always an improved hockey team.”
North Bay completes weekend play by visiting the Soo Greyhounds at 7:07 p.m. Saturday.
The Brampton game features The Capitol Centre Night. Complimentary Battalion schedule fridge magnets will be available at each exit from Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens after the game.
