Troops, Foreurs set to tangle
NORTH BAY, Ont. — The Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion marches into uncharted territory when it plays host to the Val-d’Or Foreurs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The opener of a two-game season series, it will be the first time that the Battalion has faced off against a QMJHL team in a game that will count in the standings of both Canadian Hockey League circuits.
Other interleague pairings involve the Ottawa 67’s and Gatineau Oympiques, the Sudbury Wolves and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and the Kingston Frontenacs and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. To maintain a 68-game schedule, the Battalion plays two games against Kingston this season instead of the customary four.
Val-d’Or is a formidable foe, boasting a won-lost-extended record of 13-1-1 for 27 points atop the QMJHL’s eight-team Western Conference and the league. The Foreurs, winners of nine consecutive games since a 5-4 home-ice setback Oct. 4 to Gatineau, downed the visiting Shawinigan Cataractes 5-2 Friday night.
North Bay is 7-8-1 for 15 points, tied with the Niagara IceDogs for second place in the Central Division after a 7-3 win Friday night at St. Catharines.
“I like it,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen, whose charges visit Val-d’Or on Jan. 22, said this week of the out-of-league games.
“Sometimes, you know, that 68-game grind can be monotonous. You’re playing a lot of the same teams over and over and over. Not that we don’t enjoy that either, but all of a sudden you’ve got a fresh opponent. They don’t know you; we don’t know them. I think those are cool moments around the league, and it also just highlights the talent around the CHL.
“It just so happens that Val-d’Or is the No. 1 team over there right now, and we do know that they’re going to be a good hockey team and a good challenge.”
The Foreurs’ Philippe Veilleux, who leads the QMJHL in goals and points, boasts 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points in 15 games.
Nathan Brisson has five goals and a team-high 16 assists for 21 points in 15 games. Nolann Heroux has scored seven goals and earned 11 assists for 18 points in 15 games, while Swiss import Maxime Sauthier has recorded 13 goals and four assists for 17 points in 12 games.
In nine games, goaltender Vincent Moreau is 8-1-0 with a 1.87 goals-against average, a .928 save percentage and one shutout. Belarusian import Arseny Radkov is 5-0-1 with a 2.41 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
The Battalion has played one preseason game against QMJHL competition, a 5-4 victory Sept. 1, 2018, over the Moncton Wildcats in a showcase tournament at Kitchener. Justin Brazeau scored two late goals, including the winner at 19:29 of the third period, and earned two assists, while goaltender Christian Propp made 25 saves.
The North Bay Centennials played two games against Val-d’Or in the 1999-00 season. The host Centennials won the first 5-1 on Jan. 16, 2000, when Scott Cameron scored the first two goals and goaltender Alex Auld provided 23 saves. The winners were 3-for-9 on the power play, while the Foreurs went 1-for-7.
Val-d’Or took the home-ice rematch 5-3 on Feb. 12.
The game features YMCA Fill the Bus Day, with YMCA and Century 21 tables set up to receive donations to send children to summer camp.
