Troops, Kingston collide
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Coach Ryan Oulahen has no misconceptions about the task ahead for the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion in its best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Kingston Frontenacs.
“It’s a good hockey team, a really, really good hockey team,” Oulahen said Wednesday as the Battalion prepared for the opening game at Memorial Gardens at 7 p.m. Thursday.
“I guess the big thing I could say about them is they’re playing their best hockey now. Obviously, they had a tough stretch early in the year, which led to coaching changes. This has been a good team since that’s happened.
“I just look at their last week. They’re playing three teams that are fighting for home-ice advantage in the playoffs. They beat all three of those teams, including us. So the more and more I’ve watched them, the more and more I’ve been impressed. Very balanced team. This is going to be a good challenge for us.”
North Bay captured a third consecutive Central Division title with a won-lost-extended record of 39-20-9 for 87 points and the second seed in the conference, while Kingston went 33-31-4 for 70 points for fourth place in the East Division and the seventh seed.
The Battalion and Kingston face each other in the playoffs for the fifth time, with the Troops having won three of the first four matchups, including two of three representing North Bay since relocation in 2013.
The Battalion has made it to the conference final in each of the last two seasons, being eliminated by the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2022 and the Peterborough Petes last year. Both won the OHL championship.
“Every team out of all three has been quite different,” Oulahen noted of his charges. “We’ve had different paths, different regular seasons. We’re going to have a different path again, and this playoffs is going to write its own script.
“I guess this team more than the others, though, is just a core group of guys that have been together for the longest. And the coachability of this team is very, very high. I think that’s kind of our strength, is these guys are dialed into what the expectations are day to day, and really the recipe in terms of success that we’ve had, because they’ve been around for the longest. So I think that is a little bit of a strength, more than others, for this team, and we’ll see what happens here.”
Anthony Romani finished second in the OHL scoring race with a league-leading 58 goals and 53 assists for 111 points, and linemate Dalyn Wakely scored 39 goals and earned a team-high 65 assists for 104 points, giving the Troops multiple 100-point producers for the first time.
“It’s just something where you’re going to have to be a little bit more patient,” Oulahen noted of the defensive attention in the postseason.
“You’re not going to expect a scoring chance every shift. Or there’s going to be shifts where you’re going to have to grind it out. And we’ve talked about this, that there’s going to have to be ugly plays that you’re just going to have to accept at this time of year. Now saying that, I think the moves that (general manager) Adam (Dennis) made at the deadline have helped relieve some pressure from that top line.
“I don’t know how you check a Sandis Vilmanis if you’re just worried about the Wakely line. Certain things like that, that have really helped this group. And, yeah, we know that everyone’s going to try to shut those guys down, and they’re going to have to fight through that kind of stuff.”
Owen Van Steensel, who skates with Wakely and Romani, had 41 goals and 45 assists for 86 points, while Justin Ertel scored 25 goals and added 44 assists for 69 points. Vilmanis netted 28 goals and earned 11 assists for 39 points in just 30 games after a trade from the Sarnia Sting.
Coach Troy Mann’s Frontenacs are paced offensively by Paul Ludwinski, who had 23 goals and a team-leading 46 assists for 69 points, and Jacob Battaglia, with a team-high 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points.
The second game is scheduled on the same ice at 7 p.m. Saturday.