Troops, Petes set to open
NORTH BAY, Ont. — The Ontario Hockey League’s first-round playoff series between the North Bay Battalion and the Peterborough Petes, a virtual certainty long before becoming reality last Friday night, gets under way in the Lift Lock City at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.
In a weeks-long battle for home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal, Peterborough prevailed with a won-lost-extended record of 40-24-4 for 84 points, third in the East Division and fourth in the conference. North Bay was 38-26-4 for 80 points, second in the Central Division and fifth in the conference.
“I think the biggest thing is just our ability to get better as the season went on, not even so much the last few games but the chase down to try to get home ice was really helpful,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday.
“Once we clinched a playoff spot, we had that in our sights, and I thought the guys responded really well. We had some really good streaks and some weekends that we can draw upon.”
Oulahen, whose charges will play the second game at Peterborough on Friday night, said the playoffs mean a different level of competition.
“Every shift matters. Every little play matters. The intensity, the compete level, it ramps up bigtime.”
Dealing with all that, Oulahen suggested, will require discipline.
“It’s mostly just about keeping our emotions and keeping an even-keel approach. We’re obviously starting on the road against a really good, complete Peterborough Petes team. This probably has the makings to be a really entertaining series so, saying that, we’re going to have to keep our emotions and keep everything in check.”
Battalion players have plenty of playoff history, whether acquired with the Troops or, in the cases of Sebastien Gervais and Kaden Pitre, with the Memorial Cup-winning Saginaw Spirit and Flint Firebirds respectively.
“We have some guys in our locker room with experience, but other guys are going to have to learn along the way, and we need our leadership group to handle that in the right way as well. But that’s going to be the biggest thing for us going into these first couple of games.”
Oulahen declined to say whether any of the Battalion injured might return for the opener. Shamar Moses, Aaron Enright and Brandt Harper all have sat out the last three games and in the case of Harper six before that.
The Troops rested several regulars in the season finale Sunday, a 4-2 win over the visiting Sudbury Wolves. Jax Pereira, Lincoln Edwards, Devran Brown and Declan Gallivan, called up for that game, returned to their junior A clubs after it.
Adam Novotny paced the Peterborough offence this season with a team-leading 34 goals and 31 assists for 65 points in 58 games. Aiden Young had 23 goals and a team-high 35 assists for 58 points in 62 games, and Matthew Soto produced 19 goals and 32 assists for 51 points in 68 games.
The most prolific of the Petes, however, was Kieron Walton, who scored 16 goals and added 20 assists for 36 points in 29 games after a trade from Sudbury.
Ethan Procyszyn topped the Troops with a team-leading 31 goals and 28 assists for 59 points in 65 games, and Nick Wellenreiter had 23 goals and a team-best 33 assists for 56 points in 68 games. Lirim Amidovski scored 25 goals and earned 23 assists for 48 points in 65 games, while Evgeny Dubrovtsev had 14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points in 68 games.
Peterborough’s Easton Rye was the OHL’s workhorse among goaltenders, leading the league in games played with 57 while compiling a record of 38-16-3 with a 2.78 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage and three shutouts. His wins total was a league high.
In 40 games, Battalion goaltender Jack Lisson went 24-11-3 with a 2.59 GAA, a .913 save percentage and one shutout. Partner Mike McIvor, who had an extended injury absence dating from early January, was 10-13-1 with a 3.40 GAA, an .884 save percentage and one shutout in 25 games.
The series opener can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
