Troops trekking to Michigan
NORTH BAY, Ont. — The North Bay Battalion makes its final foray into the Ontario Hockey League’s Western Conference this weekend as a three-game trip completes a run of four straight away games.
The Battalion gets a rematch with the Saginaw Spirit at 7:05 p.m. Friday and faces the Flint Firebirds on Saturday night, completing a Michigan double before visiting the Sarnia Sting on Sunday. The Saginaw game is the last in a string of four games consisting of two against each of the always competitive Ottawa 67’s and Spirit.
North Bay, with a won-lost-extended record of 28-18-8 for 64 points, second in the Central Division, is 10-4-2 in its last 16 games after two straight losses. The Troops, who edged the visiting 67’s 3-2 last Friday night, lost 5-3 to Saginaw at Memorial Gardens on Sunday before a 6-3 setback Monday at Ottawa.
“It’s a chunk of our schedule we knew was going to be a bit of a difficult time, for sure,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday. “We’re halfway through.
“When I look at the weekend that just happened, I’m not all that disappointed in terms of how we played. I thought our game is still in really good shape here, especially the Saginaw game. We’ve obviously got to stay out of the penalty box, but five-on-five I like our game. In Ottawa, we gave ourselves a chance. We were right there going into the third period and just kind of ran out of steam there, just with it being a back-to-back situation for us.”
The Battalion will be without Jacob Therrien as he received a five-game suspension after drawing a major for checking from behind and a game misconduct Sunday. Therrien, who has four games yet to serve, is eligible to return March 3 against the visiting Niagara IceDogs.
The Spirit took a 4-0 first-period lead primarily on three goals during the five-minute man advantage after Therrien pushed James Guo near the boards at 6:18. Penalty killer Owen Van Steensel was hooked on a breakaway shortly afterwards without a call.
Van Steensel later blocked a shot with his right foot and was sidelined for the holiday game at Ottawa, where the hosts potted two empty-net goals, the first shorthanded, with Ihnat Pazii, Dalyn Wakely and Andrew LeBlanc scoring for North Bay.
“That’s why we’ve got the depth that we have,” said Oulahen. “Other guys can step up and move into those situations and rise to the challenge. I was really happy those secondary guys in Ottawa had a really good game, with Pazii and (Brice) Cooke. If those guys can continue to do that, then we can kind of chip in by committee that way, and it gives other guys a good opportunity.”
Anthony Romani paces the Battalion points parade with a team-leading 44 goals and 42 assists for 86 points in 54 games. He’s second in the OHL scoring race to David Goyette of the Sudbury Wolves, who has 33 goals and 57 assists for 90 points in 54 games.
Wakely has 28 goals and a team-high 49 assists for 77 points in 53 games, while Van Steensel has scored 30 goals and earned 35 assists for 65 points in 51 games. Justin Ertel has 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points in as many games.
Saginaw was 39-4-1 for 79 points atop the West Division before hosting Flint on Wednesday night.
The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
