Battalion invades Mississauga again
BRAMPTON, Ont. – The Brampton Battalion makes what, barring a playoff meeting between the teams, will be its final hop, skip and jump trip down Kennedy Road to visit the Mississauga Steelheads for a 7:30 p.m. start Friday.
The Battalion, which will relocate to North Bay next season, has been traveling south on the Ontario Hockey League’s shortest road trip since starting play simultaneously with the Mississauga IceDogs in 1998-99. The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, renamed the Steelheads last year, followed for the 2007-08 season.
Regardless of the name under which the home side has played, the Troops’ forays to the Hershey Centre against their Peel Region rivals always have been eagerly anticipated, and this one is no different.
The Battalion, with a won-lost-extended record of 27-21-9 for 63 points, is second in the Central Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Mississauga, which mauled the host Niagara IceDogs 8-2 Thursday night, is fifth and seventh respectively at 25-27-5 for 55 points, one behind division rival Niagara.
The season series between the Battalion and Steelheads has been hotly contested, with the Troops having posted a 2-2-2 record. The two wins have come in the most recent games, both at the Powerade Centre, 5-2 on Dec. 31 and 4-3 on Jan. 31. The teams complete their season series March 8 at Brampton.
“We just have to go in there and play hard,” said Francis Menard. “We’re still in a battle for home-ice advantage, so we need to play a strong game and make sure we come out with two points.”
Said Menard: “It’s about execution. We’ve been focusing on this game and working hard in practice all week. We just need to go out there and show it Friday night.”
Playing a defensively responsible style similar to that of the Battalion, the Steelheads are an industrious team spearheaded by top-notch offensive producers. Kristoff Kontos and Riley Brace had two goals and one assist each and Andrew Goldberg two goals at St. Catharines, while goaltender Tyson Teichmann made 29 saves.
“We have to get on the board first,” said Menard. “In their building, it’s important that we make sure we’re winning every battle and doing the little things right. We need to get some momentum on them early to take any wind out of their sails.”
The Battalion has won its last two games, both by a count of 5-3, against the visiting Barrie Colts on Sunday and the host Ottawa 67’s on Monday.
“We had good practices this week,” said Menard. “With that and the way we’ve been playing lately, we have a lot of confidence. It’s important that we carry that forward.”
Overager Menard was acquired Jan. 8 from the Peterborough Petes to bolster the Battalion’s depth at centre. He had two assists against the 67’s to give him nine points, from two goals and seven assists, in 14 games since the trade and is a fixture on the top power-play unit alongside Barclay Goodrow.
“I’m more comfortable with the guys now,” noted Menard. “I’m also used to the system we play here. Playing with Barclay is easy. We have great chemistry, and I see him when we’re on the ice together. I like to dish the puck and he’s a natural goal-scorer, so it works.”
Menard played the last three seasons with the Guelph Storm, never making it past the first round of playoffs.
“I have a bit of playoff experience, but every year we lost in the first round,” said Menard. “I want to make it as far as I can in my last year. We have a good group of guys here, so I’m just going to do whatever I can, whether it’s leadership or scoring, to help us get as far as we can go.”
The game at Mississauga can be seen live in Brampton on Rogers Cable 10 and in Caledon and Orangeville on Rogers Cable 63.
