Battalion prepares for second game
BRAMPTON, Ont. – The Brampton Battalion would be happy to have the second game of its first-round Ontario Hockey League playoff series with the Sudbury Wolves go much like the first.
The Battalion, which got the early jump and skated to a 4-1 victory Thursday night in the opener of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal, hosts Game 2 at 2 p.m. Sunday.
“Winning the one-on-one battles was so important for us Thursday,” said defenceman Marcus McIvor. “We were really able to control the game by winning pucks and taking away their offensive-zone chances in the process. As a team, we have to play that way again here on Sunday if we want to come out with a win.”
With the series shifting to Sudbury for games Tuesday and Thursday nights, the Troops recognize the importance of home ice in the first two.
“We want to win as much as possible as quickly as possible,” said McIvor. “If we’re able to go into their barn up 2-0, it will sound a lot better than if it’s 1-1. A win Sunday could really give us some momentum heading into back-to-back road games and the tougher stretch of the series.”
The Battalion expects the Wolves to push back hard in the rematch.
“They’re going to come out flying in Game 2,” said McIvor. “After losing the first game, you know that they’re going to want a strong start on Sunday. We’ll need to start the game the same way we did in Game 1 and do what we can to get on them quickly and get ahead on the scoreboard.”
The Battalion held Sudbury to three first-period shots in the opener, while Matt MacLeod scored a power-play goal for a 1-0 lead.
“We played hard for the whole game,” said McIvor. “We’ll need that same effort Sunday. We did well eliminating their scoring chances throughout the game, and it frustrated them. If we stick to that again, we’ll be able to have success.”
The Troops got varied scoring, with Barclay Goodrow, Dylan Blujus and Francis Menard also finding the range behind Sudbury goaltender Franky Palazzese.
“We got goals from four different scorers on Thursday,” noted McIvor. “This time of the year, getting that added scoring is necessary to push your way through.
“Even for the guys who didn’t score, we generated a lot of chances and generated some havoc in their end, which is great to build from.”
Said McIvor: “They’ve got some guys on that team that you can’t let have any space. We had success taking it away from them in Game 1, but we have to keep that going as we move through the series.”
