Butler: First half bodes well

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Coach Stan Butler, whose Battalion opens the second half of its Ontario Hockey League season Sunday, says he found the team’s showing in the first 34 games encouraging for both the short and longer term.rr”There have been some bright spots like our goaltending, which has been good, and our young guys have played well,” Butler said Saturday. “There are reasons for optimism for our fans, not only for the second half but also for the next couple of years.rrI think this is the first time ever we’ve been several games over .500 at Christmas. We usually get better in the second half, and a lot of that will come from the internal motivation of the players. I like our team right now and, even though we’re in a little slump, that’s something everybody goes through.”rrThe Battalion suffered a 3-2 road loss to the Mississauga IceDogs on Friday night, dropping their won-lost-tied record to 17-12-5, including one overtime loss, for 40 points and a three-point lead over Mississauga and the Sudbury Wolves for first place in the Central Division. The Troops, winless in their last four at 0-3-1, are second in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Peterborough Petes.rrThe Battalion hosts Sudbury at 2 p.m. Sunday in the last game for both clubs before the Christmas break.rrSudbury extended a winning streak to five games Friday night with a 5-2 road victory over the London Knights, snapping London’s 31-game unbeaten streak from the start of the season, a Canadian Hockey League record.rrThe Wolves won without five regulars and coach Mike Foligno, all serving suspensions after a line brawl in a 4-3 road win over the Windsor Spitfires on Thursday night. The suspensions continue through Sunday.rrI think it’s been a season with highs and lows,” said Butler, whose club went 7-7-3, including the overtime loss, in the second quarter. rrWe’ve been a streaky team. I think the biggest thing we have to do in the second half is be a more consistent team and not have the kind of streaks we’re going through now.”rrSaid captain Ryan Oulahen: I don’t think we have too many complaints so far. We’ve played pretty well as a team, and we’ve come together really well. We’re in a bit of a slump right now, but we’ve been pretty successful.”rrFive second-quarter losses were by one goal.rrFor the most part, we’ve been close even in the games we’ve lost,” said Butler. We’ve won some one-goal games, but we have to find a way to turn those one-goal losses into wins.”rrSaid Oulahen: It comes down to doing the little things needed to win, and that’s what we’re working on. Stuff like blocking shots and winning faceoffs can be the difference in a one-goal game.”rrButler noted that the Troops won a number of second-quarter games with veterans such as Tyler Harrison, Dan McDonald, Brock McPherson, Oulahen and John Seymour out of the lineup because of injuries or suspension.rrWe played without McPherson, Harrison and McDonald and found ways to win, and we have to keep doing that.”rrOulahen agreed. That’s the sign of a good team when you have guys out and other guys step up and fill their role.”rrThe Battalion remains productive offensively, ranking seventh in the OHL with 112 goals scored. Wojtek Wolski leads the club in scoring with 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points, while Luch Aquino, Harrison and Oulahen have combined for 89 points, including 39 goals.rrThe Troops continue to get solid play from the goaltending tandem of veteran Kevin Couture and rookie Daren Machesney, who have combined for a 2.66 goals-against average and a save percentage of .920.rrI think this is the best goaltending we’ve had,” said Butler. The key thing with them is they’ll continue to rotate as long as they’re both playing well. If one guy takes the ball away from the other guy, we’ll reevaluate that.”rrButler, who said he’s happy with rookies such as right winger J.F. Houle, left winger Luke Lynes and defenceman Michael Vernace, said the rookies must pace themselves in the second half.rrI don’t think there’s any doubt, watching our team over the last couple of games, that some of our guys are mentally and physically tired. Tomorrow we need to find the energy needed to be successful.”rrNoted Butler: We’re trying to keep everybody fresh and in the lineup. Look at a guy like Graham McNabb. He missed a lot of games early, but he’s getting into at least one game a week now. We’re going to expect guys like Graham and Houle to come back from Christmas and step it up even more.”rrButler said that team depth will be even more important with veteran defenceman Martin Lojek at the Czech junior team’s training camp and two rookies, blueliner John de Gray and left winger Aaron Snow, off to the World Under-17 Challenge at Lethbridge, Alta., on Dec. 26.rrButler said the club will continue to work on special teams. Both units, which were ranked fifth in the league after 17 games, slipped in the second quarter. The power-play unit is ranked eighth, while the penalty killers are 12th.rrOur penalty-killing slipped for a bit, but I think that’s because of some of the injuries we’ve had. With the players we have, I think our power play can still be better.”r