Inconsistency marks first quarter

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Inconsistency has marked the first quarter of the Brampton Battalion’s Ontario Hockey League season, head coach Stan Butler acknowledges.rrThat’s the biggest thing with our team right now,” said Butler, whose charges have dropped their last two games for a 9-8 won-lost record and are tied for third place in the Central Division with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors, who visit on Friday night.rrWe seem to go into swings where we’ll win three in a row or lose two in a row. That’s something we need to try to work on in the next little while. We have to be a more consistent team in a positive, rather than negative, way.rrFrom a player personnel standpoint, we have some second-year players who have not played to the level they’re capable of, and we need them to step up. We’re looking for a much better record in the next quarter.”rrStarting the season, defence appeared to be the Battalion’s strength, based on an experienced group of rearguards, veteran goaltender Daren Machesney and promising backup Bryan Pitton. Butler said he hasn’t been overly satisfied with the Troops’ work in their own zone, especially in the last three games.rrI don’t think we’ve been as good a team defensively as we thought we’d be. We had one weekend where we were extremely good, but we have to be much better in our own end. We have to work as a group of six people in our own end, the goaltender, defencemen and forwards. Right now we’re running around too much in our own end, and the players need to have more confidence in each other.”rrVeteran Phil Oreskovic admitted that the blue line corps has had its highs and lows.rrWe have all the skill and talent back there, but some nights the chemistry’s not there,” said Oreskovic. Our goalies have been pretty good. They’ve stolen some games for us.rrWe’re all pretty familiar with each other, so there should be no excuses why we aren’t doing well. We all just have to start playing harder. We’re not always winning the battles we need to win.”rrButler said the defensive malaise might be traced to the return of left winger Wojtek Wolski from the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 26. Wolski, who has led the Battalion in scoring in each of the last two seasons, has nine points, including three goals, in six games.rrI think we were playing good defensive hockey before Wojtek came back, and what’s happened is that other guys are expecting him to do most of the work. We can’t have that, and the guys have to get back to the way they were playing before he returned.” rrWolski’s return was only one of several significant factors affecting the lineup. rrLeft winger John Seymour missed 10 games with a shoulder injury, and overage right winger Brock McPherson is out indefinitely after suffering a broken ankle Oct. 16. Overage forward Nolan Waker arrived from the Prince Albert Raiders on Oct. 5 after clearing Western Hockey League waivers.rrWe’ll continue to evaluate our team,” said Butler. We’re always looking to better our team, and if something can be done to make that happen we’ll do it.” rrThe Battalion’s total of 55 goals ties the Belleville Bulls for seventh in the Eastern Conference and, while the Troops haven’t filled the net, Butler said he’s happy with linemates Howie Martin, Luke Lynes and Jason Cassidy. They’re the club’s top three point-getters, having combined for 50 points, including 24 goals.rrI’ve always had a lot of confidence in Howie,” Butler said of Martin, who leads the team in scoring with six goals and 12 assists for 18 points. rrThat line has had to carry us offensively for much of the season. They’ve been much more effective than our other lines, but we have to get production from the other guys.”rrAmong those from whom more is expected are two rookies, centre Michal Klejna, an 18-year-old Slovakian import, and 16-year-old right winger Matt Smyth. rrKlejna, who has five points, including four goals, was a first-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League’s Import Draft last June. Smyth, the Battalion’s first-round pick in the 2005 OHL Priority Selection, has one goal and one assist in 16 games.rrWe had the highest expectations for both of those guys, and they know they can be better than they’ve been,” said Butler.rrThe OHL’s new standard of rules enforcement has brought special teams to the forefront. Battalion penalty killers rank sixth in the league, having surrendered 23 goals in 134 shorthanded situations for an effectiveness rate of 82.8 percent. The power play is 17th, with a success rate of 14.6 percent from 21 goals in 144 opportunities.rrButler said that power-play improvement is likely, given the combination of Wolski and defenceman Michael Vernace working the points.rrI think our penalty killing has been good and will continue to be, since we have some guys who do a great job there. We have the pieces to have a good power play, but we need to get more out of guys like Vernace.”r