North Bay embraces a banner night
NORTH BAY, Ont. – Memorial Gardens fans thrilled to Ontario Hockey League championship banners being unfurled Friday night for the first time in 20 years.
The North Bay Battalion dropped the puck on its second season after banners emblematic of the Troops’ Eastern Conference and Central Division titles of 2013-14 were displayed in the southeast corner of the arena.
It was a gala night as a virtual capacity crowd of 4,086 cheered the introduction of players, both holdover and new. No one received greater ovations than goaltender Jake Smith and freshly minted captain Marcus McIvor, a pillar of the Battalion’s formidable defence corps.
Owner Scott Abbott drew warm applause when he was introduced to conduct the ceremonial faceoff with mascot Sarge and seven-year-old Nathan Routh, who represented the fans who were the club’s “seventh man” during its run to the OHL Championship Series last spring.
No North Bay team had won an OHL title of any kind since the Centennials, who relocated to Saginaw to become the Spirit in 2002, captured the league championship in 1993-94.
Tailgaters flocked to the Chippewa Street side of the arena starting two and a half hours before game time, listening to the offerings of two disc jockeys. The inside of the facility was abuzz well before the scheduled start time of 7 p.m.
Attendance was 43 more than the seating capacity of 4,043, although the standing room area above the east-side stands was well occupied.
Once the action got under way, the Barrie Colts eked out a 5-4 overtime victory on Kevin Labanc’s second goal of the game.
It marked the Battalion’s 10th consecutive loss in a home opener and followed a 2-1 setback to the Peterborough Petes last Oct. 11 in the OHL’s return to the Gateway City. The Troops haven’t won a home opener since a 5-2 decision over the Guelph Storm on Sept. 24, 2004, at Brampton, where the club played for its first 15 seasons.
In 17 season openers, the Battalion has four wins, 10 regulation-time losses, two extended losses and one tie. The club last won a season opener on Sept. 21, 2006, a 3-2 verdict at Peterborough.
Mike Amadio collected the first Battalion goal of the campaign, as he did a year ago, when he scored the first OHL goal for North Bay since the Centennials years. Amadio’s goal at that time came in a season-opening 5-2 loss to the host Kingston Frontenacs on Sept. 20.
McIvor played his 257th career game, breaking a tie for sixth place on the franchise list with longtime defence partner Dylan Blujus.
