North Bay, Guelph battle for OHL title
NORTH BAY, Ont. – The last time Barclay Goodrow saw an Ontario Hockey League Championship Series game in person, in 2009, he was an invited spectator as one of the Brampton Battalion’s newest recruits.
Right winger Goodrow will get the full OHL final experience when he leads the first-year North Bay Battalion into the best-of-seven series against the Guelph Storm starting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Sleeman Centre.
The game can be seen live in North Bay on TVCogeco Cable 12 and heard on Country 600 CKAT. Game 2 at Guelph, at 7 p.m. Friday, is to be televised nationally on Sportsnet and heard on the same radio station.
The Battalion, champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Niagara IceDogs in seven games, dispatched the Barrie Colts in six and swept the Oshawa Generals for the right to play for the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Guelph, which won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy for forging the OHL’s best regular-season record, captured the Western Conference title by beating the Plymouth Whalers, London Knights and Erie Otters in five games each.
Coach Stan Butler said that Battalion regulars, who practised at North Bay on Wednesday before heading south, are healthy for the series start, with left winger Zach Bratina ready to play in the opener, his first action since the second game against Barrie.
Left winger Mike Baird, who played Game 4 against Barrie, incurring a match penalty for abuse of an official, was suspended for 20 games on Tuesday and already has served six. There was no stipulation announced about a review of the suspension if the Battalion qualifies for the Memorial Cup, as was the case with goaltender Anthony Stolarz of tournament host London.
Guelph coach Scott Walker said his team has “seen a little bit of everything” in the playoffs.
“You have to be playing well to get this far. The OHL is an extremely tough league these days. We’re happy to be here, but we’re not satisfied. North Bay hasn’t just been playing well the last two weeks; they’ve been the best team in the OHL since Christmas.
“They’ll be a handful. We just hope we’re up to the task. I see a very solid group through their forwards, defence and goaltending. They play a strong team game. They’re well coached and very structured. They’ll give us all we can handle.”
The Storm, which swept the teams’ two-game season series, led the OHL in scoring, credited with 340 goals. Guelph has 73 goals in the playoffs, with forwards Zack Mitchell and Kerby Rychel tied for the league lead in postseason scoring at 23 points. The defence corps is led by Matt Finn, Nick Ebert, Steven Trojanovic and Zac Leslie, who have combined for 37 postseason points. Justin Nicholls has gone all the way in goal, posting a 2.65 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and two shutouts.
“They’re a very deep, offensively skilled team,” said captain Goodrow, who tops the Troops in playoff scoring with 21 points, including a league-leading 11 goals. “Their defence does a great job moving the puck, and so far Nicholls has been great in the playoffs.
“We’ll have to play a perfect game to beat them, but the guys are ready for that and we believe we can put up a good fight against them. We strive to be one of the hardest-working teams in the league and one that won’t give the other team an inch.”
Butler, leading the Battalion into the second OHL final in the franchise’s 16-year history, said his blueliners will be challenged by Guelph’s attack.
“They haven’t played a team like Guelph. We don’t have quite the depth they have. They have as good a group of six defencemen as I’ve seen. We rely pretty much on five guys: Dylan Blujus, Marcus McIvor, Kyle Wood, Brenden Miller and Miles Liberati. Depending on the game, we can bring in Riley Bruce or Kyle Locke. They’re stronger as a group than as individuals. They’ve matured over the season and are doing the little things like blocking shots and making the quick first pass.”
Overager Goodrow and his linemates, left winger Ben Thomson and centre Nick Paul, have combined for 46 playoff points, including 24 goals.
“We’re three big bodies and we like to use that to our advantage by getting pucks deep,” noted Goodrow. “When we’ve scored a lot of goals, it’s off a cycle and creating chances. Paul does a great job getting us the puck.
“We need to play our game. We need to get pucks deep and make it hard for their defencemen. We have to make them play below the goal line. No defenceman wants to have to skate for pucks that are dumped in when they know a big check is coming. We need to keep doing the things that have made us successful so far.”
The Battalion’s career leader in regular-season and playoff games, Goodrow said the chance to play for an OHL championship can be a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“We want the younger guys to realize how rare this is and how much they should take advantage of this opportunity. It’s one thing to get there; it’s another thing to win it all. It’s been a great start for the Battalion in North Bay and hopefully a sign of things to come.”
