Opening night impressive display
NORTH BAY, Ont. – “Awestruck.”
That’s how one observer described the reaction of patrons attending the North Bay Battalion’s inaugural Ontario Hockey League home game Friday night against the Peterborough Petes.
The Petes won 2-1 in the first OHL game in the city since 2002, when the North Bay Centennials moved to Michigan and became the Saginaw Spirit.
While fans from North Bay and Brampton, the Battalion’s home for the last 15 years, clustered outside Memorial Gardens chatting, taking in the balmy weather or admiring a number of trophies on loan from the Hockey Hall of Fame, construction crews tended to last-minute details.
Once the doors opened at 5:45 p.m. fans began streaming into the building, snapping photos of the reconfigured ice surface and the stunning new video board. The Troops received a rousing cheer when they hit the ice for the pregame warmup, and the vast majority of the 4,236 in attendance were in their seats 15 minutes before the scheduled puck drop of seven o’clock.
Fans weren’t the only ones impressed with the Battalion’s new home, which isn’t expected to be fully renovated until December. Nick Kypreos, who played four seasons for the Centennials starting in 1983-84, also spoke highly of the refurbished arena.
“I noticed the video board, which is spectacular, and the seats at both ends of the rink,” said Kypreos, who scored 162 goals and amassed 285 points in 221 games with the Centennials.
“But that’s the standard in the OHL now. It’s 2013, and if North Bay wanted a team back it would have to step up. With the help of an owner like Scott Abbott and a fan base that stepped up to buy the required number of season tickets, they made it happen.”
Kypreos, now a hockey analyst on Sportsnet, received a loud ovation when he was introduced during the pregame ceremony.
“There were a lot of familiar faces. It’s been a long time, but the passion hasn’t changed. The people here loved OHL hockey and they’re back here.”
Kypreos said he knows what kind of teams North Bay fans want to see.
“They like tough teams that play with their hearts on their sleeve. The game has changed, and we don’t see what we saw 25 or 30 years ago, with the gloves being dropped or bench-clearing brawls. They want to see good, honest, hard hockey. I know the coaches will have the guys carry on the tradition we started here.”
Kypreos, who played 442 National Hockey League games for four clubs over eight seasons, said North Bay should provide a great environment for the Troops.
“I would think waking up as a hockey player here would be like waking up Christmas morning compared to what it was like in Brampton. You dream about playing in front of 4,200 fans like these guys are tonight, and that was rarely going to happen in Brampton. Hopefully, they can take advantage of having a team back here.”
