Troops prepare for busy week ahead

BRAMPTON, Ont. – After losing a pair of tough one-goal games to two of the top teams in the OHL last week, the Troops are now preparing for one of their busiest stretches of the season. The Battalion plays four games in five days this week, including three straight on the road.

Brampton is in third place in the Midwest Division after dropping close decisions to the Erie Otters and Windsor Spitfires and winning handily on the road against the Mississauga IceDogs. The Battalion is three points behind the Guelph Storm and two points ahead of the Owen Sound Attack. The Troops have a game in hand on both Owen Sound and Guelph.

First up for the Battalion this week is a trip to Belleville on Wednesday to take on the Bulls. Brampton and Belleville squared off at the Bunker on November 9 and battled to a 3-3 tie. The Troops are 0-2 in their previous trips to the Yardman Arena. Belleville beat the Battalion 8-1 at the Yardman last year. The Bulls are in third place in the East Division and are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games and have won their last two outings. Belleville centre Kyle Wellwood is the second leading scorer in the league with 47 points in 25 games.

Friday night the Battalion will meet the Erie Otters for the second time in less than a week, this time at the Erie Civic Centre. Sunday’s matinee was a intense, physical affair that extended the Otters unbeaten string to 18 games. Erie beat Brampton 5-2 when the two teams battled in Pennsylvania on October 27 and holds a 2-0-1 edge in the season series so far. The Otters, ranked second in the CHL, have an 11 point lead in the Midwest Division and are idle until the Troops come calling.

The Battalion will make their second trip to the Air Canada Centre is as many years to battle the surprising St. Michael’s Majors on Saturday afternoon. The Troops fought to a 4-4 tie with the Majors last November before 7,101 fans at the ACC. The Majors have an eight point lead in the Central Division and are currently ranked 10th in the CHL. St. Mike’s beat the Battalion 3-2 during their annual Thanksgiving Monday clash at the Brampton Centre in October 9. The Majors have two of the OHL’s top rookies on their roster. Left winger Frank Lukes is the top freshman scorer in the league with 32 points in 29 games and rookie netminder Andy Chiodo sports a 7-6-1 record with a 2.85 goals-against-average in 15 appearances this season. Two other St. Michael’s rookies, Tim Brent and Kevin Klein, will join Battalion newcomers Brad Topping and Adam Henrich on Team Ontario at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Nova Scotia in late December.

The Troops finally return home on December 3 for a key Midwest Division matchup with the Guelph Storm. Brampton is 2-0 against Guelph this season. The Battalion beat the Storm 3-1 at the Bunker on September 28 and prevailed 6-5 during a wild affair on October 13 in Guelph. The Storm is currently riding a 10 game unbeaten streak and will play Owen Sound and Erie this week before visiting the Brampton Centre.

“Obviously it’s a tough stretch of four games in five days,” said Battalion Head Coach and General Manager Stan Butler, “and three games are on the road.” Referring to Yardman Arena’s Olympic-size dimensions, Coach Butler said that “Belleville is always tough to play on that big rink and that’s a different sized rink than most of our kids are used to.

“From there we go to Erie, who is undefeated at home,” continued Butler, “and then we are right back Saturday afternoon in Toronto against the best team in the Eastern Conference. Finally on Sunday we play a team that hasn’t lost in 10 games.”

“It’s a really tough stretch,” concurred right winger Aaron Van Leusen. “Toronto is playing pretty good right now and Belleville is always tough at home. It’s going to show the kind of character we have in this room in how well we do and how prepared and focused we are each night.”

“It’s going to be tough so we’re going to have to stay focused and work hard,” offered left winger Raffi Torres.

Jay Harrison will return to the Battalion lineup on Wednesday night after serving a six game suspension but the team will be without rookie winger Ryan Bowness who is day-to-day after suffering a sprained ankle in the third period of Sunday’s game against Erie.