Yule log burns brightly

NORTH BAY, Ont. — The Christmas break in the Ontario Hockey League schedule is widely regarded as the halfway point, which it isn’t, but the North Bay Battalion is pleased to mark the milestone anyway.

North Bay boasts a won-lost-extended record of 22-9-1 for 45 points, first in the Central Division and second in the Eastern Conference and league to the Ottawa 67’s, who are 24-6-1 for 49 points.

The Battalion, which has played 20 of its 32 games on the road, has 22 home and 14 away dates yet to be played. The Troops are seven points ahead of their pace of a year ago, when they finished first in the division and third overall in the OHL at 43-18-7 for 93 points, the second-highest total in franchise history to the 96 earned in 2008-09, when the club played in Brampton.

North Bay, which defeated the visiting Barrie Colts 3-2 on Kyle Jackson’s overtime goal Sunday in its last game before the break, is 7-1-1 in its last nine games.

As remarkable as the record is, given the preponderance of road games, it’s been achieved in the absence, to a large degree, of high-end talent. Right winger Kyle McDonald has played only 12 games, none since Nov. 13, while defenceman Avery Winslow, a fellow overager, has been limited to nine games and rearguard Tnias Mathurin to one.

The Battalion has made several trades recently, but left winger Josh Bloom has played only 15 games with the club, while defencemen Brayden Hislop and Luc Brzustowski have played 15 and two respectively. Centre Pasquale Zito has seen action in one.

The holiday hiatus comes at a good time for most of the missing, as they’re expected to return when or soon after the team does. The exception is Mathurin, whose recovery will take longer.

“We’re really, really happy with how this first half has gone,” coach Ryan Oulahen said at the respite’s arrival. “We’ve got some healthy bodies, hopefully, knock on wood, around the bend here pretty close after the Christmas break. I think this team’s going to be pretty exciting when everything’s said and done with those bodies coming back.”

Centre Jackson paces the Battalion with a team-leading 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points in 32 games and is tied for fifth place in league scoring. He has a career-high 12-game points streak in which he has 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points.

Left winger Matvey Petrov has 11 goals and 28 assists for 39 points in 31 games. He’s in ties for 10th in OHL scoring, sixth in assists and seventh in power-play assists with 12.

Defenceman Ty Nelson has scored nine goals and earned a team-high 29 assists for 38 points in 32 games, putting him third in scoring by OHL defencemen and tied for 16th among all players. Tied for fourth in assists, he’s also tied for ninth in power-play assists with 11. Nelson has points in 13 of his last 15 games, scoring three goals and adding 19 assists for 22 points.

Justin Ertel, playing right wing recently, has 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points in 32 games, while Dalyn Wakely, who has seen time at both centre and right wing, has 16 goals and 10 assists for 26 points in 32 games. He’s tied for fifth in the OHL with four game-winning goals.

Bloom has produced 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points in his 15 games since arriving from the Saginaw Spirit. Overall, he has 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points in 34 games, tied for 10th in OHL scoring. He’s on a career-high 10-game points streak in which he has 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points.

Defenceman Paul Christopoulos, who has one goal and 12 assists for 13 points in 32 games, leads the league in plus-minus at plus-31.

Goaltender Dom DiVincentiis is 17-5-0 with a league-best 2.56 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage and one shutout. His 17 wins top the OHL.

While the Battalion is tied with the Owen Sound Attack for 13th place in power-play prowess, with 24 goals in 114 opportunities for a scoring effectiveness of 21.0 percent, the Troops boast the OHL’s top-ranked shorthanded skaters, who have allowed 18 goals in 139 opportunities for a kill rate of 87.0 percent.

The Battalion is back in action next Wednesday at 7 p.m. when the Sudbury Wolves visit to open a home-and-home set.