As the North Bay Battalion fought for playoff positioning, it always seemed likely that they would face off against the Peterborough Petes in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.
The first-round playoff series between the North Bay Battalion and the Peterborough Petes starts in Lift Lock City at 7:05 p. m. Thursday.
In a months-long race for home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal, Peterborough came out on top with a record of 40-24-4 for 84 points, placing third in the East Division and fourth in the conference. North Bay finished with a record of 38-26-4 for 80 points, coming in second in the Central Division and fifth overall in the conference.
“I think the biggest thing is just our ability to get better as the season went on, not even so much the last few games, but the chase down to try to get home ice was really helpful,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen on Wednesday.
“Once we clinched a playoff spot, we had that in our sights, and I thought the guys responded really well. We had some great streaks and weekends that we can draw upon.”
Oulahen believes playoffs bring a different level of competition.
“Every shift matters. Every little play matters. The intensity, the compete level, it ramps up big time.”
With all this pressure, Oulahen stresses that discipline is essential.
“It’s mostly just about keeping our emotions and maintaining an even-keel approach,” Oulahen mentioned about his team which will play game two in Peterborough on Friday.
“We’re obviously starting on the road against a really good, complete Peterborough Petes team. This probably has all it takes to be an exciting series so we’re going to have to keep our emotions and everything else under control.”
Playoff experience
Battalion players have plenty of playoff experience-some gained with their current team or through others like Sebastien Gervais and Kaden Pitre who played with Memorial Cup winners Saginaw Spirit and Flint Firebirds respectively.
“We have some guys in our locker room with experience, but other guys are going to have to learn along the way. We need our leadership group to manage that correctly too. That’s going to be key for us heading into these first couple of games.”
Oulahen didn’t specify if any injured Battalion players might return for game one. Shamar Moses, Aaron Enright and Brandt Harper have been sidelined for three games now; Harper missed six before that as well.
The Troops rested several regulars during their season finale on Sunday-a 4-2 victory over visiting Sudbury Wolves. Jax Pereira, Lincoln Edwards, Devran Brown, and Declan Gallivan were called up for that game but returned afterward to their junior A teams.
This season Adam Novotny led Peterborough’s offense with 34 goals and 31 assists for 65 points across 58 games played. Aiden Young followed with 23 goals along with a team-high 35 assists giving him 58 points from 62 games; Matthew Soto added another notable contribution scoring 19 goals plus adding 32 assists resulting in a total of 51 points over his time spent playing all season long at this level (68 matches).
Kieron Walton shone brightly among Petes’ scorers after being traded from Sudbury; he netted sixteen goals while also providing twenty assists equating out into thirty-six overall points within only twenty-nine contests post-trade deadline!
Ethan Procyszyn topped Troops’ scoring charts by tallying thirty-one strikes combined together alongside twenty-eight setups yielding fifty-nine cumulative marks seen during sixty-five appearances made throughout competitions faced this year alone whereas Nick Wellenreiter brought forth similar prowess delivering twenty-three goals plus leading teammate records altogether via thirty-three contributions equating fifty-six successful outcomes! Lirim Amidovski scored likewise producing twenty-five major achievements complemented by accompanying support efforts accruing twenty-three additional setups resulting ultimately reaching forty-eight total scores accounted amidst sixty-five matchups completed while Evgeny Dubrovtsev rounded things off nicely posting fourteen successful shots converted while simultaneously assisting teammates giving himself upwards reaching thirty-eight recorded results across sixty-eight endeavors undertaken throughout campaigns waged!
On goalie stats front specifically speaking regarding goaltenders positioned netting shots faced area Easton Rye emerged as OHL workhorse leading totals racked amongst peer counterparts logging fifty-seven appearances revealing an impressive winning streak shown reflected within tallies amassed yielding respective outcomes attaining records standing firmly at thirty-eight wins contrasted sharply versus sixteen losses accruing three shutouts backing away solidified save percentage percentages reflecting upwards reaching.915 ratings held strong alongside corresponding averages dropping settled around two-point seventy-eight GAA values highlighting exceptional performances exhibited widely shared experiences passing through challenging circumstances previously encountered navigating towards high-level competitive atmospheres expected this postseason ahead!
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