‘We haven’t had success on the road yet, so we want to get up to speed here, get running’
The North Bay Battalion are looking to build on their two solid home wins as they head out on the road, where they’ve had a tough time getting victories early in the 2026-27 Ontario Hockey League season.
On Thursday night, they’ll face off against the Peterborough Petes for the second leg of a home-and-home series that kicked off with a 3-1 win for the Troops on Thanksgiving Monday at the Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.
North Bay’s record stands at 4-5-0, giving them eight points and placing them third in the Central Division of the Ontario Hockey League. The Battalion will wrap up their weekend by hosting the Niagara Ice Dogs at 2 p. m. on Sunday. They’ve been perfect at home with a record of 4-0-0 but are still searching for their first road win with an 0-5-0 mark.
The Petes hold a record of 3-7-0 for six points, putting them fifth in the East Division. They’ve managed to secure two wins and two losses at home after finishing a three-game road trip last weekend where they won one game and lost two.
“You’ve always got to have a little bit of that mindset of what the other team is thinking,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday.
“I know they’re going to want to come out and play hard at home. Their road trip didn’t go as planned for them. They’re probably anxious to get home and get going.
“On the flip side for us, we haven’t had success on the road yet, so we want to get up to speed here, get running – it’s a quick week for us with the Monday game – and have our best effort in the Thursday game in Peterborough. It’s a different building. There’s challenges just in their own right. They’re always a very, very good home-record team, so there’s things we’ve got to sort out here on video.”
Evgeny Dubrovtsev scored the winning goal and added an assist during Thanksgiving Day’s victory at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens, making him an offensive standout for North Bay early this season.
After starting without any points in his first game of the season, Dubrovtsev has now put together an impressive eight-game point streak that includes seven goals and three assists for a total of ten points-leading his team. Over 77 OHL games played so far, he has accumulated 21 goals and 27 assists amounting to 48 points. He was picked first overall in round one as number 17 during the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in 2025.
Shamar Moses provided an assist last Monday and has also been making waves lately with three goals and two assists over his last three games.
Moses has played 189 games overall during which he scored 29 goals along with 70 assists totaling up to 99 points; this includes contributions from his previous stint since October 10th,2024 when he was traded from Barrie Colts bringing him up to another impressive tally:24 goals paired with50 assists giving74points across118games since joining from Don Mills Flyers U16s where he was selected as19thoverall pickin2023OHL Priority Selection. He was also chosen by Florida Panthersasafifth-rounddraftpickin2025NHLDraft.
“He’s playing with more pace right now,” Oulahen noted about Moses. “That’s something that not only us but Florida has been wanting to see out of him-moving his feet while moving puck.”
“Now getting playtime alongside Cam (Warren), I think he’s catching onto how give-and-go can work well between teammates while utilizinghisgoodshot. We’vebeenurginghimtoshootmore, andnowhe’sdoingit.”
Jean-Samuel Daigneault made his debut with Battalion after being traded from Brantford Bulldogs last Friday.
“He just seemed like somebody who was goingto fitnaturallywithour systemandstyleofplay. Hisfirstgamehere showedhecoulddeliver exactlythatandmaybeaddsomethingextra inthepuck-moving departmentwhile skatingupice. So farwe’re pleasedwithwhatwe see,” said Oulahen.
Differingfrompreviousreports, Daineaultisnot relatedto longtime NHLer Jean-Jacques Daigneault-a common misunderstandingaccordingto tradeacquisition himself.
Youcanwatchthegameagainst Peterboroughthelive broadcaston Your TVChannels12and700in North Bay.
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