The North Bay Battalion welcome a pair of familiar faces into North Bay Memorial Gardens on Thursday night as the Erie Otters make their lone stop in North Bay this season.
Corbeil goaltender Ben Gaudreau, who just surpassed 4500 save mark in the OHL on the weekend, and former Battalion bench boss Stan Butler will be in the building to clash with the Troops.
Ryan Oulahen, Battalion head coach who played for and worked alongside Butler on the bench with the Troops, downplayed the Butler return and preferred to focus on getting his team prepared to play well on Thursday night.
“Erie’s a good hockey team,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday.
“They play in a really strong division, and they’re coming in here. They’ve got a good squad, so we’ve got to be at our best Thursday night.
"Gaudreau is a good goaltender, and he’s played well against us,” noted Oulahen.
The Thursday night affair is part of a busy three-game weekend for the Troops, as the club's latest acquisitions before the Jan. 10 trade deadline get comfortable in Battalion green.
The three players acquired in a trade Jan. 6 with the Sarnia Sting all earned their first points with the Battalion in a 6-3 road win Saturday night over the Soo Greyhounds. Right winger Sandis Vilmanis scored the winning goal in the third period, while right winger Andrew LeBlanc had one goal and one assist and twin brother Jacob LeBlanc, a defenceman, contributed one assist.
Rearguard Bronson Ride joined the Troops in a Jan. 7 trade with Niagara.
“All four additions have been really headsy, smart players that have come in,” admitted Oulahen.
“I see them as having made some really good additions and added to the chemistry. I wasn’t sure how the line matchups were actually going to be, but they looked good. It looks like some things are starting to click a little bit, especially on the back end, with some of those D pairings.”
Oulahen said three days of practice before the Erie visit have been a bonus.
“It’s been nice getting some reps in, especially in practice but also in the games. To be honest, it takes me a little bit of time, too, to learn the guys. You’re putting out different pairings in different situations, so you’ve got to get the rhythm on the bench back a little bit.”
North Bay sports a won-lost-extended record of 20-14-6 for 46 points, second in the Ontario Hockey League’s Central Division, one point behind the Sudbury Wolves, who hold a game in hand. Erie is 19-16-4 for 42 points, fourth in the Midwest Division.
The Battalion visits the Mississauga Steelheads on Friday night and plays host to the Niagara IceDogs on Sunday.
The Erie game features Bell Let’s Talk Night, dedicated to promoting mental health.
