Ryan Oulahen hopes that breaking out of routine is not a bad thing as the Battalion plays a rare Wednesday night game against the visiting Barrie Colts tonight at Memorial Gardens.
Oulahen, who loves to follow a routine, says the group skipped a day and ran the week like there was no Tuesday.
"That is the best way to go about it," said Oulahen
"However, I do not mind this week in terms of this is what it is going to be like after this week, kind of playing every other day. It is going to prep us to get our minds and bodies, I think, prepared for what the run is like when you are really playing every other day."
The Battalion squad is getting ready for the playoffs as the team plays its final three regular season games this week, starting with Barrie tonight, Friday in Mississauga, and then finishing off Sunday afternoon at the Gardens against the Petes.
The Troops, who sit in third in the Eastern Conference, still have no idea who they will be playing in the opening round of the playoffs due to the logjam in the Eastern Conference that has 6 points separating the top 5 teams in the conference.
"We want to keep our game where it is, and engaged," said coach Oulahen.
"We have been gearing this up for a few weeks now. I like where our game is at right here. We just want to make sure we are maintaining it. I like the fact that there is something on the line here in the last weekend because it allows us to play some big games and maybe not let off the pedal too much. That hurt us a little last year, we clinched so early on. I like the fact that we are fighting for something right to the end and it gives us that playoff feeling already this week."
The Troops, without Ethan Procyzsyn, Jacob Therrien, and Justin Ertel in Sunday's OT loss in Kingston, will get two of the three back in Procyszyn and Therrien.
"Because of the time and us playing on a Wednesday, Ertel will not be back tonight."
The rare Wednesday will also be a Rotary4Kids night , where the fundraising initiative will be promoted along with the introduction of a new Buddy Bike.