Battalion get swept by Colts in weekend home and home series

For the second time in as many days the North Bay Battalion and Barrie Colts met on the ice. After a 5-2 victory for the Colts in Barrie on Saturday, the Colts took the second game 3-1, this time in North Bay.

“Similar,” Oulahen said on both games. “Our best periods were our first. We really came out hard today, I really loved our first period I would argue it was one of our best of the year.

“In saying that, when you play a really good hockey team, it’s only a matter time before they get going and they got going in the second. The penalties seemed to really killed our momentum and just really hard to play that way against a really mature, older good hockey team. I give them a lot of credit but we’re right there with them. Lots of positives too.”

After a nice video tribute for Dalyn Wakely, the former Battalion superstar playing in his first game at Memorial Gardens since his trade to the Colts for Shamar Moses and draft picks, it was a bit of a rude welcome for Barrie in the first. Although there was no score, North Bay looked to sufficiently out chance the Colts by outshooting them 18-4 in the period. 

In the second the Battalion ran into some penalty trouble. Late in the period after killing off a cross checking penalty to Ethan Procyszyn, Procyszyn stepped out of the penalty box and played the puck with one foot still in the box, resulting in another penalty. On the ensuing Barrie power play Wakely (15) made Troops fans miss him even more as he one timed the puck past Mike McIvor to give Barrie the lead.

It was 1-0 Colts after the second.

In the third it was more Wakely (16) as the former Battalion star potted his second of the game. This time a Barrie player crashed the North Bay net and McIvor made the initial save, but the puck sat in the blue paint long enough for Wakely to streak in and tap it home. The goal came 1:42 into the period.

20 seconds later the Battalion answered. This time it was local product Briir Long (1) who dragged the puck into Colts territory, threw it to the end boards and it bounced it off the back of netminder Ben Hrebik to cut the score to 2-1.

Late in the third with McIvor pulled, Zach Wigle (6) capped off the scoring on an empty net to make the final 3-1.

Wakely, who was drafted by North Bay in the second round of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection, 30th overall, finished his homecoming with two goals and taking home the game’s first star. A fitting return for arguably one of the most beloved Battalion stars since the team moved from Brampton.

“I liked how last night we kept him off the scoresheet, didn’t love how today he got the Dalyn Wakely show,” Oulahen chuckled. “I’m looking forward to seeing him now, say hi to him and catch up a bit.

“He’s a special player to all of us here in the organization, especially us as coaches and our staff. We’re wishing him a lot of luck, just not against us anymore.”

From a coaching perspective, planning out a way to play a former player like Wakely can be tricky, according to Oulahen.

“You’ve gotta be careful. You let it be a little bit. You know what he’s capable of, and you don’t want to focus in on that because you can overkill it and other guys can hurt you.

“He’s turned into a really good hockey player. He’s going to go pro and play in the NHL for sure and I’m looking forward to seeing that happen one day.

On the flip side, Moses has turned himself into a great player already for North Bay with still plenty of run way to go. Moses scored a goal in his return to Barrie on Saturday.

“You look at his age, we’re going to have Shamar for a few years to come. He’s elite. He played really well last night and outstanding today, had lots of chances.

“He’s grown so much already in just a couple of months of having him. Looking forward to seeing what he’s going to turn into as a mature guy in this league.”

The Troops have a busy week ahead of them to try and get back into the win column. It starts on Tuesday for a New Year’s eve battle with the Kitchener Rangers before welcoming the Peterborough Petes to town on Thursday and then travelling to Sudbury for a dance with the Wolves Friday.

“I think the players and everybody likes playing games,” explained Oulahen. “There’s some good teachable time tomorrow, there’s no high school, so we get the players in for video and practice. Play, reset, play again.

“I think the players love doing that. Just have to make sure we control our energy, sleep and nutrition and we should be fine.”