It's always an exciting night as Battalion fans and players wonder who will let the teddy bears fly.
Reyth Smith is hoping to make it two years in a row as the teddy bear goal scorer as the Troops host the Soo Greyhounds for a rare Wednesday night home game.
The Greyhounds come into North Bay with a very bad taste in their mouth thanks to a controversial late-game call that led to a late power play by Ethan Procyszyn with only eight seconds left in regulation as the Troops pulled out a 3-2 win in the Soo on November 30.
The hit came courtesy of Hounds star Brady Martin who took out Nolan Laird behind the play in the final minute of regulation.
Greyhounds head coach John Dean said he reviewed the hit on the bench in the moments after it happened while it was being reviewed and was confident that “it was a clean hit.”
“It’s a horrible call,” Dean also said post-game. “It’s a great, clean hit by Brady. I’m proud of him for finishing his hits.”
Dean added that he was “very confused by the call.”
“They didn’t make a call (before reviewing the play),” Dean added.
Not only did the Hounds lose the game, but both Martin and Dean, a former North Bay Battalion assistant coach, received suspensions from the league.
Ryan Oulahen, Battalion head coach, realizes the Hounds will be eager to flip the script on the Troops on teddy bear toss day.
"I think as a whole Wednesday's game is a big game," admitted Oulahen.
"We can't look past anything here going into the Christmas break for sure because it is two desperate teams. That is the way I am mostly looking at it. We are not really happy with the weekend that we have had - the Soo is in the same situation and you go back to that one and it was a chippy affair, it was an intense hockey game. There was a lot going on on the weekend and we got the better of it, so I am sure they are going to be coming in here hungry and we are going to see the best version of the Soo Greyhounds."
See related: Late penalty draws Greyhounds ire, Battalion capitalize
Oulahen will be looking for a strong start especially after his squad allowed four first-period goals in their last home game on Sunday as the Battalion fell 4-3 to the visiting Ottawa 67's.
"Just the lulls, we really did not like our first 10 minutes of the game," Oulahen stated bluntly.
"That is something as a group we have to just understand that probably right now the next game is probably our most important game. You just look at how the standings are. We were just talking about it as a staff, if you look at the Eastern Conference, there is not one team below .500 in the entire conference. That is where every game is so big and the points are so crucial.
"We were not happy with the first 10 minutes and it is something that we have been trying to be better at with this group from day one and usually when we have a good 10 it stems right into our game."
North Bay, with a 13-13-3 won-lost-extended record for 29 points, is fifth in the Central Division, while Soo, 14-17-0 for 28 points, is tied for third place in the West Division with the Flint Firebirds, who hold a game in hand.
The Soo game is the last home date before Dec. 29 when the Barrie Colts visit. The Troops complete their pre-Christmas schedule Friday night at Sudbury.
Ethan Procyszyn paces the Battalion offence with a team-leading 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points in 29 games, while Jacob LeBlanc has four goals and a team-high 25 assists for 29 points in as many games. Shamar Moses has scored six goals and earned 19 assists for 25 points in 24 games since a trade from Barrie, and Owen Van Steensel has 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points in 29 games.
For the Greyhounds, Justin Cloutier has a team-leading 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points in 31 games, and Brady Martin has scored 14 goals and added 14 assists for 28 points in 27 games. Marco Mignosa has 11 goals and a team-high 15 assists for 26 points in 21 games.
Brickley Bears, to be thrown onto the ice after the Battalion’s first goal, can be purchased at The Brick North Bay to support the Santa Fund and the Children’s Miracle Network. Bears and plush toys, which should be wrapped in plastic, also can be brought from home.
With files from SooToday's Brad Coccimiglio
