The North Bay Battalion will transform into the North Bay Centennials on Thursday night as the OHL team hosts the annual Centennials game at Memorial Gardens.
“I don’t think you ever want to forget what was a big part of the city’s hockey history,” said Battalion head coach Stan Butler.
“Having coached against the Centennials in Brampton and Oshawa. It was always a storied franchise and it is always great when you can pay tribute to it.”
It’s the fifth straight season the Troops have paid tribute to the former OHL team that called North Bay home from 1982 to 2002 before the franchise moved to Saginaw that spring.
For the first time, Centennials merchandise will be sold at the game.
See related: Local businessman brings back the Centennials
While their will be a familiar old logo back on Memorial Gardens ice, the opposition brings a few familiar faces as well as the Flint Firebirds come to town tonight.
A total of four Firebirds have Battalion connections in head coach Ryan Oulahen, goaltender Garrett Forrest, Max Kislinger and Maurizio Colella.
Left winger Maurizio Colella, traded to Flint from North Bay last season, paces the Firebirds attack offensively with 18 goals and a team-high 27 assists for 45 points in 49 games.
The Battalion, with a won-lost-extended record of 23-21-7 for 53 points, is third in the Central Division and tied with Oshawa for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Troops are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games.
The Firebirds come in sitting in last in the Western Conference but Butler knows his team cannot take the Firebirds too lightly.
“You can’t look past anybody,” Butler stated.
“We’re not a good enough team to do that. I mean they’ve been playing good hockey lately. Sometimes your record doesn’t indicate it, but they won three in a row before they just lost. So they’re a good team, and obviously Ryan’s probably excited to come back to North Bay. He coached here for a few years, and they’ve got some players on their team that played here, and I think that’s always extra motivation for kids as well.”
