The new look North Bay Battalion suffered an old look Thursday as they fell 4-1 at the hands of the Kingston Frontenacs.
“It’s a whirlwind of a day for sure, there’s no easy way to explain it,” assessed head coach Ryan Oulahen. “I give our guys a lot of credit, I thought we played a really good hockey game tonight. There’s the odd little thing that you want to have back, but with our start, the way we came out, that excites me, and I know our staff, to work with this group here.
“These guys are going to claw, they’re going to fight, they’re going to compete, and they’re going to play like Battalion hockey players.”
Breaking the ice in the first was Kingston. After some great pressure by North Bay, including a close call by Ihnat Pazii in his first game back from injury, Matthew Soto (15) was able to tip a point shot past Mike McIvor. Eight seconds later the Frontenacs struck again, this time a centring pass was tipped in past McIvor by Riley Clark (5) to quickly give Kingston a 2-0 advantage.
A few minutes later the Troops responded. Recently named alternate captain Bronson Ride threw the puck towards the Kingston net. Briir Long (2) picked up the loose puck and swung around the net for a quick wrap around, beating a sprawling Frontenacs netminder Gavin Betts.
Adding to the intrigue, Long played with Frontenacs defender Andre Mondoux on the North Bay U15 AAA Trappers in 2021/22 and many years before that. This was their first meeting in the OHL and it was fitting that it was in North Bay.
The score after the first was 2-1 Kingston.
However, just over six minutes into the second the Fronts reestablished the two goal lead. Off a Battalion giveaway, Cedrick Guindon (22) found himself on a partial breakaway, beating McIvor five hole to find the back of the net.
After 40 minutes, Kingston led 3-1.
Almost midway through the third, maybe sensing that his team needed a jolt after a lacklustre powerplay, Ride decided to drop the gloves with Frontenacs forward Ben Pickell. Pickell had tried to break into Battalion territory before colliding with Ride and another Troops player, sending Ride to the ice. When Ride got back up, they dropped the gloves and Ride won the contest by taking Pickell to the ice.
A last minute empty net goal off the stick of Tuomos Uronen (17) sealed the deal at 4-1 Kingston.
As mentioned, Bronson Ride was named alternate captain earlier in the day, but so was Jacob LeBlanc, and Ethan Procyszyn was named the 10th captain of the North Bay Battalion.
“We don’t take it lightly to make those decisions, all three of those players for different reasons earned it,” explained Oulahen. “With Ethan, he’s following in the footsteps of some really good leaders. He was able to learn from Liam (Arnsby), and from Owen (Van Steensel). I think he’s ready for this moment.
“For me, the best leaders and especially captains are the ones who never ask for it or want it, they just are, and that’s Ethan. As someone who wore that C, I am super proud of him. As a younger guy, we’re going to support him and help him through this and I know he has a lot of help in that room.”
Thursday night also marked the first time Parker Vaughan and Zach Wigle suited up for the Troops after a blockbuster deal with Barrie for Anthony Romani and Owen Van Steensel. Oulahen says there’s excitement with both.
“It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment," he said.
"You talk about what you want to see in a hockey player and Parker has all those intangibles. You need the god given size, talent and all that. With that you need a hockey brain, he can shoot the puck, he can make plays and he’s super competitive and I can tell he wants to get better every single moment. I love my time with him and look forward to working with him.
“Real steady mature hockey player,” Oulahen said on Wigle.
“It kind of reminds me of the Brad Chenier trade happened and we got Shane Bulitka back and he was such a good role model for the rest of our group and I think that’s the same with Zach. He does everything, the little things coaches really appreciate. He can relieve on the matchup side some of the other guys and play against the other team’s best. He’s going to be a real asset and he’s a really good character person so that’s huge.”
Ihnat Pazii played his first game since October 11 against the Erie Otters. The speedy centreman did not look out of place in his first game back.
“He’s worked extremely hard to get back,” Oulahen said. “It’s been a long time with him out and he’s almost treated it as an offseason. I think he’s used it to get stronger and faster believe it or not. He’s fresh, and I like to use him at centre and he’s looked so good in practice so I’m not surprised he came out and looked so good tonight.”
The Battalion will look to use practice time to their advantage to acclimate the new recruits this upcoming week, according to Oulahen.
Next up for North Bay is a trip to their old stomping grounds in Brampton for a matchup with the Steelheads on Saturday. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
