A day after a 1-0 overtime loss in Oshawa in game two, the talk amongst the North Bay media was still about a hit on Zach Bratina that occurred moments before Dakota Mermis buried the game’s only goal 62 seconds into overtime.
Bratina, who missed significant time this season recovering from a concussion, we levelled along the boards in the neutral zone by Cole Cassels.
“I don’t think there was any doubt and I think the people at the league level felt the same way, I will leave it at that,” Butler stated about the hit during Monday’s media conference at Memorial Gardens.
“We don’t send video in but we ask for clarification. There’s a proper procedure you go through, I thought is was a play that needs to be called, it’s a dangerous play, it’s a player coming off a severe concussion.
“The style of play for the officials is like they are putting their whistles away and as a team we just have to adapt to that and work through it.”
During the broadcast, Oshawa OHL Tonight commentators Mike Luck and Shane Hollinshead discussed the hit and suggested Bratina took a peak up after the hit as an indication he was perhaps faking the injury after the hit from behind by Cassels.
Butler felt that suggestion was ridiculous.
“The Oshawa media people thought he might have embellished it, to the Oshawa media people, I don’t know if they have satellites in Oshawa but if they pick it up, why would a kid who has missed 35 or 36 games with concussions turn on purpose towards the boards to get hit, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.”
Limit Turnovers
Butler felt the game got away from the Troops in the third period of game two.
He says in game three they have to cut down on the amount of turnovers they allow near the blue line.
“When you are turning pucks over again you are chasing all the time and I think when you are playing a big, strong team like Oshawa, it’s not good to be chasing them.It’s better if they are chasing you and I thought game one we were smart at putting pucks in places where they had to chase us, where in the third period we put pucks in areas where they could do a lot of the things they wanted to do and we have got to get back to playing more like the fox. We’ve got to play smart, you know, we have got to think and that’s where we’ve got to be,” said Butler.
Team Defence
Despite the loss the Battalion continue to shut down some of the biggest guns in the Ontario Hockey League. This series sniper Michael Dal Colle has been kept off the scoresheet in both games of the Eastern Conference Final series, while limiting the Gens to only two goals in two games.
It all started in round one, when the Troops limited Frontenacs star Sam Bennett to three assists during a four-game sweep.
However, the Fronts forward immediately jumped on a plane to Calgary where he was part of the Flames upset series win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Bennett scored twice against the Canucks, but couldn’t solve Jake Smith or the Battalion defenders.
“I think its just Battalion hockey I believe, forwards, the way they have to play, keep playing the way we have to play,” said Battalion defenceman Brenden Miller about shutting down Bennett in round one.
“We played well against Kingston. Our forwards were tracking. It didn’t matter who we were playing we were laying the body, playing good defence. That’s pretty much what it is, Battalion hockey.”
Butler believes it's all about Team Defence.
“I think the responsibility is to the players on the ice and I think it’s team defence. I think that’s the way it is,” said Butler.
“No disrespect to the players Bennett played with (in Kingston) but probably the players he is playing with in Calgary are a little bit better so that helps how you do as well.”
