A beat up North Bay Battalion squad hopes its up for the test against the rival Sudbury Wolves.
Both the Battalion and the Wolves dispatched their first-round opponents in 5; the Wolves in 5 over the Steelheads, and the Battalion over the Kingston Frontenacs as that series wrapped up last Friday night.
The Battalion, which went 4-1-3 against Sudbury in the regular season, has battled without goaltender Dom DiVincentiis, who’s been relieved by rookie and former Trappers netminder Mike McIvor.
McIvor, who took over the crease after DiVincentiis left Game 2 of the Kingston series, has won three of four decisions, posting a goals-against average of 2.69 and a save percentage of .888. DiVincentiis, with one win, has a 2.46 GAA and .900 save percentage.
The Troops have been without injured leading scorer Anthony Romani and, for three games in the first round, accomplished veteran forward Andrew LeBlanc. Captain Liam Arnsby served the first game of a six-game suspension in the series clincher.
See related: North Bay vs Sudbury - a rivalry renewed
Ryan Oulahen, Battalion head coach, says Romani and DiVincentiis are "week to week" with lower body injuries.
“I don’t know if it’s, say, pressure on you but, when you know you don’t have certain players in the lineup as a coach, you have to move players around,” Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday.
“They’re all forwards, but you have to also manoeuvre a goalie in there that’s very young. So it makes your job different and perhaps more difficult at times because you’ve got to really, really coach up some players that you didn’t think you’d have to be coaching up at this time of the year. You don’t want to be in this situation, for sure."
Those injuries have allowed forwards like Brice Cooke, Ihnat Pazii, Lirim Amidovski, Nolan Liard and Dylan Richter to step up.
“But with the coachability factor of our group, it’s fun to work with, because it’s easy to have conversations, to have guys buy into some roles, whether you’re a guy that’s going to play four or five minutes, but those four or five minutes are going to be crucial and going to be massive," explained Oulahen.
"Whether you’re a top guy that maybe is going to get a little extra here. If he’s on his game, that means I can get him out on the ice a little bit more.
“There are a lot of different things that I’m kind of going into the game with a plan, but also ad-libbing in terms of who’s bringing it on that particular night. So looking forward to the challenge.”
The Battalion has faced Sudbury in three playoff series, all conference quarterfinals when the Troops were based in Brampton, winning one and losing two. This marks the first time the clubs have met in the postseason since relocation to North Bay in 2013.
Dalyn Wakely, who’s tied with Filip Mesar of the Kitchener Rangers for second place in OHL playoff scoring, leads the Battalion with six goals and four assists for 10 points in five games. The six goals are tied for first in the league with Dylan Edwards of the Erie Otters.
Owen Van Steensel has scored two goals and earned six assists for eight points, while Sandis Vilmanis has one goal and seven assists for eight points and Justin Ertel three goals and as many assists for six points, all in five games.
Again in five games each, David Goyette paces Sudbury with four goals and five assists for nine points, and Dalibor Dvorsky has two goals and six assists for eight points. Nick DeAngelis has scored two goals and added five assists for seven points, while Quentin Musty has one goal and six assists for seven points.
McIvor, who took over the crease after DiVincentiis left Game 2 of the Kingston series, has won three of four decisions, posting a goals-against average of 2.69 and a save percentage of .888. DiVincentiis, with one win, has a 2.46 GAA and .900 save percentage.
Sudbury goaltender Jakub Vondras has a won-lost record of 3-1 with a 2.73 GAA, a .906 save percentage and one shutout, while Marcus Vandenberg is 1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .929 save percentage.
The second game is scheduled at Memorial Gardens on Saturday night before the series shifts to Sudbury for two games next week.
