Coach Ryan Oulahen is not going to 'candy coat' the task ahead for the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion in its best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Kingston Frontenacs.
“It’s a good hockey team, a really, really good hockey team,” Oulahen said Wednesday as the Battalion prepared for the opening game at Memorial Gardens at 7 p.m. Thursday.
“I guess the big thing I could say about them is they’re playing their best hockey now. Obviously, they had a tough stretch early in the year, which led to coaching changes. This has been a good team since that’s happened.
“I just look at their last week. They’re playing three teams that are fighting for home-ice advantage in the playoffs. They beat all three of those teams, including us. So the more and more I’ve watched them, the more and more I’ve been impressed.This is going to be a good challenge for us.”
The Battalion snared a third consecutive Central Division title with a won-lost-extended record of 39-20-9 for 87 points and the second seed in the conference, while Kingston went 33-31-4 for 70 points for fourth place in the East Division and the seventh seed.
The Battalion and Kingston clash in the playoffs for the fifth time, with the Troops having won three of the first four matchups, including two of three representing North Bay since relocation in 2013.
The Battalion has made it to the conference final in each of the last two seasons, being eliminated by the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2022 and the Peterborough Petes last year. Both won the OHL championship.
“Every team out of all three has been quite different,” Oulahen noted of his charges.
“We’ve had different paths, different regular seasons. We’re going to have a different path again, and this playoffs is going to write its own script."
