The North Bay Battalion, riding a five-game winning streak, look to continue to march its winning streak forward as they host the visiting Guelph Storm on home ice tonight.
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“We know how dangerous this team can be,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday of Guelph.
“They have a really good offensive attack. They’ve had some injuries and sickness so far this year. We expect them to be a little bit healthier than the last time we saw them, but they’re dangerous.”
The Troops held off the Storm 4-3 at Guelph on Oct. 30, when rookie goaltender Charlie Robertson registered his first OHL victory.
The Battalion, which has played 10 of 14 games on the road while compiling a won-lost-extended record of 10-4-0 for 20 points, first in the Central Division, visits the Barrie Colts on Saturday night and entertains the Kitchener Rangers on Sunday. Guelph is 4-10-2 for 10 points, fifth and last in the Midwest Division.
The offence has been surging during this winning streak including in a 9-3 home-ice rout of the Niagara IceDogs on Nov. 3. The added production has followed some juggling of the forward lines. Among the changes was right winger Anthony Romani joining centre Kyle Jackson and left winger Justin Ertel.
“Some of the switch-ups and changes that we’ve done recently, especially with our forward group, some line combinations, we’re starting to see some chemistry, starting to see a lot of different lines contribute on different nights, which really adds to the success that we’re having right now,” said Oulahen, whose charges debuted at No. 10 in the Canadian Hockey League’s Top-10 list announced Tuesday.
“We felt we had two really good lines return from last year and kind of went back to that, and then you end up with Jackson and Ertel starting to have some chemistry between them, too, and we just thought Romani has the skill and the talent to play with those guys. Now he’s starting to produce with them as well.”
Oulahen pointed out others who are showing versatility.
“It’s been everybody. During the games, we put (right winger) Nic Sima up there in situations as well. He’s been excellent and deserves a little bit more too. We’ve been giving those cookies to a lot of different people.”
Left winger Matvey Petrov, who has skated primarily with centre Dalyn Wakely and right winger Nikita Tarasevich, was named the OHL Player of the Week for the period ended Sunday after scoring four goals and earning two assists for six points in the win over Niagara and road decisions against the Hamilton Bulldogs and Erie Otters on three consecutive nights.
Petrov has an 11-game points streak in which he has six goals and nine assists for 15 points, while Wakely has a four-game streak, with three goals and five assists for eight points in the ospan.
Russian import Petrov paces Battalion scoring with team-leading totals of eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points, while Jackson has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. Defenceman Ty Nelson has scored four goals and added 10 assists for 14 points, and Wakely has five goals and eight assists for 13 points. All have played 14 games.
Overage defenceman Avery Winslow suffered an Achilles injury in a 5-3 verdict Saturday night at Erie and is expected to be sidelined for six weeks.
“It’s the ‘next one up’ mentality,” noted Oulahen. “We’ll get some other people that have a big opportunity here to fill some minutes and kind of fill that void by a collective group, and I think we’re all capable of doing that.”
The Battalion will hold a Remembrance Day observance before the Guelph game. Fans are asked to wear a poppy to the arena or to purchase one at the game in support of the Royal Canadian Legion.
