With 58 goal scorer Anthony Romani out with an injury, linemate Dalyn Wakely has certainly stepped up.
Wakely, who scored three goals Wednesday night in a 5-4 victory that gave the Battalion a lead of three games to one, leads the OHL playoff scoring race with a league-high six goals and three assists for nine points in four games.
The doubling of Wakely’s postseason goals total came a day after he failed to earn mention in the conference Coaches Poll results despite having put up 104 points during the regular season.
“Well, everybody knows the story of how we got him,” coach Ryan Oulahen said Thursday, alluding to Wakely’s second-round selection, 30th overall, in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection.
“He’s probably had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder ever since draft day, and he knows who he’s playing against. You know where those guys were taken in the draft ahead of him."
The humble Wakely says his omission from the Coaches Poll was not the only thing that fuelled his playoff hat trick.
"I looked and saw some of the boys on there, and I was so happy for them," said Wakely as both his linemates Owen Van Steensel and Romani were recognized.
"I think there are a lot of great players in this league, so anytime I'm not included, it's not too, too frustrating. And just a little extra motivation. Like you said maybe to go out there and prove some people wrong but I'm just super happy for the guys on the team that were recognized."
However, Wakely also says he wants to prove to the people who believe in him that they are right.
"I think when you say that and 'Oulie and Denny' (Ryan Oulahen & Adam Dennis) and all those guys that have been, you know, so great to me through this whole thing, I think, you know, when they put me on the edge, I just trying to do what I can for them."
Wakely and the Troops will be looking to finish off the Kingston Frontenacs on Friday night at Memorial Gardens as the Battalion hold a 3-1 series lead with a chance to wrap up the series on home ice Friday.
Arnsby suspension
With Romani, goaltender Dom DiVincentiis already out with injuries, it appears Liam Arnsby will be gone for the rest of this series and possibly longer due to a suspension.
The league came down hard on the Battalion captain, giving him a 6-game suspension for his hit in the second period of game 4 in Kingston on Fronts forward Linus Hemstrom who was taken off the ice on a stretcher. It's the second five-minute major handed down on Arnsby in the series, with the first in game two in North Bay.
Oulahen, responded to Arnsby's hit prior to the news of the lengthy suspension handed out late Thursday afternoon by the OHL.
"We have been working with Liam for a long time. He is the best defensive forward in the league for a reason, he is hard to play against. He knows there are certain things he needs to do. For the most part he has done a really good job of that, just some unfortunate stuff."
