The North Bay Battalion begin a home and home series tonight against the Niagara IceDogs as they travel south to take on their division rivals tonight in St. Catharines.
“They’re a really fast and skilled team, a team that, if you give them too many opportunities with the man advantage, they’re going to hurt you, so we’re going to have to play disciplined,” Battalion assistant coach Adam Dennis said Wednesday of the IceDogs, who are tied atop the Central Division with the Mississauga Steelheads with 22 points.
“I think special teams is a big part of it. We need to stay out of the box and, like I said, we need to come ready to play right from the drop of the puck.”
Goaltender Christian Propp, who staffed the crease in a 4-3 road loss Sunday to the Sudbury Wolves, also suggested the Troops will have to be ready for a full performance.
“Niagara’s definitely one of the more offensive teams in the league, so I think we just have to be mentally prepared and know who their sharpshooters are and just be ready to try to eliminate their scoring chances as much as possible.”
The Battalion, which lost both its games last week after a season-high four-game winning streak, is 8-8-1 for 17 points, fifth in the division.
Brazeau continues to lead the OHL scoring race, with 36 points from 19 goals and 17 assists in 17 games. Tye Felhaber of the Ottawa 67’s, who’s second with 34 points in 20 games, assumed the goal-scoring lead with 21 with two goals in a 6-4 victory Wednesday over the visiting Kingston Frontenacs in a school day game.
Brazeau has 86 career goals, tied with Mike Amadio for second place among Battalion scorers since the franchise relocated from Brampton for the 2013-14 season. Brett McKenzie is the leader in the North Bay era with 88 goals.
The Troops are back home for a rare Saturday night home contest against the IceDogs for the back end of the home-and-home series. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.
