Battalion, Barrie renew rivalry
The North Bay Battalion plays host to the Barrie Colts at 7 p.m. Thursday in an Ontario Hockey League game featuring plenty of players sporting a new look.
The Battalion’s Zach Wigle and Parker Vaughan will face their former teammates for the first time since a trade Jan. 5 that saw Owen Van Steensel and Anthony Romani head to Barrie.
While Dalyn Wakely will make his second appearance at Memorial Gardens in Colts colours after being dealt Oct. 10 for Shamar Moses, it wasn’t known whether Romani will be in the lineup for the visitors, although Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen suspected he might.
Romani hasn’t played since suffering a broken collarbone in a 3-2 road win via shootout Oct. 11 over the Erie Otters. Moses scored the clincher in the shootout in his first game with the Troops.
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“I wouldn’t sit here and be blind to the fact that it’ll be different,” Oulahen noted Wednesday of the newcomers to both clubs facing off. “When two teams make drastic moves like that, it’ll be different for multiple players on both sides of it.”
Adrian Manzo, acquired from the Windsor Spitfires for Wyatt Kennedy the day before the trade deadline at noon last Friday, is to make his home-ice debut after playing in a 6-5 overtime win Saturday over the host Brampton Steelheads in which new captain Ethan Procyszyn scored three goals and Jacob LeBlanc recorded one goal and four assists, including on Vaughan’s winner 4:48 into extra time.
“I think, just overall, there’s some guys that really look like they’re looking forward to the opportunity that we have here, some raise in terms of their roles, their ice time, all those sorts of things,” Oulahen noted of the revamped roster.
“We’re figuring some things out, special teams, all that kind of stuff, on the fly a little bit, but certainly I think the enthusiasm with the young team is pretty impressive right now.”
The Battalion, with a won-lost-extended record of 15-20-3 for 33 points, is fifth in the Central Division. Barrie, in second place at 24-13-2 for 50 points, has lost four straight games since a 7-4 home-ice win Dec. 31 over the Oshawa Generals.
After opposing Barrie, the Troops embark on a two-game weekend road trip, against the Niagara IceDogs on Saturday night and the Brantford Bulldogs on Sunday.
Procyszyn and LeBlanc pace the North Bay offence. Procyszyn has a team-leading 24 goals and 15 assists, while LeBlanc has six goals and a team-high 33 assists, both for 39 points in 38 games.
Moses has scored nine goals and added 23 assists for 32 points in 31 games with the Battalion.
Wakely, who scored two goals in his return to North Bay as the Colts won 3-1 on Dec. 29, has a team-leading 18 goals and as many assists for 36 points in 31 games, and Riley Patterson has 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points in 37 games. Beau Jelsma has scored 14 goals and earned 19 assists for 33 points in 30 games.
The Barrie game features Bell Let’s Talk Night, with arriving fans receiving themed toque. Photo/article credit - North Bay Battalion
Host Jennifer Tocheri
