Conference leaders on tap
The North Bay Battalion faces a formidable foe when the Brantford Bulldogs visit at 7 p.m. Thursday in the second-last week of the Ontario Hockey League’s regular season.
Brantford, leading the East Division and Eastern Conference, boasts plenty of offensive weapons, including Nick Lardis, who’s the league’s top scorer with 70 goals and the eighth player in OHL history to reach that plateau.
Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen noted Wednesday that the Bulldogs pose “another big test for us.”
“We’re going to have to be very good defensively, especially playing against a guy that’s got 70 goals and is on a pretty good heater.”
The Battalion, which won 5-2 Sunday at home over the Ottawa 67’s in the continuing battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference, took a four-point lead over the visitors.
North Bay has a won-lost-extended record of 25-32-5 for 55 points, fifth in the Central Division and eighth in the conference. Ninth-place Ottawa was to take a 21-32-9 record into a Wednesday night visit to the Kingston Frontenacs.
A tie for the eighth postseason berth is decided on the ice, not by a mathematical formula, and necessitates a tiebreaker playoff game. Home ice is decided by the usual tie-breaking procedure, the first criterion being regulation and overtime wins, discounting victories via shootout. The Troops lead 22-19 in that category.
The Battalion, which visits the Kitchener Rangers on Friday night and hosts the Barrie Colts on Sunday, has four home games in its last six, while Ottawa has two at home in its final six. After the Kingston visit, the 67’s complete play this weekend by hosting the Oshawa Generals on Friday night and Kingston on Sunday. Ottawa then plays three away games in the final week, against the Niagara IceDogs, Erie Otters and Brantford.
Brantford, 9-2-0 in its last 11 games, is 40-18-5 for 85 points and, if it maintains its current standing, will face the eighth-place team in the first playoff round.
“It’s going to be a playoff hockey game tomorrow night. It’s going to be that way every single game, and I think that’s really healthy going into, hopefully, what we feel is the best time of year.”
In 61 games, Lardis has 43 assists and 113 points, tied for second in the OHL scoring race with Liam Greentree of the Windsor Spitfires. Lardis’s 70 goals are the most since John Tavares scored 72 for Oshawa in 2006-07. Before that, the most recent sniper to reach the number was Eric Lindros, also of Oshawa, with 71 goals in 1990-91. Windsor’s Ernie Godden holds the league record with 87 in 1980-81.
Taken sixth overall by the Peterborough Petes in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection, Lardis was acquired by the Bulldogs, then based in Hamilton, during the 2022-23 season for two-time OHL champions Gavin White and Avery Hayes. The Chicago Blackhawks chose Lardis in the third round, 67th overall, in the 2023 National Hockey League Draft, signing him to an entry-level contract last April.
Brantford’s Patrick Thomas has 26 goals and a team-leading 76 assists for 102 points in 63 games, while Jake O’Brien has scored 32 goals and added 61 assists for 93 points in 62 games. Cole Brown has 33 goals and 34 assists for 67 points in 62 games.
Ethan Procyszyn leads the Battalion offence with a team-high 31 goals and 27 assists for 58 points and Jacob LeBlanc has scored nine goals and earned a team-best 40 assists for 49 points, both in 62 games. Shamar Moses has 12 goals and 35 assists for 47 points in 55 games since a trade from Barrie.
The game features Subaru of North Bay Night, when March Mania presents Shoot to Win $25,000.
