Lisson new to crease crew

The North Bay Battalion continues a heavy slate of games at 7 p.m. Thursday when the Peterborough Petes visit for the Troops’ fourth of five Ontario Hockey League contests in a seven-day span.

At the halfway mark of its schedule, North Bay has a won-lost-extended record of 13-18-3 for 29 points, ninth in the Eastern Conference, while Peterborough, 7-22-6 for 20 points, is 10th and last. Each team is fifth in its division, the Central and East respectively.

“If you look at their last 15 or 20 games, they’re right there with every team,” Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said Wednesday of the Petes. “The games that they’re losing are kind of one-goal games. It’s tough; it’s a grind.

“They’re one of those teams that are very structurally sound, and you’ve got to go out and earn things, because they’re not going to give things up for free. It’s going to be a tough opponent here tomorrow, and hopefully we can get things going in the right direction.”

The Battalion will have Jack Lisson, a goaltender signed to a scholarship and development agreement, backing up Mike McIvor. Charlie Larocque, who played in a 5-2 loss Tuesday to the visiting Kitchener Rangers, will practise with the Troops and play a number of games with the junior B Carleton Place Jr. Canadians of the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Lisson, who turned 18 on March 31, was a 15th-round pick in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the Oakville Rangers U16s who arrived in North Bay on Monday.

“Jack is someone we felt was ready to play in our league a few years ago,” said Adam Dennis, president and director of hockey operations. “We’ve continued to monitor his progress and feel he’ll solidify the goaltending and help support the great work Mike has done thus far.

“What this also does is give us a chance to hone in on a few things with Charlie in practice and allow him to continue getting starts on a conditioning basis with his former team in Carleton Place. Goaltending has been a strength of this organization for some time, and with these three young men we expect that trend will continue.”

Lisson, who measures six-foot-two and 190 pounds, played 10 games this season with the West Kelowna Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League, posting a 2.98 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage, one shutout and a record of 2-3-3.

He’s the second former BCHL performer to join the Battalion, after Nick Wellenreiter, who played early this season for the Coquitlam Express. The BCHL withdrew from Hockey Canada effective June 1, 2023, to be able to recruit across the country.

The national governing body has approved Lisson’s return to sanctioned play, and the Battalion has secured his rights from the junior A Wellington Dukes of the Ontario Junior Hockey League for a development fee. He played 43 games with Wellington over two seasons before joining West Kelowna on Oct. 23.

Since the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I council voted Nov. 7 to permit former Canadian Hockey League players to compete for Division I schools in the U.S. starting Aug. 1, several BCHL players have departed. CHL participation used to end players’ NCAA eligibility, with some retaining it by playing in the BCHL or United States Hockey League.

In 22 games, McIvor has a 3.11 GAA, a .906 save percentage, one shutout and a record of 10-8-2. In 15 games, Larocque has a GAA of 4.72 and a save percentage of .842 while going 3-10-0. Carter Nadon, in one appearance, has a 4.97 GAA, an .865 save percentage and a record of 0-0-1.

The Battalion, which has lost a season-high six straight games, completes play this week with a Friday night visit to the Sudbury Wolves. Photo/article credit - North Bay Battalion

The Peterborough game features Boart Longyear Night.