North Bay Battalion @ Ottawa 67's: Pre-game review

North Bay Battalion make their first visit to the Canadian Tire Centre since being relocated from Brampton in the off-season. 

It has been over 10 years since North Bay has had an OHL franchise. Despite many efforts to save the club, the "then" North Bay Cennentials packed things up and moved to Michigan for the 2002-03 season - they are now playing as the Saginaw Spirit. 

Ottawa was no stranger facing the Centennials. There has been a lot of history with these two former conference opponents. The last time these two met was the 2001-02 season where Ottawa posted a dominant record of 3-0-1 (ties were still a thing back then).  Backtrack a couple more months and Ottawa defeated them in the opening round of the 2001 playoffs and eventually advanced to the J Robertson Cup (OHL championship) & Memorial Cup. Back then Joe Talbot, Lance Galbraith & the "original" Brendan Bell were on the team.

With all that being the North Bay Battalion are a separate entity from the North Bay Centennials. The Brampton Battalion were formed in 1996 and played their first season in 1998.  The club only missed the playoffs twice during that time. Unfortunately, the Battalion were never able to get past the OHL finals, but did come close in 2008-09 but lost out to Windsor in the finals in 5 games. 

Last season, the Battalion posted a 3-0-0-1 record against the 67's. 

This season the Battalion are off to a 1-1, .500 start. Just like the 67's their first win came against a struggling Belleville Bulls squad. The Battalion face Belleville last night and came on top with a 4-1 win. CHl Import selection Vincent Praplan lead his team to victory with a goal and two assists. 

A couple new faces the the Battalion lineup which you can read below. Expect some roster changes if Zack Bell & Dylan Blujus are returned from their respective NHL team camps. 

2013-14 Regular Season Record
Ottawa 67's:  1-0-0-0
North Bay Battalion:  1-1-0-0

2013-14 Pre-season Record
Ottawa 67's:  3-1-1-0
North Bay Battalion:  2-3-0-0

2012-13 Regular Season Record
Ottawa 67's:  16-46-0-6
Brampton Battalion:  34-25-3-6

2012-13 OHL Playoffs
Ottawa 67's:  Did not qualify
Brampton Battalion:  Lost to Sudbury in 5 games in the opening round

Players To Watch

Ottawa 67's
Joseph Blandisi - drafted 6th round to Colorado in 2013
Jacob Middleton - NHL draft eligible 2014
Travis Konecny - 1st overall pick in OHL,  NHL draft eligible 2015

North Bay Battalion
Nick Paul - drafted 4th round to Dallas in 2013
Blake Clarke - NHL draft eligible 2014
Alex Henriksson - 1st round pick in 2013 CHL Import Draft

Potential Scratches

Ottawa 67's:  Sean Monahan (NHL camp), Jonathan Duchesne (last game of suspension). Scratched last game: John Urbanic, Troy Henley, Trevor Dulong.
North Bay Battalion:  Dylan Blujus, Zach Bell (NHL camps). Recent injuries Kyle Wood, Mike Baird, Brendan Miller, Matt MacLean

*follow us on twitter (@msconduct or @A_Quevillon) for game day scratches

North Bay Battalion

Who's Gone?
Matej Machovsky
Nicolas Foglia
Brendan Childerley
Cameron Wind
Francis Menard
Derek Froats
Matej Machovsky

Who's New?
Brett McKenzie - 1st round pick in 2013 OHL Priority Selection
Alex Henriksson - 1st round pick in 2013 CHL Import Draft
Vincent Praplan - 2nd round pick in 2013 CHL Import Draft
Brendan O'Neill - acquired in off-season, traded for 15th round draft pick
Jared Steege - 8th round pick in 2013 OHL Priority Selection
Calvin Gomes
Steven Duda - picked up on waivers, previously played in Saint Johns (QMJHL)
Riley Bruce - 3rd round pick in 2013 OHL Priority Selection
Kyle Wood - 3rd round pick in 2012 OHL Priority Selection

2012-13 Head-To-Head Stats
Record: 3-0-0-1 for Brampton
Combined score: 17-11 Brampton

Top scorers

Ottawa 67's
Sergey Kuptsov - 3 goals, 1 assists in 4 games (also had 1 goal, 1 assist in 3 games while playing with Belleville)
Sean Monahan - 1 goal, 5 assists in 4 games

Joseph Blandisi - 2 goals in 3 games (also had 2 assists in 2 games assist while playing with Owen Sound)

Brampton Battalion
Francis Menard - 1 goal, 3 assists in 3 games (also had 2 goals, 1 assist in 4 games assist while playing with Peterborough)
Zach Bell - 2 goals, 3 assists in 4 games
Barclay Goodrow - 3 goals, 1 assists in 3 games