Following a 4-3 overtime loss Tuesday night against the Brantford Bulldogs, the North Bay Battalion is going into a do-or-die scenario in their first-round matchup in the OHL playoffs.
Down 3-0 in their Eastern Conference quarter-final series, the Battalion looks to correct some mistakes and build some momentum.
Battalion head coach Ryan Oulahen said their backs are against the wall.
“I think our guys can draw on that experience already and, you know, just set ourselves up for the biggest game of the year,” Oulahen told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re going to rely on our habits or details.”
Game 4 goes on Thursday at 7 p.m. The battle-hardened and wounded Battalion group is motivated to keep their season alive in the do-or-die game.
“We’ve had a lot of scoring chances. But now we got to bear down early and take it game by game,” said defenceman Bronson Ride.
“I think everyone’s everyone in there is ready and confident and we’ll just take a shift by shift.”
— Battalion defenceman Bronson Ride
Last season in the conference finals, the Battalion rallied from the same series deficit to force a seventh game in a losing effort against the Oshawa Generals.
“I think everyone’s everyone in there is ready and confident and we’ll just take a shift by shift,” Ride said.
One bright spot this playoff series, Oulahen noted, has been the goaltending. Starting goalie Mike McIver has been doing his job keeping the games close.
“We are trending in the right way,” he said.
“We know we are playing an extremely well-coached, detail-orientated team. I love playoff time because there is only one game you have to review. We have some good video to go over (from Game 3) with the players and be ready for Thursday.”
Need to win four in a row
The troops face the daunting task of needing to win four games in a row, something they didn’t do in the regular season. But Ride said they will give it all they have.
“We’re a young team, obviously, but we have so many young guys that are just giving it their all,” Ride said.
“I mean, they’re first-year players and they’re playing like they’re in the third year already.”
Oulahen wants the team to set the tone from the first few shifts Thursday and said scoring the first goal is critical.
Elsewhere around the league, the Sudbury Wolves also find themselves down 3-0 in their first-round series against the Kingston Frontenacs.
Meanwhile, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds have started to claw their way back into the series against Windsor down 2-1.
