The Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team has added former North Bay Battalion goaltender Brent Moran to the fold for the 2017-2018 season. Moran just wrapped up his overage season with the North Bay Battalion, playing in 48 games and winning 18 of them. Moran joins Brett Hargrave as the second Battalion player to commit to Nipissing in the past few weeks.
The five-year OHL veteran is excited for the next chapter of his career and is looking forward to joining the Lakers. Moran says he has a lot of friends in the Nipissing area, and is looking forward to going to school and playing hockey all at once. Moran, originally a second round pick to the Niagara Ice Dogs, split five seasons between the Ice Dogs, Flint Firebirds and Battalion. He was also drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Lakers head coach Mike McParland says Moran’s experience, ability and resume should help the team get back to the post-season. McParland says Moran brings his 4 years of OHL experience to Nipissing, which will help solidify their goaltending. McParland noted while the league is often known for its offence, the teams that find the most success are usually built from the net out. He says in this league, without outstanding goaltending it is tough to be an upper echelon team. Moran, a native of Orleans, Ontario, will be enrolling in criminal justice at Nipissing. He’s best known for his work in the OHL, but he also took part in the U17 World Hockey Challenge in 2012-13 and represented Canada at the U18 World Championships in 2013-14.
Moran describes his play as a mix of styles, but his goal is to battle to stop the puck, no matter how he gets the job done. He says he’s a hybrid type of goalie, who tries to use his size and mobility to his advantage in the net. Moran says he expects the Lakers to have a good team, and have the confidence of winning every night. Moran says he’s looking I’m looking forward to meeting the guys and getting started. With the latest addition, along with potential returning goalies and still time to recruit, the Lakers are reloading to make sure they are back to being a force in the OUA East Division.
