After rough outings on Friday and Saturday, the North Bay Battalion got their first victory of the weekend Sunday afternoon 2-1 against the Ottawa 67s. Justin Brazeau and Brett Hargrave were the goal scorers, while Brent Moran made 34 saves in the win. Next up for the Troops is a divisional showdown against the Mississauga Steelheads on Thursday.
The Battalion’s record of 16-20-3-0 has them in 3rd place in the Central Division, and 8th overall in the Eastern conference.
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The North Bay Battalion has acquired defenceman Jesse Saban in a trade with the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Troops traded defenceman Stephen Templeton, a fifth-round pick this year and a conditional sixth-round selection in 2019 for Saban and a 10th-round pick in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection. The 10th-round pick acquired by North Bay originally belonged to the Kingston Frontenacs.
Head Coach Stan Butler says he’s a big, strong stay-at-home defenceman who can play against good players on the other team and help bring some stability there. With the Troops on a three-game eastern road trip over the weekend, Templeton didn’t play for North Bay after being acquired from Oshawa on Friday. Butler said last week that he might add a depth defenceman in light of Cam Dineen likely being sidelined into March after undergoing knee surgery in December.The acquisition of Saban came a day before the OHL trade deadline of noon Tuesday.
