With their playoff lives on the line, the North Bay Battalion got a huge 4-1 victory over the Niagara Icedogs last night. Brett McKenzie had two goals, Steve Harland had the game winner and goaltender Brent Moran made 33 saves in the victory. The win was the Battalion’s first since a 7-4 win over the Sarnia Sting on February 2nd. It puts the Troops a single point back of the Ottawa 67’s for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The victory also cut the deficit between the Troops and the Icedogs, who sit in seventh place, down to two points.
Head Coach Stan Butler says he was pretty happy with the second and third periods. Butler says he thought they started slow, and then in the last half of the first period got a lot better. He says they’ve had so many near-wins that maybe the confidence isn’t always there for the boys. Butler finished by saying last night they settled in and played well after they made it 2-1 in the second period. The Troops head west tonight to take on the Sudbury Wolves at 7:00pm, in the first of five consecutive road games.
