The North Bay Battalion return home tonight to take on the Barrie Colts after five straight games on the road. Only three weeks remain in the Ontario Hockey League regular season, and the Troops have a clearer picture what it’s going to take to get into the playoffs. Head Coach Stan Butler says they’re down to the short strokes now, and that’s where they’re at.  Butler says they’ve got nine games left, they’re two points behind and they’ve got to find ways to win hockey games. He says that’s because all the teams in front of them are going to win some games, so they’ve got to make sure to win some as well.
North Bay’s record of 22-33-4 for 48 points is good for fourth in the Central Division and ninth overall in the conference. The Ottawa 67’s are fifth in the East Division at 22-31-6, and Niagara is third in the Central at 20-29-10 and both have 50 points apiece. They are currently tied for 7th in the east. North Bay, Ottawa and Niagara all have nine games left to play before the season ends on March 19th. For the Troops it starts tonight against the Colts, who sport the worst record in the league but beat the Battalion 6-1 back on February 18th. Puck drop is at 7:00pm at Memorial Gardens.
