Battalion, Wolves begin OHL playoff journey
The final week of regular season play was a good one for the Sudbury Wolves, who managed to pull out a fifth-place finish on the last day, despite the talk of a possible playoff date with their Highway 17 rivals in North Bay.
The Wolves are playing Peterborough, losing Game 1 on Thursday. However, coach Derek MacKenzie said he believes it’s a series his team can win.
"We've talked about it all year,” MacKenzie said.
“Our team has kind of had its back up against the wall. We've needed to, you know, put a lot of wins together to put ourselves in a situation that we're in now."
Good goaltending is a must-have in the post-season, and in the past few weeks, MacKenzie said he wasn't fearful of starting either young Nate Krawchuk or overager Kevyn Brassard between the pipes.
“I've got faith in both those guys,” he said.
“They are both hard workers ... they've really gone back and forth here down the stretch.”
MacKenzie said he is banking on that winning trend to continue against a team the Wolves beat three out of four times this season.
Sudbury fans will see the Wolves at home next Tuesday and Wednesday.
BATTALION VS STEELHEADS
In North Bay, the Battalion play Mississauga in a series fans didn't see coming.
After the Steelheads dropped all three of their games last weekend, they placed seventh in the overall standings and now play a team that's geared up for the playoffs.
While North Bay won four of six games against Mississauga, coach Ryan Oulahen said the Steelheads can't be taken lightly.
"We know the difficulties that they can bring to us, so that's a thing that we've been addressing with our guys,” Oulahen said.
“They just play a style and a way that sometimes is frustrating to play against -- and they do a really good job. They are really well structured, they play aggressive and they've got some big defenceman that can defend really well".
Battalion defenceman Ty Nelson, who is coming off a stellar regular season, says he's "playoff ready."
“Going into the playoffs is the same that it’s been all year, and that's our plan,” said Nelson.
“We're keeping our weekly routine the exact same, we're doing everything that we've done all year, the exact same. We're just treating it like it's another week, and it's another game.”
The Battalion will be back on the ice Sunday in Game 2 of the series. Many expect this one to be over quickly in North Bay's favour.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.