SUDBURY -- Some Ontario Hockey League (OHL) news came from North Bay on Tuesday, as Stan Butler has been relieved of his duties as head coach and director of hockey operations.

Butler is the only man who's ever coached the Battalion franchise, which started up in Brampton in 1998.

He will stay on as special advisor to the owner.

Assistant Coach Ryan Oulahen will now be the interim head coach and Adam Dennis will drop assistant from his general manager title.

"I've only been a part of one coaching change in my career as a player. It's not something that anybody wants to be a part of, but it means that you haven't done things very well as a group. So, it's a wake-up call for all of us, but, I mean, with that being said, we're all excited for a fresh start, a clean slate, and we've got 40 games left. So, that's the one thing we've been telling our group, is they're going to be judged on the next 40 games. What's happened has happened," said Dennis.

The Battalion have five wins and 23 losses so far this season, and are at the bottom of the OHL standings. 

They host Erie on Thursday.