North Bay Battalion

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North Bay Battalion
City	North Bay, Ontario
League	Ontario Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	Central
Founded	1996
Home arena	North Bay Memorial Gardens
Colours	Khaki green, yellow, black, and white
General manager	Adam Dennis
Head coach	Ryan Oulahen
Affiliate	Powassan Voodoos (2021–present) (NOJHL)
Website	battalionhockey.com
Franchise history
1998–2013	Brampton Battalion
2013–present	North Bay Battalion

The North Bay Battalion are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was founded as the Brampton Battalion on December 3, 1996, and began play in 1998. The team relocated to North Bay prior to the 2013–14 OHL season.

History

Early years, 1998–2013

The Brampton Battalion's inaugural season began in 1998–99, choosing the Battalion name from community suggestions, and was also adopted by the competitive minor hockey program in Brampton. The team struggled in its first season, winning only 8 of 68 games. However, it would be one of only two seasons (the other being 2001–02) in which the Brampton Battalion would miss the playoffs. The fifteen-season tenure in Brampton saw the Battalion finish with a .484 win percentage in 1,020 regular season games and win four Central Division Championships and one Eastern Conference Championship.^{[citation needed]}

Relocation

During the summer of 2012, it was rumoured the Battalion franchise would relocate as their lease agreement with the Powerade Centre was nearing an end. Attendance was consistently low and declining in Brampton as well as an unfavourable lease. On November 5, 2012, an agreement in principle to move the Battalion to North Bay for the 2013–14 season was agreed upon following a meeting with the city council in North Bay. Nine days later, fans in North Bay had already bought over 2,000 season tickets as per the conditions of the agreement. The Battalion would play out of the North Bay Memorial Gardens, which had to undergo major renovations in order to meet league standards. Franchise owner Scott Abbott stated that the team would continue to use the Battalion moniker in North Bay, paying homage to the city's strong military history.^{[citation needed]}

2013–14

The Battalion began the

The Battalion played their first home game on October 11, losing 2–1 to the Peterborough Petes in front of a sold out crowd of 4,236. On October 14, the Battalion defeated the Niagara IceDogs 5–4 in a shootout for their first home win of the season.^{[citation needed]}

North Bay's finished the 2013–14 season with the best record in the Central Division, going 38–24–4–2 and earning 82 points. North Bay averaged 3,366 fans per game during the season, which represented an increase of more than 1,200 fans per game than in their final season in Brampton.^{[citation needed]}

In the post-season, the Battalion defeated the Niagara IceDogs in a close seven-game series, as North Bay won the seventh game by a 2–1 score in front of a sold out crowd of 4,249. The Battalion defeated the Barrie Colts in six games in the second round. In the third round, North Bay defeated the favoured Oshawa Generals with a four game sweep. The Battalion's run ended in the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals, losing to the Guelph Storm in five games.^{[citation needed]}

2014–15

North Bay had another strong regular season in 2014–15, as the club earned a record of 37–20–6–5 and 85 points, a three-point improvement over their point total. The Battalion finished in second place in the Central Division. Nick Paul won the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the OHL player who is a positive role model.^{[citation needed]}

The Battalion had another long playoff run in 2015, as the club swept the Kingston Frontenacs in the first round, followed by a five-game series win over the Barrie Colts. The Battalion season ended in the Eastern Conference finals, as North Bay lost to the Oshawa Generals in six games.^{[citation needed]}

2015–16

The Battalion had another solid regular season with a record of 35–23–6–4 for 80 points and second place in the Central Division in

In the post-season, North Bay defeated the Peterborough Petes in seven games in the first round, winning the seventh game by a 4–1 score in front of 3,810 fans at home. The Battalion were then swept by the Barrie Colts in the second round.^{[citation needed]}

2016–17

Following three straight seasons of 80+ points, the Battalion entered a rebuilding phase during the 2016–17 season. North Bay failed to qualify for the post-season, finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 24–38–5–1 record and 54 points.^{[citation needed]}

2017–18

The Battalion improved to a 30–28–7–3 record during the

North Bay struggled during the 2018–19 season, however, the club qualified for the post-season for the fifth time in six seasons since their move from Brampton, as the club had a 30–33–3–2 record, earning 65 points and seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Justin Brazeau, in his final season with the Battalion, scored 61 goals and 113 points, leading the OHL in goals and finishing second in overall points. Brazeau won the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy as the top scoring right winger in the OHL and the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the OHL overage player of the year.^{[citation needed]}

In the post-season, the Battalion lost to the Niagara IceDogs in five games in the first round, making it the third consecutive season that the club did not advance past the first round of the playoffs.^{[citation needed]}

2019–20

On December 10, 2019, the team announced that Stan Butler who had coached and managed the Battalion since its first game in Brampton had been reassigned as a special advisor to the team owner. Adam Dennis was named the new general manager, and Ryan Oulahen was named the interim head coach.^[1]

On March 24, 2020, the team announced that Ryan Oulahen was named the second head coach in North Bay Battalion history. Oulahen has agreed to a three-year contract to oversee a coaching staff that includes assistants Scott Wray and Bill Houlder.^{[citation needed]}

Championships

The North Bay Battalion have won two division titles and one conference championship in its first season in North Bay.^{[citation needed]}

Emms Trophy
Central Division Champions

• 2013–14
• 2021-22
• 2022-23

Bobby Orr Trophy Eastern Conference Champions

• 2013–14

Uniforms and logos

The Battalion's uniform is primarily an army-like shade of olive green. The shoulders feature black bars, with white outlining, this is then further outlined in black. Evenly between the shoulder and elbow lie three

The logo itself, featuring their mascot, Sarge, gritting his teeth is also army olive green, a mix of yellow and beige, white, fleshish pinky-orange, black, and red. The name Battalion, emblazoned on their uniform is pure red, and is created in a way that it looks three-dimensional.^[citation needed]

Arena

The North Bay Battalion play out of the

With the Battalion's arrival and subsequent 15-year lease, the Gardens underwent a $12 million renovation; the seating capacity increased to 4,246, the ice surface was reconfigured to new OHL standards, ten private boxes were added and a new two-level team dressing room was built.[2]

Players

Captains

NHL alumni

List of North Bay Battalion alumni who played in the National Hockey League (NHL):^{[citation needed]}

• Michael Amadio
• Cam Dineen
• Barclay Goodrow
• Nick Paul
• Ben Thomson

Broadcasting

• 2013–14 Defeated Niagara IceDogs 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals.
  Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 0 in conference finals.
  Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 1 in J. Ross Robertson Cup finals.
• 2014–15 Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
  Lost to Oshawa Generals 4 games to 2 in conference finals.
• 2015–16 Defeated Peterborough Petes 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
  Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
• 2016–17 Missed playoffs.
• 2017–18 Lost to Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2018–19 Lost to Niagara IceDogs 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2019–20 Missed playoffs.
• 2020–21 Cancelled.
• 2021–22 Defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
  Lost to Hamilton Bulldogs 4 games to 0 in conference finals.
• 2022–23 Defeated Mississauga Steelheads 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
  Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 3 in conference finals.

See also

• List of ice hockey teams in Ontario

References

External links

• Official website