The Mississauga Steelheads head up north to face the North Bay Battalion on Thursday October 19th.
On Thursday night, it will be the first time that the Mississauga Steelheads face the North Bay Battalion since the first round of last year's OHL playoffs.
In this series, North Bay was the clear favourite to win, as they finished second in points in the Eastern Conference. Mississauga finished seventh, but they were able to push the Troops to a six game series.
This season, the Steelheads have had a red hot start. Currently, they sit first overall in the entire league standings, while North Bay is fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Mississauga has been firing on all cylinders From the goaltenders — Ryerson Leenders and Jack Ivankovic — all the way to the forwards, where every line has been contributing. Captain Chas Sharpe and Import Draft defender Jakub Fibigr have been stellar from the blue line.
There are not many flaws to be found in the Steelheads lineup, and they will certainly be a lot for the Battalion to handle on Thursday evening.
For the Battalion, their hard nosed, tight pressured style of play has been their secret weapon. North Bay is a squad that not many look forward to playing against, they don’t give up much space on the ice and they play tough in all areas of the ice.
In the Battalion’s last game on Sunday against the Generals, Owen Van Steensel led the way with a hattrick, while Dalyn Wakely put up three assists.
Another consistent offensive threat for the Battalion is Seattle Kraken prospect Ty Nelson. Nelson creates a large majority of North Bay’s offence from the blue line, and not many defenders shoot the puck as often as he does.
This will be a competitive Thursday night matchup between two teams who play a hungry play style. The Steelheads will look to continue their strong start on the road in North Bay, while the Battalion will look to continue their success against the Steelheads from last year’s playoffs. Puck drop is at 7pm at North Bay Memorial Gardens.