Battalion schedule released

NORTH BAY, Ont. — The North Bay Battalion will open the 2022-23 season on Friday, Sept. 30, with a 7:07 p.m. visit to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the Ontario Hockey League club announced Thursday.

The Battalion, which plays its first five games on the road because of a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event at Memorial Gardens, faces the Greyhounds again the next night.

The Battalion plays 34 home games, comprising 18 Thursdays, 13 Sundays, two Wednesdays and one Saturday, which is the traditional New Year’s Eve game, against the Oshawa Generals. For the first time in franchise history dating to 1998-99, when the club was based in Brampton, the Troops will not play host to a Thanksgiving Monday game.

The OHL schedule returns to the format used before the pandemic-driven arrangement of last season, which saw almost no inter-conference play.

Within the Eastern Conference’s Central Division, North Bay faces the Sudbury Wolves eight times and the Barrie Colts, Mississauga Steelheads and Niagara IceDogs six times apiece. The Battalion plays East Division clubs four times each and Western Conference opponents twice each, except for Sault Ste. Marie, which accounts for four games.

Home games on Wednesday and Thursday start at 7 p.m., while Sunday home games begin at 2 p.m., with an exception on Feb. 5, when the Kingston Frontenacs visit at 4 p.m. as part of YourTV’s Hockey Day in the OHL. The Dec. 31 game against Oshawa starts at 1 p.m.

The home opener, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, against the Peterborough Petes, is the latest in franchise history. The Troops’ first home opener at North Bay was Oct. 11, 2013, also against Peterborough, after nine road dates.

The 2021-22 OHL season opened Oct. 7, with North Bay defeating the visiting Petes 7-4 in the first of three games to get under way after the previous campaign was lost to the coronavirus pandemic. Before last year, the latest season start in franchise history was Sept. 26, 2014, when Barrie edged the host Battalion 5-4 in overtime.

BATTALION BULLETS: The Battalion’s busiest month is November, which features 13 games. The Troops, who play 11 games in each of December, January, February and March, have 10 in October, in addition to the one in September … The Battalion plays a season-high five consecutive road games on three occasions, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 8, Nov. 25 to Dec. 3 and Feb. 18-26 … The longest stretch of home games is five, from Feb. 2-16 … The Troops play seven of their last nine games at home, culminating in a March 26 visit by Mississauga … The Battalion has two home-and-home sets, Dec. 17-18 opening at Barrie, and Dec. 28 and 30 against Sudbury, opening at home … The Troops have consecutive home dates against Oshawa, with the Generals, who play twice in the interim, back in the Gateway of the North on Jan. 5 after the New Year’s Eve fixture … North Bay visits the Ottawa 67’s on Monday, Feb. 20, the insipidly named Family Day holiday … The Battalion has five sets of three games in as many days, with four of them completed by Nov. 26 … The exhibition schedule consists of three games, the fewest the Troops have played, made up of the customary home and away dates with the Owen Sound Attack and a meeting with Ottawa at Pembroke, Ont.

Following is the complete schedule of exhibition and regular-season games, with home games capitalized:

Exhibition

Sunday, Sept. 11 vs. OWEN SOUND 2:00
Tuesday, Sept. 20 @ Owen Sound 7:00
Saturday, Sept. 24 vs. Ottawa at Pembroke 7:00

Regular Season

Friday, Sept. 30 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7:07

Saturday, Oct. 1 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7:07
Thursday, Oct. 6 @ Peterborough 7:05
Friday, Oct. 7 @ Kingston 7:00
Saturday, Oct. 8 @ Ottawa 7:00
Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. PETERBOROUGH 7:00
Thursday, Oct. 20 vs. OTTAWA 7:00
Sunday, Oct. 23 vs. BARRIE 2:00
Thursday, Oct. 27 @ Windsor 7:30
Friday, Oct. 28 @ London 7:00
Sunday, Oct. 30 @ Guelph 2:00

Thursday, Nov. 3 vs. NIAGARA 7:00
Friday, Nov. 4 @ Hamilton 7:00
Saturday, Nov. 5 @ Erie 7:00
Thursday, Nov. 10 vs. GUELPH 7:00
Saturday, Nov. 12 @ Barrie 7:30
Sunday, Nov. 13 vs. KITCHENER 2:00
Thursday, Nov. 17 vs. KINGSTON 7:00
Friday, Nov. 18 @ Kitchener 7:30
Saturday, Nov. 19 @ Owen Sound 7:30
Thursday, Nov. 24 vs. OTTAWA 7:00
Friday, Nov. 25 @ Hamilton 7:00
Saturday, Nov. 26 @ Niagara 7:00
Wednesday, Nov. 30 @ Sudbury 7:05

Friday, Dec. 2 @ Kingston 7:00
Saturday, Dec. 3 @ Peterborough 7:05
Thursday, Dec. 8 vs. SAULT STE. MARIE 7:00
Friday, Dec. 9 @ Mississauga 7:00
Sunday, Dec. 11 vs. SAGINAW 2:00
Thursday, Dec. 15 vs. MISSISSAUGA 7:00
Saturday, Dec. 17 @ Barrie 7:30
Sunday, Dec. 18 vs. BARRIE 2:00
Wednesday, Dec. 28 vs. SUDBURY 7:00
Friday, Dec. 30 @ Sudbury 7:05
Saturday, Dec. 31 vs. OSHAWA 1:00

Thursday, Jan. 5 vs. OSHAWA 7:00
Sunday, Jan. 8 vs. NIAGARA 2:00
Wednesday, Jan. 11 @ Sudbury 7:05
Thursday, Jan. 12 vs. SAULT STE. MARIE 7:00
Sunday, Jan. 15 vs. FLINT 2:00
Thursday, Jan. 19 vs. HAMILTON 7:00
Friday, Jan. 20 @ Mississauga 7:00
Sunday, Jan. 22 vs. SUDBURY 2:00
Thursday, Jan. 26 vs. WINDSOR 7:00
Saturday, Jan. 28 @ Niagara 7:00
Sunday, Jan. 29 @ Oshawa 6:05

Wednesday, Feb. 1 @ Sudbury 7:05
Thursday, Feb. 2 vs. MISSISSAUGA 7:00
Sunday, Feb. 5 vs. KINGSTON 4:00
Thursday, Feb. 9 vs. SARNIA 7:00
Sunday, Feb. 12 vs. BARRIE 2:00
Thursday, Feb. 16 vs. ERIE 7:00
Saturday, Feb. 18 @ Barrie 7:30
Monday, Feb. 20 @ Ottawa 2:00
Friday, Feb. 24 @ Saginaw 7:05
Saturday, Feb. 25 @ Flint 7:00
Sunday, Feb. 26 @ Sarnia 2:05

Thursday, March 2 vs. SUDBURY 7:00
Friday, March 3 @ Mississauga 7:00
Sunday, March 5 vs. NIAGARA 2:00
Wednesday, March 8 vs. OWEN SOUND 7:00
Friday, March 10 @ Oshawa 7:35
Sunday, March 12 vs. LONDON 2:00
Thursday, March 16 vs. PETERBOROUGH 7:00
Sunday, March 19 vs. SUDBURY 2:00
Thursday, March 23 vs. HAMILTON 7:00
Saturday, March 25 @ Niagara 7:00
Sunday, March 26 vs. MISSISSAUGA 2:00