Oshawa Generals took care of North Bay Battalion 5-1 in the Ontario Hockey League on Saturday evening. Both sides came into the fixture having played just one game already, sitting fourth and fifth respectively on the table with zero points between them. The result settles things a little for the hosts, who had lost 3-7 to Peterborough Petes back in March before winning 3-2 against Mississauga Steelheads earlier this month.
And here's the thing — five goals against one is not a close contest. North Bay had managed a 2-1 win over Barrie Colts on their opening night, so this was a step back from that momentum. The hosts, meanwhile, were coming off that narrow victory over Mississauga and looked the more settled side.
To be fair, both teams are still finding their feet with only a single game in the books. The standings tell you nothing much at this stage — one win each, zero points, zero losses. It is early hockey and the table will look very different by season's end.
North Bay's recent form has been uneven. They lost three straight to Hamilton Bulldogs in April, conceding 18 goals in those four games, before finally breaking through against Barrie. Oshawa showed flashes of inconsistency too, losing 5-6 to Barrie and 4-3 to Ottawa in March, but the 3-2 win over Mississauga suggests something is clicking.
The scoreline does not lie. Five goals is a lot to concede, and North Bay will need to regroup before their next outing. Oshawa now sits on top of their immediate comparison, having taken maximum points from this encounter.
