The North Bay Battalion welcomed some old faces to Gateway City on Thursday when the Windsor Spitfires came to town. In the end, the Spitfires won 5-3.

“The result is not there, but there are a lot of positives,” explained head coach Ryan Oulahen. “I think we’re going to watch the game again tomorrow and like a lot of the things we’re doing. They’re one of the more successful teams at five-on-five, and to limit them to 21 shots, that’s a really good job from our guys. The effort is there.

“When you go into a game like that in junior hockey, especially when things like that happen in the first period, you can tend to fold sometimes. These guys didn’t do that and I’m very proud of their last 40 minutes.

On the Spitfires are currently the former troops Tnias Mathurin and Owen Outwater. A former first round pick, Outwater had played a year in the Battalion green, he had already returned to North Bay as a member of the Kingston Frontenacs. However, it was a first return for Mathurin, who had played part of three seasons with the Troops, including three trips to the Eastern Conference final.

As part of the battalion’s crowded 2004 crop, Mathurin was traded to Windsor that off-season.

“We love Tnias,” Oulahen said. “What’s great about having a guy like that is he’s moving to a different team this year and when we were in Windsor and we had a good result in that game, Tnias is heading to the gym coaches and gave everyone a big hug.

“He is a person of very high character, an incredible person, who has done so much for our team. Really, the turnaround that’s happened with our group, he’s a big part of it. It’s nice to see him doing well, and I hope and pray that he continues to stay healthy because we all think he’s a potential professional hockey player.

Roster note, winger Lirim Amidovski was not in the lineup, but according to Oulahen after the game, he expects him to be in Sunday’s game against Sudbury.

After an emotional pre-game ceremony honoring local hockey legend Butch Turcotte, who passed away last summer, the game began with momentum initially in favor of North Bay. The Troops had the first big chance, but Spitfires goalie Joey Costanzo made the save. Moments later, Windsor defenseman Carter Hicks (1) fired a puck toward Charlie Laroque from the blue line, beating the goalie just above his freshly painted helmet. Support on the game went to Outwater.

A few minutes later, while Andrew LeBlanc was serving a high-sticking penalty, Liam Greentree (10) shoveled the puck under Laroque’s pads from the slot to give Windsor a 2-0 lead. A few minutes later, Ethan Belchetz (5), who, like a hot knife through butter, bypassed the defenders of the troops and beat Laroque with a scoring goal.

Continuing the assault in the first period, Anthony Cristoforo (4) threw the puck at the net from the corner, and the puck slipped past Laroque.

In total, Windsor scored four goals on 10 shots in the first period, making the score 4-0 heading into the first intermission. This allowed Mike McIvor to replace Laroque in net for the second period. The last time ‘Cash Money’ appeared at the Battalion compound was on October 25 during a 3-1 defeat to the Wolves in Sudbury, after he had been struggling with injuries ever since.

The result didn’t change early though, as 1:07 into the second, and the first shot McIvor saw, beat him, with Ryan Abraham (8) being credited with the goal.

North Bay finally gained momentum when Zach Wilson (1) fired a shot from the point and before his beloved Yankees became a laughingstock, Costanzo’s shutout attempt was over. The goal was Wilson’s first in the OHL.

Moments later, with the Troops on the power play, Ethan Procyszyn (13) slipped the puck under Costanzo, and believe it or not, he wasn’t home. North Bay therefore left a message on the beep to make the score 5-2.

With 3:04 left in the period, former Powassan Voodoo superstar Reyth Smith had a golden chance. Dipsy scrawling towards Costanzo, the rookie put the puck on goal. But just as he taught Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams how to hit home runs in the World Series, Costanzo made stopping look easy. The rebound was also there, but the goalkeeper remained calm.

The score after two periods of play was 5-2 for the Spitfires.

After a good bit of pressure from the battalion to start the third, they pounced. Late in the frame and with McIvor pulled, Procyszyn (14) slipped the puck past a diving Costanzo to bring North Bay within two.

However, it was as close as it got as Windsor held on for the 5-3 victory.

The troops are back in action on Sunday when they host the Sudbury Wolves. Puck drop from Memorial Gardens is at 3:00 p.m.

“It’s really good to have two days to prepare them,” Oulahen said.

“They’re a team in our division and I think it’s going to be tough all year with them. They got two good results for them, so we have to do something against them on Sunday.