North Bay Battalion take Game 1 of playoff series against Sudbury Wolves

North Bay Battalion vs. Sudbury Wolves Game 1 Fans packed the North Bay Memorial Gardens for the first game in the Round 2 play off series with Sudbury Wolves on Thursday night.

It was a busy night at Memorial Gardens in North Bay as more than 4,000 junior hockey fans came to see the battle of the north between the Battalion and Sudbury Wolves.

These were two northern Ontario OHL teams that haven't faced off against each other in the playoffs since 1992.

Fans were excited for the match-up.

The Battalion - went 4-1-3 against Sudbury in the regular season, but they were without netminder Dom Divenctis for Game 1 of the Round 2 playoff series Thursday night.

Both mayors have a bet on the outcome of the series: the loser will have to wear the winning mayor's team jersey at council.

So how did they do?

Turns out it was a big night for the Troops.

North Bay scored early and pulled away in the third period with two goals from Andrew Leblanc to help the Battalion secure a 5-2 win.

Game 2 is Saturday in North Bay.

Meanwhile - down in Michigan, it was a tough one for the Soo Greyhounds.

They went head-to-head against the Saginaw Spirit and lost 4-0.

The Soo's next game also Saturday at the Dow Event Centre in Saginaw.