Oshawa Generals' Ken Appleby eager for OHL playoff games in hometown of North Bay

Over these next two nights, the Oshawa Generals' Ken Appleby is looking quite forward to being public enemy No. 1 in his native North Bay.

Playoff goaltending, to borrow a phrase from the dearly departed Mark Reeds, is performance on demand. The undrafted 19-year-old goalie would be hard-pressed to conceive of a better challenge than this, backing the Generals against the North Bay Battalion in the Eastern Conference final during back-to-back games in one of the OHL's most frenzied atmospheres. It's something that Appleby couldn't have envisioned fewer than three years ago, when he was trying to break into the OHL while the Battalion were still in Brampton.

"It's definitely exciting — it's in my hometown, it's in front of my family and friends," says Appleby, who had a 33-save shutout Sunday when the Gens won 1-0 in overtime to even the best-of-7 Eastern final at 1-1. "It's a great opportunity.

"I never really thought about playing them under these circumstances. I was just always looking forward to going up there and playing in front of that hometown crowd. But, I guess, this is even better."

'Some confusion in the family'

Appleby adds he was able to procure 14 tickets for both games 3 and 4 at the North Bay Memorial Gardens, although he had 21 requests. Beyond his parents, Brian and Tina Appleby, the rivalry has made for some divided loyalties among the goalie's extended family.

"Absolutely, there's family, my aunt and uncles who cheer for the Battalion but when I'm playing there they're Gens fans," Appleby says. "There's friends who love the Battalion but whenever I'm up there they're cheering for me. There's some confusion in the family, I guess."

Oddly enough, Appleby's first junior game at Memorial Gardens was a preseason game in 2012 with the old Junior A Trappers against the Nepean Raiders and Daniel Altshuller, whom he backed up for his first two seasons with the Generals.Teenagers age, of course. With Altshuller now in the pros, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Appleby made a seemingly seamless switch from No. 2 to starter this season. During the regular season, he won the goalie triple crown by pacing the OHL in average (2.08), save percentage (.924) and shutouts (six, tied with Sault Ste. Marie's Brandon Halverson). Teams at the next level are taking more notice of the netminder with right-to-spec NHL size.

"I really have to credit my goalie coach [Zac Bierk] in Oshawa, and our coaches D.J. Smith and our assistant coach Eric Wellwood," says Appleby, who had look-sees at camps with the Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks last summer. "Plus the goalie coach we had my first year, Mike Lawrence and my trainer back home, Dave Whitehead, they've all helped with turning me around since my first year."

"My first year [2012-13] I really didn't know what to expect in the league and had never faced this kind of competition. It was really an eye-opener. Once I got used to that I felt more comfortable in the league.

"It's definitely pretty exciting to think about [NHL opportunities]," Appleby adds. "I'd be lying if I said I never think about it. With the season our whole team's had, there's been a lot of interest. But we just have to focus on winning this series."

Appleby plays behind a defensively sound Generals team, with Florida Panthers signing Josh Brown anchoring the back end. His formative years, though, were a little different. During his time playing high school hockey at a small school, Chippewa Secondary and during his age-16 year in Kirkland  Lake, he was on undermanned teams that gave up shots by the dozen.

"Throughout seasons like that, you learn a lot about your character," Appleby says. "It makes you understand that regardless of if you lose a game, you just have to be ready for the next one. It's helped me out a lot."

Fast-forwarding back to the task at hand, Appleby has a good grasp of what to expect in North Bay during a playoff game where goals could be at a premium, since the Battalion's Jake Smith is having a strong playoff. Appleby started the final game of last season's North Bay-Oshawa semifinal. The Battalion section during games 1 and 2 last weekend in Oshawa was also located to his right during the first and third periods of each game.

"They had two busloads of people, they were very loud," Ken Appleby says. "It was a bit of a warm-up for what's going to come Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a great atmosphere and they have great fans."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.