BRAMPTON, Ont. – Coach Stan Butler is set to return to the bench when the Brampton Battalion, battling a six-game losing streak, hosts the Peterborough Petes at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Butler has served an eight-game Ontario Hockey League suspension for a two-part lecture to referee Mike Marley after a 2-1 home-ice win Jan. 22 over the Sudbury Wolves. Marley hasn’t worked since that game.

“I’m excited about getting back,” said Butler. “Eight games is a long time and, although you get to watch things from another angle, when you’re a coach you want to be on the bench.”

The Battalion, which lost 5-1 Friday night to the host Kitchener Rangers, has a won-lost-extended record of 27-18-9 for 63 points, second in the Central Division.

Said Butler: “Obviously, we’re on a six-game losing streak right now, and when you lose hockey games it gets magnified. There were a lot of things I noticed from up top where we’re getting away from what we did earlier in the year.

“In the next week or so here, we really have to work hard at getting our good habits back, getting rid of our bad habits and reestablishing the way we need to play.”

Peterborough, which was hammered 12-0 Saturday night by the host Owen Sound Attack, is 24-24-6 for 54 points, third in the East Division. The Petes slipped one point behind the Oshawa Generals, who defeated the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 4-3 via shootout.

The Battalion went 1-7-0 during Butler’s suspension, the victory a 3-2 decision Jan. 28 at Oshawa.

Goaltender Keegan Wilson looked forward to the coach’s return, noting: “His presence will definitely be known on Sunday, and we’re going to be ready to come to play.”

Said Wilson: “We just have to be mentally strong. We’re on a bit of a roller-coaster ride during the game. Sometimes we’ll be dominating them in their end, and at other times we’ll be caught in our zone. We just need everyone mentally prepared for the full 60 minutes.”

Wilson, a 19-year-old Mississauga resident in his first OHL season who made his third consecutive start at Kitchener, has a 9-8-5 record with a 2.92 goals-against average and an .889 save percentage.

“I feel sometimes we’re gripping our sticks too tight and everyone just needs to be accountable for themselves, including myself. I have to show up for every game and be ready to go from the drop of the puck.”

Said Wilson: “Everyone is a little tense right now, and we just need to get that one win to get everyone starting to relax again. It’s great adversity right now, and we just need to mentally battle through and just get that victory.”

The Battalion had a Saturday practice for the first time in three weeks after playing two consecutive three-in-three weekends.

“It’s important in the sense that I know our guys need to regroup after Friday night, and usually getting on the ice is a good way to do that,” said Butler.

“When you get on losing streaks, your team becomes very fragile and they lack confidence. When you’re on winning streaks, it’s the other way around, so one of the biggest things we have to try to do is to get the confidence of our hockey team back.”

Said Wilson: “Once we get that first win, everyone will be excited and will be able to take a deep sigh of relief. It’ll give everyone a lot more confidence, and I think we’ll get on a roll after that.”