Game Recap vs Brampton (04-Feb)

67s lose 5-1 to the Battalion. See OHL game summary here. And the Battalion have a game summary posted here. An interesting snippet:

Two fights enlivened the third period, which was otherwise flat as the 67’s folded their tent. Jason Cassidy battled Ottawa’s Elgin Reid at 8:59, and Lynes, who had been boarded by Arron Alphonso, dropped the gloves and pummeled him at 19:47.

IN THE NEWS
PRE-GAME NEWS
From the Ottawa Sun, Barre Campbell writes about the three goaltenders for the 67s, Duo's smoking between pipes.

POST-GAME NEWS
From the Ottawa Citizen, Dismal 67's not up to task [sub req]. And from the Ottawa Sun, Barre Campbell writes Tough Battalion overruns 67's. Some quotes. First, Coach Kilrea:

"We aren't a good team," coach/GM Brian Kilrea said of the 67's (23-20-6-1). "We didn't do very much of anything. It's an attitude, and I think some guys are still trying to learn how to win."

[. . .]

"They came out and worked harder to every puck," said Kilrea. "They got on the puck quicker and did a lot of things better than we did. They worked harder for loose pucks and every battle, they won."

And, from Coach Butler:

"They didn't come out with a lot of jump, and we expected them to come out with a lot more than they did," admitted Brampton coach Stan Butler. "I was really happy. I thought our guys did well. We got some goals from guys who don't normally score for us, which is always important."

PRE-GAME NOTES
The game was broadcast on radio (TEAM 1200/Dave Schreiber and AJ Jakubec), and on television (Rogers 22/Scott MacArthur, Ed Hand, and Lee Versage).

Pre-game interview with Killer (via TEAM 1200/Schreibs): On the game last Sunday in Brampton: Goaltending was outstanding. Some individuals had good games. On Spezza: He works hard in practice. Knows that he gave up a lot to come to Ottawa, so they want to make him feel like he's a part of the team. On Lawrance: He works hard, gets the puck out of his zone well. He allows Bonello and Mancari to go in deep. But tonight they're going to use him as a left d-man. On Brampton without Wolski: They skated well last night, better than they did when we played against them last.

Pre-game interview with Guadagnolo (via Rogers 22): Guadagnolo said he was pleased with the wins he has had while Battochio’s been out of the line up. He said that the team played better in front of him – more effort in the defensive zone. He said that the team needs to go out and work hard and try to decrease the SOG.

LINE UP
Forwards: Bickell, Petruzalek, Kaspar; McGinn, Bonello, Mancari (started); VanderVeeken, Talbot, Hulit; Alphonso, Ouellette.
Defensive pairings: Colbert, Staubitz; Joslin, Reid; Lawrance, Beard; Jarram.
Starting in goal: Guadagnolo. Spezza on the bench.
Out: Van Herpt (inj-ankle), Battochio (inj-shoulder), Lahey (inj-concussion), and Akeson (inj-Achilles).

Also important to note, that Brampton was missing star player Wolski (inj-knee), along with these d-men: Simmons, Duff, Oreskovic, and Boomsma.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
First period. The 67s came out on a tear – playing very physical. Any Brampton player who touched the puck was checked for the first couple of minutes. (Mancari was especially eager – left his feet on one. McGinn got his elbow up on another.) Then something happened – the 67s stopped checking, their energy level waned. They had 2 SOG at 9:48 into the period! The 67s had a great chance on the PP, where Petruzalek missed the open net. Brampton scored first (Aquino). There was some debate as to whether the goal went in or bounced off the cross bar. The goal light did not go on initially, but Hobor called it. Guadagnolo argued, but the goal counted. (Reviewing later on Rogers 22, the view wasn’t clear, and the commentators concluded it was a goal.) The Battalion scored again (Snow), SH, on a rush. It was a terrible break down in defensive play, with the 67s not watching their man, only the puck. Some of the 67s players were obviously frustrated – banging their sticks on the ice or punching the glass (Hulit). Killer put out the rookie/energy line (Alphonso/Ouellette/McGinn) halfway through the first period. Other changes to lines: Bickell to Talbot/Hulit line , VanderVeeken to Petruzalek/Kaspar line. At the end of the first period, the SOG were 4-12. 4 shots by the 67s in the first period! It was a poor showing after an energetic start. It was as if they just fell apart.

Second Period. The second period started off on a sour note: Guadagnolo came out of the net to catch the puck and missed, so Colbert had to take the Brampton player out (getting a penalty). Kaspar was checking – had a huge hit on Cassidy (BRA), and Ouellette scored his first OHL career goal. But the 67s continued to struggle, with bad passing, bad positioning, and looking really tired. The SOG at the end of the second were 18-26.

Third Period. Bah. Terrible effort. Fans booed the 67s’ horrible PP attempt. They couldn’t control the puck at all. When the Battalion scored, many fans packed it in and began filing out. It was a terrible game by the 67s, one of the worst showings of the season.

IMPRESSIONS OF THE 67S
Well, you know it was a bad game when the best line was the 4th line, and the only goal scored was by a rookie in his first game back after sitting out for a month with mono! Yikes. As a group, they just didn’t have the same intensity of play as the opposition. They had very poor puck control, extremely poor passing (what is up with that?). Sloppy.

I thought that McGinn played a good game. He was moved up to play with Bonello/Mancari, and he also contributed on the rookie line Alphonso/Ouellette. He worked hard. And congratulations to Ouellette on his first OHL goal.

(Just to note: Staubitz was wearing an ‘A’ on his sweater. I wonder if it will be removed when Akeson returns. I know that they’ve been saying in interviews that Staubitz has become a leader, so who knows.)

IMPRESSIONS OF THE BATTALION
Listening to pre-game interview with Coach Butler, it sounded like he was a little concerned that they had so many players out of the line up. I don’t think he realized just how badly the 67s could play. The Battalion didn’t play like they were missing any bodies, so good for the guys who got into the line up and those who ramped up their level of play. The Battalion took a few hits from the 67s early in the game, but when the 67s started sliding the Battalion just kept at them. Good passing and puck control with this team. They wanted it more than the 67s, as was evident by their beating the 67s to the puck, winning the battles, etc. Good on them.

Aquino. Fast skater, good puck handing. A mature player in terms of positioning, etc. His goal, the first, really ramped up the energy level for the Battalion (and drained the 67s’).

Houle. Great passes – sharp, crisp. Speedy skating.

Harrison and deGray are both tall guys, but slim. Harrison had speed, rushing to the net to make the play for the SH goal by Snow. Nice goal.

Machesney was solid in goal. His defence did a good job in front of him (considering there were only 5!).

Oulahen and Vernace both looked good. Same with Lojek. And Lynes didn’t take anything – he fought with Aphonso in the third, and got the better of him by far.

Hell, they all looked good next to the 67s.

SCORING
OTTAWA
2, Ouellette, (1) (McGinn), 03:38

BATTALION
1, Aquino, (16) (Oulahen, Vernace), 04:22
1, Snow, (7) (Harrison), 12:24 (SH)
2, McPherson, (9) (McDonald, Martin), 02:20 (PP)
2, Lynes, (10) (Lojek, Sweeney), 09:11
3, Martin, (14) (McDonald, Lojek), 13:58 (PP)

THREE STARS
OHL three stars were: (1) Machesney (BRA), (2) Aquino (BRA), and (3) Ouellette. I don’t know how they could pick a 67s player for three star and not be considered homers. Brampton deserved all the spots.

TEAM 1200 three stars, all from Brampton, were: (1) Aquino (a little guy with great wheels, nice opening goal; has speed and strength; strong on the puck; works so hard and doesn’t lose battles; most dangerous guy on the ice); (2) Vernace (took 2, 3 big hits early on; poised with the puck; ran the PP really well; 1A); and (3) Lojek (for his efforts at both ends of the ice; solid, simple game in his zone; 2A).

REFFING
Hobor.

ATTENDANCE
9596.

NEXT UP
Sunday afternoon in Kingston.