Game Recap vs Mississauga (11-Feb)

67s win decisively, 5-2 over the IceDogs. See OHL game summary here. And the IceDogs have a game summary here. Some positives for the 67s:

The 67's were relentless striking again early in the third period as Mike [sic] Mancari put one past Michael Ouzas and gave the 67's their biggest lead of the game at 4-1. Despite a beautiful goal by Vladimir Svacina, his 2nd on the campaign, the IceDogs were unable to mount a comeback and suffered their second straight loss at the hands of the Ottawa 67's. [emphasis mine]

The 67s were relentless! Now that is nice to read.

IN THE NEWS
From SLAM! Sports, 67's down IceDogs. And similar copy in the Toronto Sun, IceDogs dumped by 67's. From the Ottawa Sun Barre Campbell writes, Kaspar no ghost in 67's key victory. Snippets:

"I've had a lot of bad luck. I've had a lot of open nets and I didn't hit (them). When I scored, I was happy," said Kaspar, a San Jose Sharks' first-round pick in 2004.

[. . .]

"They were important goals," said Kilrea. "We turned the puck over and they had a good scoring chance, but then Lukas gave us all the momentum when he scored that first goal. He and Jakub worked harder tonight and got better chances."

[. . .]

"I felt a little rough in practice and it felt a bit sore before the game, but now it's feeling all right," said Battochio, who stopped 32 shots last night for his 16th win of the season.

PRE-GAME NOTES
The game was broadcast on the TEAM 1200/Dave Schreiber and AJ Jakubec. During the pre-game show, they discussed the following:

* Again, mentioned the great effort put forth by the 67s in the game at Peterborough. It was unfortunate that they couldn’t come up with at least a point.

* The IceDogs' line up will be “pretty deleted” [sic] tonight. Out of the line up: Carcillo (season suspension), Hecimovic (2nd of a 2 game suspension), Bass (no reason given). They only have 3 forward lines.

* Battochio is back in the net, returning from his shoulder injury. Great news for Ottawa, as they seem to play so much better with him in net.

* VanderVeeken was hit in the head by a puck during the pre-game warm up in Peterborough, and had to sit out the 2nd and 3rd periods. He will be back in the line up tonight.

* Killer will do some line juggling to try and spark the offence: VanderVeeken will be moved to the Petruzalek/Kaspar line, and Bickell will be moved to the Talbot/Hulit line.

Notes on the pre-game interview with Killer. ON Peterborough: Guadagnolo played outstanding, and MacDougald for Peterborough. We had some pretty good chances. It’s tough. We want them to have punch, but they didn’t get it going. ON the veterans’ play: Some can play better. We’re in a situation where the best players need to be the best players. As a group we’re not getting the effort we want. ON Guadagnolo: Game condition is always a little tougher. Hopefully he’ll pick up where he left off. ON the game vs Mississauga: They’ve done well. They’ve got a superstar with O’Sullivan. They’re challenging for first place with Brampton. ON Akeson’s injury: Not sure when he is to be back. If you want any more it will have to come from Jeremy. [Snark!]

LINE UPS
Forwards: VanderVeeken, Petruzalek, Kaspar (started); Lawrance, Bonello, Mancari; Bickell, Talbot, Hulit; Ouellette, McGinn.

Defence pairings: Colbert, Joslin; Staubitz, Reid; Van Herpt, Beard; Jarram

Starting in goal: Battochio. Guadagnolo on the bench.

Scratches: Akeson (inj-Achilles, wrist), Alphonso (inj-concussion), Lahey (inj-concussion), Spezza (healthy).

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
First period. Wow. The 67s came out firing, scoring 2 goals in the first five minutes. Both by Kaspar. They were rushing to the net, taking advantage of Ouzas’ (MIS) rebounds. The SOG at 10 minutes were 11-3 for Ottawa. They may have caught the IceDogs off guard initially, but then they picked it up. The 67s started to get more sloppy and disorganized as the period went on, up to the last 4 minutes where it seemed as if they were coasting around, waiting for the period to be finished. The IceDogs took advantage, and kept pressing to the net. They didn’t score, but increased the SOG 14-11. The 67s were unable to score on the PP, and they even had a 5 on 3. They have to get this working, otherwise there is no detriment to other teams who may decide it’s worth it to get excessively physical.

Second period. More PPs with no scoring – on both sides. The 67s seem to have the PK under control though. Battochio made some great saves. The 67s were having trouble with their shots – they seemed to be fanning or missing outright. This was happening in Peterborough as well (according to the radio call). Ottawa played well for the period. Bickell and Owens (MIS) scored, making it 3-1. The SOG at the end of the period were 13-11 for the IceDogs. (25-24 overall for Ottawa.)

Third period. The penalties continued; the inability to score on the PP also continued. Mancari scored early in the period, making it 4-1. The 67s started sitting back again, with their three goal lead. Then Svacina (MIS) scored a really beautiful goal to make it 4-2. This seemed to refocus the 67s. A two goal lead with 7 minutes left in the third is not something to sit on in the OHL. Lawrance scored over halfway through the third, making it 5-2. The IceDogs weren’t able to come back. The 67s won 5-2.

The best line tonight was the VanderVeeken/Petruzalek/Kaspar line. They had tons of energy, rushed to the net, got chances, scored, assisted, etc. Good on Killer to change things up. It did seem to give them some jump. It was nice to see the IceDogs making mistakes, allowing the 67s to capitalize for a change. Ottawa had some break-away chances, a 2 on 1; a 3 on 1 at one point. The 67s continue to have problems with the PP. They will have to get this under control – you can’t keep going 0/ on these chances. Combined with last night, that is 0/15 chances! And one of those was a 2 man advantage for almost a full two minutes.

IMPRESSIONS OF THE 67S
VanderVeeken, Petruzalek, and Kaspar had a great night. This line was clicking, right from first drop of the puck. The other forward lines also contributed. The veterans stepped up tonight, with goals from the top three lines. Kaspar scored 2 goals, and was also very strong on the point during the PP. He was named first star by both OHL and the TEAM. It’s so great to see him stepping it up the way he has over the last few games. Petruzalek had a strong performance, with 2A. He is a speedy skater, and seems to be able to flit about the ice. He has become more physical over the last month, which means that opponents are getting physical back. He’s holding his own though. Good to see VanderVeeken back after sitting out those two periods in Peterborough. He was the only goal scorer in that game, so kudos to him for keeping up his level of play. He fit into the Petruzalek/Kaspar line really well. He’s a big, strong guy who gives the Czechs more room to do their thing, but can also rush to the net to assist (he got 2A) or get rebounds.

VanderVeeken, Petruzalek, Kaspar

Talbot had another great game. Actually, it would be more noticeable if he didn’t have a great game. He is definitely Mr. Consistent. He had an assist in this game, and was working hard every shift. Hulit also had a good game. He had a few good chances, but had some trouble with missing the puck on shots or fanning. He doesn't look like a big guy when's he out there on the ice, but he doesn't seem to mind physical play. Bickell worked hard, skated fast, had a goal. His line had a lot of jump. Got some good chances. He’s stepped up his play also.

Bickell, Talbot, Hulit

Mancari. Love him. It was in the 3rd period when I leaned into StatsGuy and said, “Okay, Mancari and Bonello need to score now, to get Killer off their case” because Killer always seems to name these two when he’s interviewed after the game. Not 5 seconds later Mancari scored! He had 1G and 1A tonight. A strong night for him. He was one of the bigger guys on the ice. When he uses that size, he can be a real physical presence - skating fast, scoring, checking, etc. Bonello. Love him. He had a good game, doing his thing. He had 1A, and drew one penalty that I was aware of. Lawrance had a solid night. He scored 1G. He took some hard hits early in the first period and throughout the game, but he continued to play strong. He fits in well on the Bonello/Mancari line. I've been really impressed with his steadiness of play since he's been playing forward.

Lawrance, Bonello, Mancari

Battochio. Came back after a month out looking like he was never gone, making his characteristic great saves. He let out a few juicy rebounds, but overall did a good job controlling the puck. He even got an assist!

The defence was okay tonight – they made a few mistakes in positioning, letting their man slip past them, and coughing up the puck. And they did let Battochio weather a few storms on his own, but overall they did a good job. One positive I noticed was that their shots from the point seem to be getting on the net. This is good. Reid had some great defensive plays – one especially when O'Sullivan got past him with the puck, and Reid skated hard to force him to the boards. Staubitz seemed to have some trouble with turning over the puck. He was physical – he got a number of penalties. He also had 1A. Colbert was named OHL third star, but I’m not sure about that. He had an okay game. One thing that I noticed – he wasn’t skating very fast tonight. At times the IceDogs forwards were able to zip past him.

IMPRESSIONS OF THE ICEDOGS
O’Sullivan really is a star player. He seems to have a mature, steadiness about his play that was especially evident during their PK. He controls the puck well, he skates well, he positions well.

Svacina’s goal was really, really nice. He just zipped to the net, around the d-men, shot, and scored. It was a nice goal.

Quincey. A speedy skater. He gets himself into the rush; quick.

Ouzas was a little shakey in the beginning of the first period. He had trouble controlling the puck, letting out rebound after rebound. He seemed to settle down a bit after the first 5 minutes of the game, but he did continue to let out those rebounds. I think that he was really upset in the third when Lawrance scored to regain the 3 goal advantage. His teammates didn’t look too happy either.

Other guys I noticed: Pszenyczny has a similar style to O’Sullivan. Owens was speedy. Legein was all over the ice.

SCORING
OTTAWA
1, Kaspar, (16) (Petruzalek, VanderVeeken), 00:27
1, Kaspar, (17) (Petruzalek, VanderVeeken), 04:43
2, Bickell, (20) (Talbot), 11:53
3, Mancari, (24) (Staubitz, Bonello), 02:15
3, Lawrance, (3) (Mancari, Battochio), 13:33

MISSISSAUGA
2, Owens, (11) (Dacosta, O'Sullivan), 01:28
3, Svacina, (2) (Dacosta), 12:32

THREE STARS
OHL three stars were: (1) Kaspar, (2) Battochio, and (3) Colbert.

TEAM 1200 three stars were: (1) Kaspar (at his best tonight; should have had a hat trick; really firing; solid effort with 2 goals), (2) Petruzalek (set up Kaspar for a pair of goals; great instincts out there; great speed), and (3) Battochio (a couple of unbelievable stops; pretty routine but very solid; 32 saves and 1A).

REFFING
Oakman. An all around bad job. He was calling everything at first. But after the 5 on 3 call for Ottawa, he put the whistle away for the IceDogs and would not call a penalty. They were doing some pretty bad stuff. At one point an IceDog player pulled down VanderVeeken and then rolled him over (imagine a somersault) and then sort of sat on him. WTF? You could just tell he was waiting for Ottawa to do something – anything – before he called another Mississauga penalty. Oakman was obviously working off of some sort of quota. That is crap. If they do it, call it. He missed a Too Many Men, but the fans didn’t. This led to chants of ‘Can’t you count ref?” and “You need to go back to school.” Etc. etc. etc.

ATTENDANCE
9862. A sell-out. (Hear that CJOH? This is a sell-out.)

NEXT UP
Sunday (1.13.2005) at home vs Belleville.