Game Recap vs Kitchener (6-Mar)

67s win 3-1 over the Rangers! Wow. See OHL game summary here. And Kitchener has a game summary on their site here.

IN THE NEWS
From the Ottawa Sun Don Brennan writes, Home-ice return sweet for 67's. A nice spotlight on Staubitz. A quick quote:

"We're a team that plays well at home," said Staubitz, referring to the 20-7-2 Civic Centre record that has fueled rumours impostors have climbed on the 67's bus to go get the 10-19-4 road mark.

"Home-ice advantage is something we definitely need (in the playoffs) and are striving for."

And some good things from Killer:

"It was physical, it was a hard- nosed game," said Kilrea. "If you want to use it as a yardstick, we were more determined today."

Good stuff.

PRE-GAME NOTES
The game was broadcast on radio (TEAM 1200/Dave Schreiber and AJ Jakubec) and television (Rogers Sportsnet-national/Peter Loubardias and John Druce).

* Bickell will be out of the line up – “not feeling well” and “under the weather.” (Later Jeff Hunt said he had the flu.)

* Lawrance will move up to replace him.

* Richards-KIT will be in the line up tonight (this is the first time we’ve seen him play).

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

Defensive pairings: Colbert, Joslin; Staubitz, Reid; Van Herpt, Beard.

Starting in net: Battochio. Guadagnolo on the bench.

Scratches: Spezza (healthy), Bickell (ill), Akeson (inj-wrist, Achilles), and Lahey (inj-concussion).

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Both teams came out playing physical. (In fact, we saw Bonello and Keefe-KIT having ‘words’ during the pre-game warm-up.) Both teams were fore-checking hard, though Kitchener was a little faster to the puck. The penalty calls in the first were baaaaad. Let’s just say that both teams could have been given an Oscar for their penalty drawing performances. Kitchener scored first – a nice goal by Bryson, his first career OHL goal. The 67s had trouble getting set up on their PP attempts. The Rangers did a good job of intercepting passes and sweeping the puck away. Petruzalek scored for Ottawa to tie the game. He received a super pass from VanderVeeken, and then he was off and racing down the ice. The 67s did a good job on the PK. SOG at the end of the first period were 12 for Kitchener, 16 for Ottawa.

In the second period, Kindl-KIT was in the box to start. The 67s were still having trouble getting set up on their PP. Turple-KIT was making some amazing saves (one particular save he made while lying flat out on his belly – he used his stick to block a rebound). The theatrics continued. Richards-KIT appeared to run into Battochio and knock him down, so Battochio got up and slashed Richards, and was given a penalty. Bonello was also given a penalty for Unsportsmanlike, so the Rangers had a 5 on 3 for a full 2 minutes. The 67s successfully killed it off: Colbert, Joslin, and Talbot for 2/3 and Staubitz, Van Herpt, and Petruzalek for 1/3. An outstanding job by these guys on the PK. It seemed to give the 67s new energy. The Rangers also got a couple of calls resulting in a 5 on 3 for the 67s, and during that period, Richards-KIT got a good chance to score, but it went off the post. Staubitz scored from the point, it was screened and it was a bullet. A beautiful PP goal. Reid and Duco-KIT had a fight at the end of the period. SOG were 14/26 for Kitchener and 12/28 for Ottawa. The score was 2-1 for Ottawa.

In the third, both teams continued with the hard play. Petruzalek went very hard into the end boards slamming his knees. It looked like Kindl-KIT took his feet out, and then he went sliding past the net and into the boards. He was down and writhing for a while. The 67s’ trainer Patafie came out, and eventually he was helped off the ice by Kaspar and Mancari. He was favouring his left knee, but he was back on the ice shortly. Applebaum-KIT hit Beard from behind into the boards. Van Herpt took exception and went after Rizk-KIT, who had stepped in to protect his rookie. It looked bad – Beard was 5 feet from the boards and went in awkwardly. Again Patafie came out, but Beard got up on his own and was back on the ice shortly. Both Battochio and Turple-KIT did an amazing job in nets in the third. Both teams had a number of really good scoring chances, but were blocked by the goalies. The Rangers pulled Turple with just over a minute to go, and the Rangers put on the pressure big time. They were all over the 67s in their zone. Battochio was making save after save. Bonello was able to get the puck out of their zone, to get an EN goal. The 67s won 3-1. SOG at the end of the third were 40 for Kitchener and 38 for Ottawa.

IMPRESSIONS OF THE 67s
Battochio. Absolutely outstanding. Especially during the end of the third and when the Rangers pulled Turple for the extra man. What a wonderful game for Battochio, and to have a national audience too. Hopefully he will get some favourable reports from scouts and the like. He had a superb game.

Staubitz had a great game. He battled with Richards-KIT the whole night, and he did a great job. He was strong in defence, and he scored the game winning goal. A really great showing by Staubitz.

Petruzalek had a strong game. He scored the opening goal.



Bonello. Had a feisty game. He played very physical – checking guys much larger then himself. He did get the EN goal to ensure the win.


Mancari. While he didn’t have the offensive explosion of Friday night, he still had a good night, and worked hard. Condolences to Mark, and his family, on the death of his grandmother. It must have been hard for him to be away from his family at this time.

Ouellette had a great game. sometimes I think he doesn’t get the same notice that his other line-mates do (McGinn, Alphonso). He had a great opportunity to score in the second period. He got a break-away and sped down the ice but he ran out of room. He continues to play hard and take advantage of his limited ice time. Looking forward to watching Pat and the other rookies progress. They’ve all got so much energy and are a treat to watch.

IMPRESSIONS OF THE RANGERS
Turple. Like Battochio, absolutely outstanding. He should have been given second star. It was a real pleasure watching his moves. He kept his team in the thick of it; gave them every opportunity to tie it up and even win. They were only down by 1 goal right up to the last seconds of the game. He can’t score the goals too.

Richards. A mature, confident player. And what else would you expect from Captain Canada? He makes smart plays, he skates well, makes beautiful passes, and is a physical player. He’s one of those players you love to watch, even though he’s likely going to create havoc for your team.

Duco. A very physical game. He was all over the ice. Did a great job. I was really impressed with this guy. John Druce reported on the Rogers Sportsnet broadcast said that the Rangers did some testing and they found Duco was the fastest skater on the team, and had the hardest shot on the team.

Pepe. Another guy that played physical. Getting in the 67s faces.

Valabik. A huge guy. Makes his own space and can really dominate an opponent.

SCORING
OTTAWA
1, Petruzalek, (22) (VanderVeeken, Staubitz), 12:29
2, Staubitz, (6) (Petruzalek, Reid), 14:08 (PP)
3, Bonello, (22) (Talbot), 19:28 (EN)

KITCHENER
1, Bryson, (1) (Henderson, Richards), 03:14

THREE STARS
OHL three stars were: (1) Staubitz, (2) Battochio, and (3) Bonello. Homerism! C’mon! Turple definitely deserved a star. What is it with Ottawa and their homer three star decisions? Who awards them? It looks real bad.

Missed the TEAM 1200 three stars.

RangerFan’s three star selection: (1) Turple, (2) Bryson, and (3) Valabik.

REFFING
Burchell. Called all the theatrics as real penalties, but missed all the true infractions. Nice job.

ATTENDANCE
8125. A much smaller crowed than usual, no doubt d/t the time change. A 7pm start is a little late for the little ones on a Sunday night.

NEXT UP
3.08 – Tuesday 7:00pm – away at Kingston.
3.11 – Friday 7:00pm – home vs Brampton.
3.12 – Saturday 4:00pm – home vs Kingston.
3.13 – Sunday 7:00pm – home vs Mississauga. This is another evening game that will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet.