ROUND 2 GAME 3 – Sudbury at Ottawa (11-Apr) – 67s Win, Take Series Lead Again (2-1)

The 67s win 6-2 over the Wolves. See OHL game summary here. And they also have a quick note on the OHL Playoffs Tracker here. See also the 67s site for playoff notes. And the Wolves’ site as well [link].

IN THE NEWS
(4.11.2005/Previous game in Sudbury)
From the Sudbury Star Scott Mitchell writes, Wolves even series. Mills on the GWG:

Mills was excited to get the game winner after being a healthy scratch in Game 1 of the series.

“I’m just ecstatic. It was amazing. I never thought it would happen, but it did,” he said after the game.

And an injury:

The Game 2 war of attrition came with consequences, however. Wolves defensive stalwart Adam McQuaid left the game near the end of the third period when he crashed heavily into the boards and lay motionless on the ice.

He left under his own power but was obviously woozy and did not return. He did not make the trip to Ottawa and his status for the rest of the series is questionable.

“It’s a possibility, but we’ll have to wait to see what the doctor says (today),” Foligno said of McQuaid’s possible return. “He’s going to get assessed again (today), but we’ll find out a little more (Monday) about his injury.”

(4.12.2005)
From SLAM! Sports, 67's gain upper hand. And similar copy in the Toronto Sun with this headline, 67's collar Wolves. From the Sudbury Star Scott Mitchell writes, Wolves shell-shocked. From the Ottawa Citizen Chris Yzerman writes, Attack overshadows 67's win. On the incident:

"Was it reminiscent of Bertuzzi or what?" 67's coach and general manager Brian Kilrea asked in reference to the infamous attack by the Vancouver Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi on the Colorado Avalanche's Steve Moore in an NHL game last year.

Last night's incident, which happened with play going on near the 67's blue-line, resulted in a minor and match penalty for Musselman, a right-winger, which means it'll automatically be reviewed by the league.

It didn't take a genius to figure out how Kilrea saw it.

"It's a reminiscent hit of Bertuzzi, that's the way I look at it," he said, making a thinly veiled accusation toward Wolves coach and general manager Mike Foligno. "You wonder, did that guy do it on his own or did he do it on his own?"

It was a sentiment echoed by others in the 67's dressing room, who felt Musselman wasn't out there to help the Wolves overcome a four-goal deficit.

Foligno said he didn't see the incident, but denied Kilrea's claim. "Nobody was sent out."

Musselman also was tight-lipped over the incident, but expressed hope that Mancari was OK.

In the end, Mancari was OK. How did he feel about it?

"Not too good, but it's good we won the game," he said.

I hope Mark’s okay. It looked real bad.

From the Ottawa Sun Barre Campbell writes, 67's reach Beech. A snippet:

"We know we can score," said winger Brad Bonello. "We had seven 20-goal scorers in the regular season, and we know if we get the puck in a certain position, we can put it in the net."

And also from the Ottawa Sun Don Brennan writes, Mancari mauling has Bertuzzi look. Musselman himself:

Sitting on a table outside the Wolves' room after the game, Musselman’s knuckles were cut.

"I can't say anything about it," he replied when asked about the incident. "Personally, I don't want to talk about it. I feel bad (for Mancari) and I hope he's all right."

PRE-GAME NOTES
The game was broadcast on radio (TEAM 1200/Dave Schreiber and AJ Jakubec) and television (Rogers Television 22/Scott MacArthur, Ed Hand, and Lee Versage). Lawrance will get a shot in the line up tonight.

PREGAME INTERVIEW w/ KILLER (AJ)
(On last game) We were fortunate to come back with a split. They’re a good team; they ended up ahead of us [in the standings]. It’s gonna take our best to beat them.
(On Battochio) No doubt Danny is key, he’s the reason we’re still playing.
(On others who’ve played well) Talbot’s having an exceptional series out there, especially the first. Hulit’s first 2 goals in game 1 were good. As a whole, the defence played well but Staubitz – he’s played really well. Petruzalek and Kaspar have been checking. You have to finish your checks and work hard. It’s survival of the fittest. You just can’t let Sudbury roam around.
(On Sudbury getting physical with Battochio) You always have to protect your goaltenders, but the biggest is the ref. If he’s not calling, you have to point it out.
(On tonight’s game) We need to play a hard nosed game because home doesn’t mean you’re going to get lucky. If you don’t work your know Sudbury will.

PREGAME INTERVIEW w/ FOLIGNO (Schreibs)
(On last game) Our team was getting stronger and stronger as the game wore on, the flow we got with the third period and OT. We were getting chances. We know we’ll give up a few. We need to limit their quality scoring chances. If we sit back and watch we’ll be in trouble. We need to keep taking it to them.
(On Mills) I asked for some other scoring, not just relying on the regular guys. He’s such a fast skater. We used him in the Brampton series. He’s worked really hard for us and earned it. He’s got speed, but is not as gritty.
(On Beech) He’s played really well for us. Overall he had a real strong game. He’s good competition for Battochio. Ehelechner has the flu, and has been sitting out. Beech has done well for us all season.
(On Martynowski) He’ll be back. The guys want to play. They are hungry to get back in the line up.
(On tonight’s game) We have to make sure that we don’t allow fans to be a factor. We have to keep the game simple early.

It was good to see Russ Moyer on the 1st intermission on the Rogers Television broadcast.

LINE UP
*Forwards: McGinn, Talbot, Hulit; Bickell, Bonello, Mancari; Akeson, Petruzalek, Kaspar; VanderVeeken, Ouellette, Alphonso.
*Defensive pairings: Colbert, Joslin; Staubitz, Reid; Van Herpt, Lawrance.
*Starting in goal: Battochio, and Guadagnolo as back-up.
*Scratches: Spezza, Jarram, Kiriakou (healthy), Lahey (inj-conc), and Beard (last minute scratch; replaced by Lawrance).

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
First period. In the first period both teams came out fast, but Sudbury scored first and early (Chaumont, 0:39). This was their game plan – take the crowd out of it early. Sudbury then got into some penalty trouble, taking 3 straight – one of them giving the 67s a 5-on-3. The 67s scored on the PP (5-on-4), a rocket of a shot by Colbert, to tie the score up at 1-1. After their third PP call, Foligno went nuts on the bench – yelling and pointing at the 67s’ bench, yelling at the ref. The 67s took the next penalty, but were able to kill it off.

The line of Akeson/Petruzalek/Kaspar were working hard. Especially impressed with Petruzalek. He was checking, intercepting Sudbury passes, speeding around the ice. Bickell also had a good period. He made some good checks. Battochio made some outstanding saves (quick glove catches). The 67s had some chances, with pucks hitting the posts (Mancari’s shot hit the post and then bounced to the other side of the net where Bickell was waiting; his shot hit the other post). SOG favoured the Wolves, (15 for Ottawa and 17 for Sudbury). The score was tied 1-1.

Ottawa scores their first!

Second period. In the second period 67s took a commanding lead, scoring 3 unanswered goals. The 67s scored SH, a goal by Hulit – a real game-turning goal (2-1). Talbot was rushing up on the right, with Hulit skating with the puck on the left. He looked like he might pass to Talbot, but took the shot himself. Petruzalek and Kaspar were also rewarded for their hard work when they each scored (4-1). Beech was pulled after the goal by Petruzalek, with Ehelechner replacing him, and he was quickly put to the test, letting in a goal just a few minutes later by Kaspar.

Beech out, Ehelechner in.

There were some hard hits, quite a few questionable penalty calls on both sides. VanderVeeken and Eaton fought, with VanderVeeken getting a lot of hits at the beginning and Eaton getting a few at the end. Staubitz took a bad penalty (10 min misconduct) for yapping. Battochio had another couple of outstanding saves, one earning a standing O from the appreciative fans. SOG again favoured the Wolves (Ottawa 22 and Sudbury 29). The score was 4-1 for Ottawa.

Some of Danny’s awesome moves I managed to capture:

Positioning . . .

Sprawling . . .

Reid stands by . . .

Stopping the puck.

Third period. In the third period, the Wolves came back early on with a goal by Foligno to make it 4-2. But the 67s didn’t sit back, scoring two more (Bonello and Petruzalek) to make it 6-2. After the Petruzalek goal, Beech came out and Ehelechner went back in.

Petruzalek scores!

. . . and back comes Beech.

After all the circling, Stortini and Staubitz finally squared off. I couldn’t really see the beginning of the fight, as it was up against the boards and all the fans were on their feet. But I did see the end where Staubitz took Stortini down. They both went to the box, but then Stortini was escorted off the ice with a 10 min misconduct, along with his teammate Foligno (10 min misconduct).

With the game pretty much in control, a really ugly incident occurred. With about 7 minutes left to go, Musselman tried to engage Mancari (and let’s just think about that for a minute – why would one of the best players for Ottawa tussle with a lesser player, to get a penalty and incur the wrath of Killer – who we know, doesn’t hesitate to discipline Mancari – with only minutes left to go, his team up, etc.). Mancari wouldn’t engage, so Musselman sucker punched him. Mancari went down and didn’t get up. In fact, he didn’t move at all for what seemed like a long time (probably 30-60 sec).

It was an ugly, ugly incident. Fortunately, Mancari did get off the ice under his own steam with help from his teammates and the trainer Brian Patafie. It really marred the remainder of the game, with fans wondering what was going on in the dressing room, how injured was Mancari, etc. Musselman received a roughing (2 min) and a match penalty (5 min + mandatory suspension). He will be out for the remaining games thankfully. We really don’t want to see that stuff happen. We’ll see how Branch handles it. No further incidents occured, and no scoring. The game ended with the 67s winning 6-2. SOG at the end were 37 for Ottawa and 38 for Sudbury.

The defence did a good job containing Chaumont and Pouliot. Petruzalek had an outstanding game. Kaspar played really well. I’ve really noticed Bickell’s play throughout the playoffs. He’s been working hard, skating, checking, getting chances AND no dramatics. He goes out on his shifts and works hard.

It’s so nice to see all lines firing, the defence strong in their positions, and of course watching Danny is magical. Now if they could only bring it every game. No sitting back.

S’more pics from the game:

Colbert and Chaumont, Beer in the background.

Bonello, upset with a call against him.

Mancari.

McGinn, shooting the puck.

Talbot

Petruzalek, first star!

SCORING
OTTAWA
1, Colbert, (3) (Bonello, Bickell), 03:59 (PP)
2, Hulit, (5) (Talbot, Staubitz), 05:53 (SH)
2, Petruzalek, (3) (Akeson, Van Herpt), 06:43
2, Kaspar, (3) (Akeson, Petruzalek), 09:20
3, Bonello, (3) (Mancari, Reid), 08:06
3, Petruzalek, (4) (Kaspar, Staubitz), 09:04 (PP)

SUDBURY
1, Chaumont, (4) (Blaho, McDonough), 00:39
3, Foligno, (4) (Hastings, Sample), 03:08

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

TEAM 1200 three stars were: (1) Petruzalek, (2) Kaspar, and (3) Battochio.

REFFING
Beer.

ATTENDANCE
8035.

NEXT UP
Game 4 – Wednesday, April 13, 2005, 7:00 pm, Sudbury @ Ottawa
Game 5 – Friday, April 15, 2005, 7:30 pm, Ottawa @ Sudbury
*Game 6 – Sunday, April 17, 2005, 2:00 pm, Sudbury @ Ottawa
*Game 7 – Monday, April 18, 2005, 7:30 pm, Ottawa @ Sudbury

*Game to be Played If Necessary