Ottawa 3 – Kingston 2 : A Good Start

A quick summary of Ottawa’s first game of the year – a pre-season affair with the Kingston Frontenacs.

The lineups were:

Cowick, Couture, Voboryov
Martindale, Kiriakou, Nesbitt
Zamec, Lindsay, Toffoli
Sonnenburg, Latta, Schinkelshoek

Defensive Pairings:
Hartwick, Cuma
Demers, Zanetti
Birkhoff, Ryan

Courchaine and Perugini shared the goaltending jobs with Courchaine getting the first half and Perugini getting the second half of the game.

Scratches were Carnevale, Lahey, Paryzek, Anderson, and Hanes.

So, it was my first time to see some of the new faces on the team and I must admit it takes a while to get used to new players in jerseys that we expected others to be wearing – especially Jamie McGinn’s number 88.

Random thoughts:

• It may be my imagination but the team looks a tad tougher this year. Perhaps it’s still the eagerness of the kids who are still working for a position or they really are a more physical bunch.
  
  
• Some of the folks who watched camp commented on Couture’s confidence and it sure looked like it last night. He didn’t look like someone who had his bell rung three times last year. And, to serve notice that he is back, he scored the first goal of the season on the first shot on goal. I didn’t catch if there were any assists.
  
  
  
  
• The other Ottawa goals were scored by Cowick and Kiriakou.
  
  
• As for the goals against- one each on Courchaine and Perugini.
  
  
• From what I could see through the fog and my viewfinder, none of the new kids looked out of place. Toffoli was confident with the puck, Sonnenburg and Vorobyov were at the ready when the boys were looking to mix it up, Schinkelshoek was working hard, I didn’t notice Birkhof but I was having trouble keeping track of everyone. Corey Cowick was a standout – he was hitting anything that got in his way.
  
  
• I would say that Ottawa pretty much dominated most of the game although there were a couple of times when the intensity and coordination significantly flagged – most notably at the start of the second period – that was pretty awful. But they regrouped and took over again.
  
  
• Kingston was badly outshot – 49 – 26 and the score could have been a lot higher if a few players had their finishing touch working. But there were good set ups, players going for the net, and good defensive plays by most everyone. With so many new players, it would make sense that they will need time to figure out how to play together.
  
  
• Toffoli was given a chance at his first penalty shot in the OHL. Looking at the photo of the offense, it looks like a questionable call. But the fog at ice level might have made it harder for the official. In any event, Tyler didn’t score. I bet he’s saving it for when it really counts.
  
  
  
• Kingston’s Ben Pearson suffered what looked like a very serious injury. Although it happened right in front of me, I had my camera up and didn’t see the whole thing. It involved Zamec hitting him at the boards. Pearson was in audible pain, it looked like a leg injury (?) and he got a cut over the bridge of his nose. It took both Patafie and the Kingston trainer to assess the immediate damage and get the lad up. Very unfortunate to get a serious injury before the season actually starts.
  
  
• Kingston didn’t have player names on the jersey’s. Cost saving measure parading as motivation perhaps? I would think that it is more motivating for a player to have his name on the back of a jersey and worry about working hard to keep it there.
  
  
• ”Thunderdstruck” was played on the jumbotron during the first intermission. I understand that this was a favorite song of Buzz Kilpatrick. I hope they pay tribute to him. He was such a big supporter of Major Junior Hockey and of the 67s in particular. I miss him.
  
  
• Work has been done in the Civic Centre – probably in preparation for the World Junior Hockey Championships in December. It looks like the glass is new and higher, the ends of the benches have been enclosed, the press box area has been changed. There will likely be more.
  
  
• There was a pretty good crowd, but nowhere near the reported 6600+. I guess they count all the season tickets even if the seats are empty. But it was good to see so many folks out on a warm late summer Friday. Quite a few from Algonquin College I think.
  

That’s it for the first report of the season. It’s good to have hockey back again!

Here are some more pictures – enjoy!

The Game's Three Stars as Selected by the Team1200

Logan Couture 1st Star	Mavric Parks 2nd Star	Corey Cowick 3rd Star