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October 31, 2008

Saints they certainly ain't: Ottawa 6 - St. Mikes 2

Well, wasn't this an interesting display of sportsmanship from St. Mikes - top to bottom. Their credo must be "if you can't beat them....well then just then beat on them". I used to expect thuggery from the likes of the Petes and Sudbury but it seems that Eugene Melnyk's St. Mikes Majors aren't so Saintly but are certainly Major losers. I think a trip to the confessional is in order here. Forgive me Father for I have sinned....

Forward combos:
Cowick, Kiriakou, Nesbitt
Martindale, Couture, Toffoli
Blunden, Lindsay, Carnevale
Hanes, Anderson, Schinkelshoek

D-pairs:
Paryzek, Cuma
Demers, Ryan
Hartwick, Zanetti

Goal: Perugini

Scratches: Sonnenburg, Zamec (groin), Latta (charlie horse), Birkhoff

You would not have thought that Carrozzi shut out Ottawa just a few days ago and that the Ottawa PP had gone cold if you watched the first 3 minutes of this game. Right from the get-go Ottawa got a quick succession of shots on Carrozzi very early in the game.

Game sheet is here.

Then, less than 2 minutes into the game, Cody Lindsay scored his 3rd goal of the season when he beat the previously unbeatable Carrozzi with a backhand over the the shoulder. This was Ottawa's 5th shot of the game. Jon Carnevale and Derik Hartwick got the assists.

Less than 2 minutes later, Thomas Kiriakou stood on Carrozzi's doorstep and redirected a rebound from Corey Cowick to put the 67s up by two. Thomas Nesbitt got the other assist.

At this point, St. Mikes had barely left their zone much less register a shot on goal.

And so the table was set.

Despite some flags in Ottawa's play over the remaining game (it was a 1-goal game in the second period for a bit), they dominated on the scoresheet and came away with the win. There were long stretches where St. Mikes kept the 67s pinned in their own end but they were completely unable to make any hay from those opportunities. If the time spent in your opposition's end was how the game was decided, this would have been Missy's game. But that's not how it's decided and they lost.

Stephen Blunden scored his first goal as an Ottawa 67s (Cody Lindsay assisted), Jon Carnevale scored his third of the season with assists going to Hartwick and Martindale, and Martin Paryzek scored twice with bullets from the point to round out the scoring. Sean Ryan, Logan Couture and Thomas Kiriakou earned assist on his two goals.

Chris Perugini made 22 saves.

Random thoughts:
  • Kyle Neuber is one serious head-case. He started chirping in the tunnel after the warm-up and continued in the game. During one stoppage late in the game, he made a point of staying at the blue line chirping the 67s that were on the ice. The officials escorted him to the boards but he returned. Then one of his team mates (perhaps Jordan Mayer) came out and coaxed him back to the bench. In the final minutes of the third period, when the outcome was clear, he floated around itching for a fight. Instead he got a two-minute time-out. I don't know the guy's rep but from this performance I would guess it's not that good.
  • Which leads me to their coach. Dave Cameron didn't leave the ice without vocalizing his opinions. I don't read lips but I could tell that he wasn't offering genteel congratulations to anyone. As goes the leadership, so goes the team.
  • And let's pause a moment on one Zac Rinaldo as another fine example of good sportsmanship. Don't know who put the itching powder in his underwear but his ambush of Tyler Cuma was something to behold. It was one thing to see it live, it was another thing to see it on replay when we got home. There's some great tape - hope the league takes a look at it. Cheap shots is all I can say. If you want a fight - then do it like a man. Here's some video:


    This article from the Ottawa Sun has Tyler's take on it.

  • We haven't seen this side of Kiriakou but when Corey Cowick was driven into the boards late in the game, Thomas wasted no time to stand up for his team mate. By this time the refs and linesmen were stepping in pretty quickly so it was a short-lived skirmish but good on Thomas.
  • It might have been the ice, or perhaps the skates, but there were a few players who took otherwise un-induced spills (especially Zanetti - I mean I know clumsy but that was an entirely different level).
  • I didn't watch all of the game against the Pete's but from what I saw, it seemed like Ottawa wasn't prepare to work for the space in the good scoring places. Well, with the Majors, it certainly seemed like they were ready to battle for the best spots.
  • Tyler Cuma did not return for the third period. Let's hope that his injuries are not serious.



Three Stars as selected by the Team1200


Hardest working Ottawa 67s as selected by the Team1200: Derek Hartwick (sorry - no good photo from the game).


Martin Paryzek's souvenir from his first two-goal game.









Stephen Blunden's first goal as on Ottawa 67s



McGinn makes the bigs

A bit behind with my updates (I do have a life beyond hockey and blogging). Note only did Jamie McGinn get called up to the San Jose Sharks, he also scored his first NHL regular season goal as the hot Sharks chomped on the Stanley Cup champions. He earned the game's first star honours for his efforts (goal and an assist).

Congrats Jamie!!

Here's the San Jose annoucement on the call-up.

Here's the game summary from the Sharks website.

Here's the video of his success:


Post game quotes:


The TSN clip is here.

October 25, 2008

Set-up for Mississauga

This will be the 3rd in three for both teams. Mississauga returns home after losing 2 - 1 in Owen Sound. They won in a shoot-out at home on Friday against Niagara. Ottawa comes in riding a 3-game winning streak after their come-from behind win in Barrie tonight and their shut-out win at home against the Sting on Friday. The ride back to Mississauga from Owen Sound is about twice as long as Ottawa's ride in from Barrie.

The Majors are top of the league for penalty kills but they can be beat as both Owen Sound goals came on the PP. Ottawa dropped in the PP rankings having been shut-out on 8 PPs, including some 5-on-3 time, in Barrie. Expect one or two of the rookies to dress for the game for some fresh legs. Not sure what the word is on Latta.

Chris Carozzi started in both games this weekend so we might see JP Anderson on Sunday. He has played 5 games this year, winning 2 and having allowed 14 goals.

Killer has already said that Courchaine will get the start for Ottawa. This will be his 4th start of the year.

It is highly unlikely that I will catch this game.

Ottawa 67s Head to Head St. Mike Majors
8-6-0-0 Record 6-5-0-0
16 Points 12
3rd - East Conference – Rank 8th - East
48 GF 30
40 GA 27
7-3-0-0 P10 6-4-0-0
24.1 - 2nd PP% (rank) 17.6 - 13th
87.3 - 3rd PK% (rank) 90.5 -1st


Top Guns - Ottawa
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Kiriakou C 7-7-14
Latta C 5-9-14
Toffoli RW 4-10-14
Cowick RW 11-2-13
Nesbitt LW 4-8-12


Top Guns - St. Mike's
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Gaunce D 5-3-8
Gomes C 3-5-8
Pelech C 3-3-6
Fleming D 0-6-6
Mayer C 2-3-5


Ottawa at Barrie - Live Blog

Another wild Saturday night in Ottawa. Settled down with a glass of my favorite beverage after some great Thai takeout from the Siam Kitchen and ready to catch some hockey. And there's lots tonight with all NHL teams in action today as well as some OHL hockey too.

Forward combos (I never did get it right - this is the best I could do):
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
?, Kiriakou, Carnevale
Blunden, Lindsay, Zamec,


D-pairs:
Paryzek, Cuma
Demers, Ryan
?, Zanetti

Chris Perugini is in net as expected.

Scratches: Schinkelshoek, Sonnenburg, Anderson, Hanes

First Period

15:31 First PP when Corey Cowick was hooked going for the net. Latta gets hit hard bringing the puck up in his own zone. Cuma then takes a cross-check penalty to end the PP and it's back to 4-on-4.

13:38 First PK for about 1:00. Perugini lets out a big rebound and Brian Lashoff gets his first goal of the season.

12:23 Second PP. Couture is having a long discussion with the ref. Guess he talked the ref in assessing a 4-minute penalty for the high stick on Nesbitt.

11:45 Another penalty to Barrie 5-on-3 for two minutes. Ottawa is not getting much going in the first half of this one - Barrie is showing why they earned their high-ranking in the PK. Two good stops by DiSalvo.

9:46 Another penalty to Barrie as a Barrie player with a name too long for his shoulders drills Carnevale into the boards. 5-on-3 for another 2 minutes.

7:45 Nothing for Ottawa after playing with the man advantage for a long time - long periods with the two-man advantage. This does not look good. So much for the best PP in the league.

6:55 Barrie playing hard and keeping possession.

5:03 PK for Ottawa. Paryzek off for interference. Ottawa finally clears the zone with less than a minute left in the penalty. successfully killed.

2:34 Ottawa doesn't look as fast as last night. Could be that we are seeing it further away (where the cameras are positioned). Perugini is making some great saves.

SOG: 14 - 17 for Barrie

First Intermission
Ottawa just doesn't seem to have the same jump as they did last night, they are not moving their feet as much and their passes are not as crisp. A number of weak passes from fanning the puck. They will need to pick it up. DiSalvo has made some good saves too.

A quick check to see what my other Ottawa team is doing - just in time to see Toronto go up by two.

Intermission interview with Corey Cowick - he took a stick in the mouth and it looks pretty sore.

Second Period

17:00 So far Barrie has carried the play. Ottawa has not had a chance to set anything up in the offensive zone. Still haven't figured out all the lines - hard to see them all on the TV screen.. I wish they would show them on the TV.

16:30 DiSalvo saved by a goal post.

15:00 This isn't a very exciting game.

11:50 Barrie getting a couple of good chances that Perugini snuffs.

11:30 An innocuous-looking shot gets by Perugin. Barrie up by 2. Ottawa not really matching the effort and play of Barrie. Wait - it's under review. Goal tender interference perhaps? Is that reviewable? Long wait. Wish I could read lips as both refs are chatting by the phone. Still waiting. An interview with an injured Barrie Colt. And we're still waiting for a decision. It must be hard to tell which suggests that the decision will rest with the decision on the ice. OK - we have the call - NO GOAL!!

11:06 Hard work by Cowick draws a roughing penalty against Barrie. OK guys - lets do something with this 6th PP.

10:49 Well, that didn't last long as Thomas Nesbitt gets called on the tripping penalty.

9:44 Ottawa looking a bit better. Good drive by Kiriakou, good effort by Toffoli, forces Barrie to ice the puck.

8:46 Just as the Ottawa penalty expires, Sean Ryan gets called to put Barrie back on the PP.

8:15 Kiriakou intercepts the pass and has a chance for the breakaway but cannot keep control. I think their luck is still somewhere on the bus. But the penalty is killed.

6:20 Chris is keeping this team in the game. He gets a star already from me.

5:37 Cody Linsay ties up the game on a goal that surprized everyone. He took a shot from the corner on the goal line and it hit the far post and went in. It looks like it actually went behind him. Oh no - this one is being reviewed too. Can't imagine what the issue might be. There's no unauthorized hole in the side of the net after inspection by the linesman and the net was strong on its moorings. Still waiting for a decision. I sure hope this game doesn't go to a shoot out - Ottawa may not make it to Mississauga in time for the puck to drop tomorrow afternoon. OK - a decision - GOAL!! Unassisted. Good for Cody - it's his second of the season.

4:06 Lots of shots at 67s when they don't have the puck.

3:34 With a bullet from inside the blue line, Zanetti gives Ottawa the lead with Lindsay and Birkhoff getting the assists.

SOG 27 - 30 still in Barrie's favour. But Ottawa got the two goals.

Second Intermission

Ottawa finished this period much better than they started it. After getting on the board, they started playing the game we have become used to seeing - working harder on the boards, keeping possession and getting traffic in front of DiSalvo. Let's see if they can bring it to the ice again in the third.

Looking in the stands during play - it sure looks kinda empty there. Discussion by the talking heads right now musing about the lower attendance across the league. Gene Pereira correctly points out that the recent economic turn down can't be the entire reason as season tickets are usually purchase much earlier.

Third Period

20:00 Ottawa starts with a PP due to the tripping call right at the buzzer at the end of the second period. It's their 7th tonight. And Barrie gets the best scoring chance as Ottawa is playing too laid-back. Some good puck control but no goal. Good kill by Barrie.

17:16 Perugini's new pads sure looked pretty scuffed now.

15:28 A good shift by the TML line controlling the puck in Barrie's zone.

13:52 Two HUGE saves by DiSalvo!! A pad and a glove save. Both game-savers!!

12:54 Kiriakou now centering Toffoli and Martindale. How long has that been going on? Is Latta in the dog-house?

11:39 Barrie ties it up as Colton Kennedy gets the puck right in front and he back-hands it into the empty net.

6:36 PP Ottawa. Their 8th - if there was any time to score a PP goal, this is it!! Barely a shot on goal. Problem with the clock in the rink. The penalized player was kept in the box about 20 seconds longer than necessary.

3:28 Adam Zamec with a head of steam coming down the left side takes a shot from the top of the face off circle and Carnevale following up on the play pots the rebound to put Ottawa back ahead late in the game. Cody Lindsay gets his third point of the night.

0:09 Corey Cowick seals the deal with his 11th goal of the season into the empty Barrie net. Tyler Cuma made a great diving play to break up a play when Barrie had the extra player on the ice.

End of Game: It's Ottawa coming from behind to win 4 - 2. SOGs 40 - 37 for Ottawa. Here's the game sheet.

Three Stars in the Arena:
1. Chris Perugini
2. Cody Lindsay
3. Brian Lashoff

Three Stars by Team1200:
1. Chris Perugini (7th win of the season)
2. Jon Carnevale (his first goal of the season and the GWG!)
3. Cody Lindsay (3-points)/Peter DiSalvo (some monster saves!!)

Hardest Working Ottawa67s as selected by Team1200: Thomas Nesbitt

The Teamteam are mentioning Latta being out of the game - did he get injured? Nothing was mentioned on the broadcast? I know I should have had the radio on instead!! Argh!

Now onto the bus for the one-hour drive (or so) to Mississauga. For me, time to relax with a glass of my favorite beverage to celebrate the road-game win. Cheers!

Set-up for Barrie

The 67s travel to Barrie to take on the Colts tonight. These two teams are on different streaks coming into tonight's game: Ottawa comes into tonight's game on a two game winning streak - both at home including last night's impressive 3-0 shut-out of the Sarnia Sting. Barrie on the other hand, are on a two game losing streak including last night's 4-2 loss in Brampton. They gave Brampton 8 power play opportunities including a 2-man advantage that resulted in a goal. Goalie Michael Hutchinson faced a barrage of 52 shots - 42 of which came in the first two periods. 5 of the 6 total goals scored in the game were scored in the third period. Only 1801 recorded attendance at the game!!

Let's see if the boys can keep the momentum they built last night. Perugini will be in net tonight.

Ottawa 67s Head to Head Barrie Colts
7-6-0-0 Record 6-5-1-0
14 Points 13
3rd - East Conference – Rank 4th - East
44 GF 38
38 GA 30
6-4-0-0 P10 5-4-1-0
26.4 - 1st PP% (rank) 14.3 - 16th
88.1 - 3rd PK% (rank) 84.9 - 6th


Top Guns - Ottawa
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Kiriakou C 7-7-14
Latta C 5-9-14
Toffoli RW 4-10-14
Cowick RW 10-2-12
Nesbitt LW 4-8-12


Top Guns - Barrie
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Della Rovere LW 11-5-16
Hutchings C 7-6-13
Sgarbossa C 2-8-10
Lebar LW 4-3-7
Archibald LW 4-2-6

Nyuk, Nyuk Nyuk. Ottawa Stings Sarnia with a 3-0 shut-out!

This was the second game in as many days for the new Sting goalie Dan Spence. The 20-year old was acquired on Wednesday after being released by the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL where he had played for the last 4 years. His record was 77-49-3-6-2 with a GAA of 2.46. So from Langley BC, to Calgary Alberta to Sarnia Ontario. His inauguration was an overtime loss in Peterborough on Thursday and today’s shut out loss.

This was Ottawa’s first game of their own three-game weekend and the first game for newly acquired Stephen Blunden, formerly of the Belleville Bulls. And it was a fantastic game – maybe the best overall game we’ve seen this year.

The forward combos:
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Blunden, Kiriakou, Carnevale
Sonnenburg, Lindsay, Zamec

D-pairs:
Paryzek, Cuma
Demers, Ryan
Birkhof, Zanetti

Adam Courchaine was in the net.

Scratches: Hartwick, Schinkelshoek, Anderson, Hanes

It took a while for either team to really get anything going – neither team could establish any presence in the opposing zone for a good chunk of time. After the first five minutes, the SOGs were only 2 – 1 for Ottawa. Corey Cowick was trying to establish his presence with a number of attempted hits (not too many connecting from what I saw) but notice was served nonetheless. Newcomer Stephen Blunden had his first shot on goal with a wrap-around attempt early in the game but Spence was in position and knocked the puck away. Later in the period, Spence had a great save on Sonnenburg when he reached back and nabbed the puck almost on the goal-line. Spence had a number of great saves during the night to keep the Sting in the game.

The first test of the specialty teams came on the Ottawa PK with 5:30 left in the first period. To this point, Sarnia had scored the most PK goals in the league so far and Ottawa had the 3rd best PK in the league. Ottawa held the Sting to one shot on goal. It was Ottawa’s turn with just 46 seconds left in the period but no damage was done there either.

The second period started with Ottawa on the PP for another 1:14 and Ottawa managed 3 shots but were unable to bury any of them. Both teams traded good scoring chances early in the period and there was good end-to-end play for bits but it was the Ottawa PP specialty team that came out on top. With the Sting down a player for too many men on the ice, Tyler Cuma started it all when he simply threw the puck on the net, it came out to Couture who fed it to Nesbitt. It was Nesbitt’s cross-ice pass that found Corey Cowick with the open net to break the deadlock and score what would eventually become the game winning goal.

Ottawa had found its stride and there was no turning back now. The Sting had nothing in their arsenal to counter the strong team play of the 67s. On the 5th PP of the evening, early in the third period, Ottawa went up by two. Sarnia won the face-off in their own zone but with the puck at the near wall the two Sting players stood looking at it rather than doing anything with it. Logan took advantage and got the puck to Nesbitt who was driving the net and he neatly beat Spence glove side to give Ottawa a bit of a cushion.

The 67s didn’t take any pressure off with this lead. If possible, they got even tougher and for a good chunk of the period, Sarnia barely had control of the puck were held to very few shots until the dying seconds. The outcome was clear when Ottawa scored the only even-strength goal of the game. It started with the hard work of Logan Couture getting the puck out from the corner to Thomas Nesbitt who dropped it for team-leading scorer Corey Cowick to beat Spence blocker-side. The teams traded a couple more penalty opportunities but the game ended in a 3 – 0 win for the 67s.

Here’s the game sheet.

Random thoughts:
  • The Ottawa PK units only allowed 5 shots on goal on three penalties – total – for the game. Great pressure on PK. Good work to stay out of the penalty box too!
  • Both Couture and Cuma had a good game – quicker, more physical.
  • A few scoring streaks ended with this game – among them the TML line was held off the board. As well as Zanetti’s scrap streak (well – I’m not sure he had a streak going but it seemed like it).
  • Looks like Ottawa can now ice three strong lines and a 4th line that shouldn’t do much harm. All three lines were fast to the puck, strong on the boards and driving the net. It was fun to watch.
  • The Sting coach, Dave McQueen, and assistant coach Greg Walters are former Ottawa 67s so they had a good idea of what to expect from a Killer-coached team. You know the game “seven degrees from Kevin Bacon”? In hockey I think it must be something along the lines of “three degrees from Brian Kilrea”.
  • New Buzz on Hockey feature on three game weekends – Weekends with Byrnie (Chris Byrne) – to talk about the weekend ahead. They are expecting a hard game against the Colts and Majors. Majors will likely play a sit-back, trapping style and will be a good test for the 67s as the third game in three.
  • Brian Kilrea noted that he has a large roster and would like to see everyone get at least one game every two or three games. But he also hinted that they will “clear it up some way”. This may have been just in reference to getting everyone some ice-time….or…..
  • With a roster this full, it is reasonable to expect something to change. Either in a trade or some kids being sent down.
  • Not sure if we beat the world record for people wearing Groucho Glasses. We had to sign-in to get the glasses. The number to beat is 4078. I imagine it will take a few days to count up the signatures and get the official word back from the Guinness folks.
  • Belated Happy Birthday to Brian Kilrea (October 21st).
The team left right after the game for tomorrow’s game in Barrie against the Barrie Colts who just lost to the Brampton Battalion and then on to Mississauga for Sunday’s game.

Next home game is next Friday in a return engagement against Mississauga. See you then!


Three Stars as Selected by Team1200




Hardest working 67s as selected by the Team1200: Tyler Cuma


Blunden's first SOG as a 67s


What a bunch of Groucho people!!



October 23, 2008

Set-up for Sarnia

The Sarnia Sting will be in town tomorrow night for their second game in their swing through the Eastern Conference. The are playing in Peterborough tonight (and all the stats here are before that game). Heading into tonight's game they were riding a 3-game winning streak. Here's how the two teams stack up on paper:

Ottawa 67s Head to Head Sarnia Sting
6-6-0-0 Record 5-6-0-1
12 Points 11
5h - East Conference – Rank 9th - West
42 GF 41
42 GA 38
5-5-0-0 P10 5-4-0-1
26.2 PP% 23.4
87.5 PK% 74.1


Top Guns - Ottawa
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Kiriakou C 7-7-14
Latta C 5-9-14
Toffoli RW 4-10-14
Martindale LW 4-7-11
Cowick RW 8-2-10


Top Guns - Sarnia
Player Postion G/A/PTS
DiBenedetto LW 9-12-21
Martin LW 7-6-13
Arniel C 6-4-10
Reese C 4-6-10
Lombardi LW 5-4-9


See you tomorrow - let's break the record for Groucho glasses (4000+).

October 22, 2008

Welcome to Ottawa Stephen Blunden!

Stephen Blunden, right, is the younger brother of Michael Blunden (NHL - Chicago 2005). Photo by Mike Carroccetto (613-266-8505)


Stephen has had 1 goal and 1 assist, 8 PIMs in 11 games played. He has played his entire OHL career with Belleville up until today. Here are his stats from the OHL siste.

From the Ottawa 67s site:
The Ottawa 67’s today announced that centre Stephen Blunden has been acquired from the Belleville Bulls in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection Draft.

19-year old Blunden is an Ottawa native (Gloucester) known for hard work and versatility. 67’s Coach and General Manager Brian Kilrea described the 6’2, 194 lb. centre as a character player: “He’s an Ottawa boy who played many roles, including penalty killing, on some very talented Belleville teams and we’re looking forward to welcoming him home.”

Blunden is in his 4th OHL season. He’ll wear #28 with the 67’s starting this Friday night when the 67’s host the Sarnia Sting at the Civic Centre, starting at 7:30.


Early musings are that Ottawa doesn't need another 3rd or 4th liner. I imagine that Killer is quite aware of what the team needs. Perhaps he sees he sees something the other observers do not.

Welcome to Hockey Country Stephen. We look forward to your contrbutions!!

October 21, 2008

Welcome to Hockey Country!!

That's what you will hear from the 1500 volunteers for the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa from December 26 - January 5.

I made it through the Police Records check, the reference check and the interview and am among the 1500 chosen ones to make this the best IIHF event ever. Tonight we had our first en masse orientation session where we heard key general level informmation from Bob Nicholson (video), Cyril Leeder and others.

  • The tickets are at the printers and should be in our mailboxes by mid-November. The covers for the ticket packages will feature pictures from the last two Canadian gold medal teams. The individual tickets will have pictures of significant past players from all countries.

  • We got a sneak-peek at the gold medals that have been designed by the Royal Canadian Mint - niiiiice.

  • Team selection should take place early December.

  • Visiting teams training camps and exhibition games will take place around the province. If you can't make it to Ottawa for the tournament, maybe you can catch some of the pre-tournament action near you.

  • Did you know that the long-standing Team Canada logo was designed by someone from Kanata? Neither did I. It's about time this tournment finally got here! His name was mentioned and I already have forgotten it. Paul Hansen? Someone out there correct me please on this one.

  • Eugene Melnyk has guaranteed how much money this tournament will make. In the past, and for the next two times it is in Canada, it was/is the provinces making the guarantee. Props to Mr. Melnyk.

  • The logistics are pretty amazing. TSN will have a huge presence of course and all the stuff that goes with that.

  • Team dressing rooms have already been assigned in both venues. Team Canada scores big-time - they get the Ottawa Senators space for the whole tourny. Sweden gets the Ottawa 67s dressing room at the Civic Centre.

  • The arena-currently-known-as-Scotia-Bank-Place will simply be SBP for the tournament. This was not specifically mentioned during the sesssion but was easy to figure out since any time someone started with Sco...they quickly changed to SBP. Being the clever folks that we are (me and the guy sitting beside me) we realized it's a sponsorship thing. RBC is a big sponsor; Scotia Bank is not. Every mention of the real arena name is a plug for a competitor of a key sponsor.

  • We will get our uniforms, volunteer manuals, and detailed orientations including venue tours in early December. I'm part of the Team Canada Family crew that will be taking care of certain things related to the family members of Team Canada.

  • They were really clear - if you want to watch a game live - buy a ticket!

  • There will be fan events planned outside of the actual games. Look for HHOF stuff to be on display at the Aberdeen Pavillion and if you can't make the Canada-USA game live on New Year's Eve, they are planning some large outdoor (?) place to show the game on a large screen. We're not afraid of no winter here! This is Hockey Country and we know how to embrace winter!! Even if you can't make it to any games (but there should be lots of folks selling tickets they cannot use from their package), there should be lots to take in.



Keep checking the Hockey Canada site for new information. This is going to be pretty fun - can't wait.

October 20, 2008

OHL'ers in the NHL

Some tidbits from the NHL:

Lukas Kaspar has been placed on waivers by the San Jose Sharks. News release from the Sharks. I suspect that this is just a technicality of the contract he signed this summer.

Steve Downie has been sent down to to the Phantoms by the Flyers. Read the press release here. Must admit I take a little pleasure in reading this. Always thought he was a head case.

And former Sarnia Sting Devin DiDiomete has been signed by the New York Rangers. Read the press release here.

Update: As I thought, placing Kaspar on waivers was necessary due to the way either his contract is set up or the requirements of the CBA that kick in at some point in time. Brad Staubitz is sticking with the big club so far. Here's the updated release from the Sharks.

October 19, 2008

Cowick-bunga! Corey Cowick leads the way with 2 goals (and a fight)

The specialty teams were something special this afternoon. Ottawa put the hurt on the Soo Greyhounds with 4 – count’em - 4 powerplay goals and limiting them to maybe a half-dozen shots in total on their 5 powerplay opportunities – none getting past Perugini.

The lineups:
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt,
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Lindsay, Kiriakou, Carnevale
Hanes, Anderson, Schinkelshoek

D-pairs:
Paryzek, Cuma
Birkhoff, Demers,
Hartwick, Zanetti

Perugini was back in the net.

Scratches: Ryan, Sonnenburg and Zamec.

The 67s pounced early and often in the first period as they notched 4 powerplay goals and chased starting goalie, Bryce O’Hagan from the goal after just 15 shots. Thomas Kiriakou started it when he got his own rebound off the end-boards and snapped by O’Hagan on Ottawa’s first power play less than two and a half minutes in the game. Marc Anthony Zanetti and Chris Perugini got the assists (go Chris!!).


First goal of the game and Thomas' 7th of the year.

The penalty on SSM’s Cameron Odam (who’s father apparently is a former 67s) was called just 34 seconds into the game. After the whistle blew for the penalty, Corey Cowick and Jake Carrick dropped the gloves. No idea what could have already happened to set them off but they were determined to fight. The home crowd gives the call to Cowick.


The Soo survived their next penalty kill but were 0-fer on the next three. Corey Cowick scored his first goal of the game with a wrap-around that he was able to tuck under O’Hagan. Nesbitt and Zanetti assisted. Then Julien Demers whipped one from the high slot. Tyler Toffoli assisted on that one. And that was the end of O’Hagan for the day. 3 goals on 15 shots in 10 minutes.

Tyler Cuma finished the first period run with a shot from the top of the circle. Toffoli and Latta assisted on that one.

The Greyhounds had been in this situation already on this weekend and managed to fight back with 4 goals in Peterborough. If they came out in the second period with that in mind, it took them a while to show it. It was a slow start by both teams with the Soo icing the puck several times. But they slowly took control of the play and kept Ottawa under a bit of pressure. The 67s only got 1 shot on St. Jacques in the first 7 and a half minutes . The Soo on the other hand was getting shots through to Perugini. With 7 and a half minutes left in the period, their hard work finally paid off when Matt Caria broke the shut-out. Fischhaber and Carrick go the assists.

But Ottawa got that one back 3 minutes later when Tyler Cuma made a beautiful move around a sliding Greyhound, got the puck to Cowick in the slot and he beat St. Jacques trapper side. Logan Couture assisted and Ottawa was back to a 4-goal lead. It certainly was the Soo’s best period but it was Ottawa that still held the upper hand.

But the 67s seemed tentative in the third and the Hounds were hungry. And it paid off once again, early in the third when Simon Fischhaber was left unattended on Perugini’s doorstep to receive Michael Quesnele’s pass from the point. Perugini didn’t stand a chance. Anthony Peluso had the other assist.

But the 67s weren’t about to let the dogs back into the game and the Greyhounds were not about to lie down and the game opened up in the middle of the frame. With the shots at 32 – 35 for SSM, Ryan Martindale scored his 4th of the year with assists coming from Tyler Toffoli and Martin Paryzek. And that was the game. The 67s didn’t sit back but they also didn’t give the Greyhounds many chances.

They got the split for the weekend and are back at .500 hockey. It was a good weekend (even the loss to Windsor).

Random thoughts:
  • Today was Brian Kilrea’s 2100th game behind the bench. And the team gave him a very good win to celebrate it. Congratulations Brian! And good work guys.
  • I noticed Craig Hartsburg before the game – not sure if he stayed for it but I imagine he had the time to see his former team. Pretty sure he wasn’t too impressed. Then again, he might have been already in that state of mind after the Sens game last night. I switched over to the Bulls – Spits game after the second period. That was a good game!
  • Great article in today's Ottawa Sun about the TML line. Give it a read.
  • A much better game by Couture and Cuma.
  • Cody Lindsay couldn’t buy a goal today. He certainly had some great chances. Hang in there – they will come with continued hard work.
  • Perugini had all new equipment today. He looked all shiny for a while and then the rubber started leaving its marks. Glad to see he had white pads. The Vaughn sports guy we chatted with at the Memorial Cup said that white pads are better. The idea is not to create clear definition that makes it easier for the shooters to see the edges of the goale.
  • Some other hockey bloodlines in the game today: Tomas Rachunek son of former Ottawa Senator Karel Rachunek, Jordan Nolan son of former NYI coach Ted Nolan (who's firing was a big mistake IMO) and Brock Beukeboom son of former NY Ranger Jeff Beukeboom.
Another good game to watch. This is one of the more exciting years in awhile. Next up – the Sarnia Sting on Friday. Friday is also the day the club tries to beat the Guinness World Record for people wearing Groucho Glasses (who comes up with these categories!). It’s a great game-day promotion. Come on out and help break the record!!

In the meantime, have a great week!


The Three Stars as selected by the Team1200


Hardest working 67s as selected by the Team1200: Thomas Kiriakou




Cody Lindsay working hard.


Another big save.


Martindale working hard.


Toffoli.

Where Are They Now?

Got curious about past 67s and spent some time looking them up. The most curious player tracking is that of Jason Bailey. According to the AHL List of Transactions, Jason was sent down to the Bakersfield Condors on the 17th. The ECHL List of Transactions has no record of him arriving. And the Bakersfield Condors Roster does not include Jason. Has he gone AWOL? Perhaps it's just a time-lag on getting information up to date (although the transaction lists are current to the 19th). Things that make you go hmmmmm.

Update: Jason is now showing up in the Condor info. As I thought, it was a time lag in getting their information up to date. Here's the updated roster. By all reports, it would have been out of character for him to have done anything else. Here's wishing him every success.

The St. Francis Xavier varsity hockey team has 6 former Ottawa 67s playing: Wil Colbert, Chris Hulit, Robbie Lawrance, Danny Battochio, Jeremy Akeson and Brett Liscombe. Meanwhile the Carleton Ravens have Brodie Beard patrolling the blue line in their second year. And Mattieu Methot is the lone 67s playing for the Ottawe Gee-Gees.

The last of my explorations was to find out where Brad Bonello is. At last report, he was playing for the ECHL Dayton Bombers. This year finds him playing for the Texas Brahmas. in the Central Hockey League.

This league wins for having the most amusing team names:

Amarillo Gorillas
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
Corpus Christi Icerays
Mississippi Riverkings
Arizona Sundogs
Colorado Eagles
Laredo Bucks
New Mexico Scorpions
Odessa Jackalopes
Rapid City Rush
Rocky Mountain Rage
Tulsa Oilers
Oklahoma City Blazers
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Texas Brahmas
Wichita Thunder

What you could do with a team name like Killer Bees!

67s, angry pucks and fuzzy raccoons now seem a bit pedestrian don't they.

If you know what some former 67s are up to, drop me a line and we'll share that will the rest of the fans.

October 18, 2008

Set up for The Soo

The Soo Greyhounds come to town licking their wounds after a 6 - 2 loss in Kingston last night. Not much to report on The Noof but looking at the game sheet, it looks like their number 1 goalie, had a rough night of it. He was in goal for the first half of the game and let in three goals, then was out for less than two minutes and was back for the punishment of three more goals. Must have been an equipment thing. Bryce O'Hagan is currently ranked 8th in the league with 15 goals against out of 160 shots in 7 games for a save percentage of 90.6%.

Ottawa 67s Head to Head SSM Greyhounds
5-6-0-0 Record 6-4-1-0
10 Points 13
6th - East Conference – Rank 7th - West
35 GF 41
36 GA 41
4-6-0-0 P10 6-4-0-0
22 PP% 19
86.3 PK% 78.7


Top Guns - Ottawa
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Kiriakou C 6-7-13
Latta C 5-8-13
Toffoli RW 4-7-11
Martindale LW 3-7-10
Cowick RW 6-2-8


Top Guns - Sault Ste. Marie
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Lyall F 6-8-14
Caria F 5-9-14
Fine F 4-7-11
Quesnele D 2-9-11
Livingston F 6-3-9

The 67s should still have the bitter taste of that close loss to Windsor in their mouths from yesterday. Wondering who will get the start in goal. Courchaine has only played twice and yesterday's outing was pretty good.

I'm expecting another exciting and entertaining game. See you there!!

So Windsor's the best team in the country eh?

Let’s just do some comparison here:

Ottawa iced a team that has 4 ½ NHL draft picks (counting Cowick as the ½ since he really wasn’t drafted – he got an ATO with Pittsburgh), and a roughly calculated average age of 17.1 years while Windsor iced a team with 8 NHL draft picks, 2 kids already picked as high picks in the next two years and a roughly calculated average age of 18.95 (don’t bet the farm on my arithmetical prowess – it would be a bad bet). On paper, this should have been a blow-out. In reality – not even close to a blow-out. Yes – the 67s lost 5 – 3 (the last goal being an EN) but they scared the Spits on the way to their 10th win (and 4th straight).

The lineups were:

Cowick, Couture, Zamec,
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Lindsay, Kiriakou, Nesbitt
Sonnenburg, Anderson, Carnevale

The D-pairs were:

Paryzek, Cuma
Demers, Ryan
Hartwick, Zanetti

Courchaine got his second start of the year.

Scratches: Schinkelshoek, Birkhoff and Hanes.

This was Windsor’s first game in the evil 3-in-3 road trip that all teams endure during the season.

Here’s the game sheet.

The TML line started with Paryzek and Cuma on the blueline.

The Ottawa 67s didn’t seem at all awed by the league-leading Windsor Spitfires and tried to take the game to them early. And it paid off with Tyler Toffoli scoring his 4th goal of the year with 27 seconds left in their first powerplay of the game. Michael Latta and Tyler Cuma got the assist. But Windsor got it back with just under 6 minutes left in the period on their own powerplay. They patiently passed it around, passed it around, passed it around and then team-leading Ryan Ellis beat Courchaine stick-side with a bullet from just inside the blue line.

The 67s had two early powerplays in the second period but couldn’t seem to get much going – managing just 3 shots in the entire 4 minutes. The pace continued to be quick with both teams getting scoring chances that they couldn’t finish. Finally, with about 1:30 left in the period, Martin Paryzek lost the fight along the boards and Dale Mitchell passed to Austin Watson who was heading for the net. Courchaine wasn’t able to make the slide across the crease. After 40 it was 2 -1 for Windsor with a slight edge in shots – 26 – 24.

The third period continued to be quick and Killer continued to give all 4 lines ice time. At about the 7-minute mark Windsor went ahead by two on what looked like a deflection. Greg Nemisz was credited with his 5th goal of the season. Assists went to Adam Henrique and Ryan Ellis. The only dust-up of the game (and it really didn’t look like much from my vantage point at the other end of the ice) was between Andrew Yogan and Mark Zanetti – the call goes to Mark just because the other guy hit the ice first.

So, how did the 67s respond to being down two goals against the first-ranked team in the country? They simply tied it up! During their 5th powerplay of the game, just as I was wondering what the heck Latta was doing (didn’t have one of his best games in my opinion) Julien Demers potted his third goal of the season with a little help from Martindale and Latta. And before the arena announcer had finished with that goal, the game was tied up by a caged Thomas Nesbitt on a neat pass from the corner from Thomas Kiriakou. Kiriakou’s hard work to get to keep getting to the puck first paid off.

This picked up the team and they started pressing hard but they soon got themselves into penalty trouble. First it was Demers getting tagged for interference and with 42 seconds left in that penalty, Sean Ryan was called for high-sticking. The penalty kill was great with Windsor getting only 4 shots through the entire time. The three penalty killers that were on the ice for the 5-on-3 (Kiriakou, Paryzek and I didn’t catch who was the 3rd) were also stuck on the ice for most of the 1:16 that remained in the Ryan penalty. They were able to dig deep and keep the Spitfires at bay until they were finally able to clear the puck for a line change with about 17 seconds left in the kill. That was outstanding!!

The Spits kept the 67s pinned in their own end for what seemed like an eternity and with 2:00 remaining, Greg Nemisz finally scored what would be the winning goal. Taylor Hall had the assist. It was at the other end of the ice and I didn’t see how it happened.

The 67s came right back and caught Engelage wandering a bit. There was a goal-mouth scramble and the 67s players thought they had a goal. Unfortunately, the referee was not at all in position. He was in the corner. With 11 players all crowding the net you think he might have been a tad curious as to what they were up to and snuck up for a peek. But noooooo. A review of the video resulted in a no-goal. Once the 67s gained control of the puck after the next drop, Courchaine was pulled for the extra attacker but they were unable to keep control and Dale Mitchell scored into an empty net.

So, it went right down to the wire with the 67s giving the Spits something to think about.

Random thoughts:
  • Lots of scouts at today’s game. Had a chance to chat with a couple of them (local guys scouting for Philly and Montreal and a scout in training). There were likely others. Also had a chance to chat with the publisher of the McKeen's Hockey Draft Guide. If my online research is correct, his name is Grant McCagg (we didn’t exchange names).
  • It’s hard for me to get a sense of which lines are getting what kind of time but I noticed that all 4 lines got time in all three periods. I’m thinking that Killer wanted to give Jon Carnevale and Riley Sonnenburg a chance to be seen among all the 91 birth years playing tonight. They also earned the ice team (no charity here).
  • Ryan Ellis is just a wee thing. It will be interesting to see if he actually goes top 20 next spring. Then again, the Senators took a shot on skinny short'ish Swedish defenseman as their first round pick this year so who knows. Maybe someone thinks they haven’t hit their growth spurts yet
  • So, what’s up with Couture and Cuma? Are they a tad burned out? I’m not seeing the same players as I recall from last year.
  • Kiriakou is simply a work horse. I don’t think he leaves anything on the ice. He works hard in the corners and along the wall and gets to the puck first often with his effort. Some players could learn from his example (Couture perhaps?).
  • Who knew that Zanetti was such an irritant. Before the fight with Yogan, he was targeted for a few hits – including one that put him in his own bench.
A good effort by the team. They were pretty disappointed at the end of the game having come so close to being world-beaters but upon reflection, I’m sure they will………nah……….they will still be bummed at not being able to finish the Spits off.

Next up, the Soo Greyhounds – See you Sunday!!


Three Stars as Selected by the Team 1200




Team1200 Hardest Working 67s: Thomas Kiriakou







October 17, 2008

SAN JOSE RECALLS STAUBITZ FROM WORCESTER

As reported on TSN.com

San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - The NHL's San Jose Sharks recalled left wing Brad Staubitz from the American Hockey League's Worcester Sharks, San Jose General Manager Doug Wilson announced on Friday.

Staubitz has played 196 games over three-plus seasons for San Jose's development affiliates in Cleveland and Worcester, recording seven goals, 24 assists, and 577 penalty minutes.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound forward was originally signed by San Jose as a free agent in September of 2005.

******************

Brad still has a ton of fans in Ottawa and they will be thrilled for him. Attaboy Brad!!

October 16, 2008

Getting Ready for Windsor

Tomorrow night the Ottawa 67s will host the red hot Windsor Spitfires - well rested after their 4 - 0 win against Kingston on Monday, and starting their 3-game swing through Eastern Ontario (Belleville on Saturday and Kingston on Sunday). This is the team to keep an eye on this year; they continue to be the number 1 ranked CHL team in Canada. The only game dropped this year so far was a 7-2 loss to the reasonably hot Barrie Colts on October 4th.

Not only do they boast 8 (!) NHL-drafted prospects (Henrique - NJ, Greenop - CHI, Cundari - STL, Young - NJ, Nemisz - CAL, Mitchell - TOR, Bailey - NYI and Loktinov - LA), D-Ryan Ellis is considered a top-20 pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and Taylor Hall has already been pegged as a potential top pick in the 2010 draft. Throw in the 3rd best goalie in the league and you pretty much have a serious force to be reckoned with.

Their last visit to Ottawa wasn't all that good for Ottawa.

Ottawa will have their hands full again tomorrow but I am confident that they will give Windsor something to think about.

On my way home, I was listening a 20/20 sports update on Team1200 and they had a clip from Gretzky about tomorrow's game against the Sens and I liked the way he positioned his team - he acknowledged the skill and talent of the Sens but countered that his team is young and naive - too naive to think that they CAN'T win the game (my interpretation). I think the 67s are exactly the same.
Head to Head Numbers
Ottawa 67sWindsor Spitfires
5-5-0-0Record9-1-0-0
10Points18
East – 11thConference – RankWest – 1st
32GF41
31GA22
5-5-0-0P109-1-0-0
20.4PP %27.1
87PK %83.1


Top Guns - Ottawa
PlayerPositionG/A/PTS
Thomas Kiriakou C6-6-12
Michael Latta LW5-6-11
Tyler ToffoliRW3-7-10
Ryan Martindale LW3-6-9
Corey Cowick LW6-2-8


Top Guns - Windsor
PlayerPositionG/A/PTS
Ryan EllisD5-11-18
Taylor HallLW5-10-15
Dale MitchellRW6-6-11
Greg NemiszRW4-4-8
Austin Watson RW3-5-8

October 13, 2008

Another Promising Prospect Lost...

Alexi Cherepanov, Rangers first round draft pick last year has passed away at the end of his game today in Russia.

There's news everywhere but it's all reporting the same information. Here's the TSN report with video reporting.

A promising life cut all too short. Condolences to his family, friends and team mates.

Mickey Renaud, Luc Bourdon, Alexi Cherepanov....too many...way too soon. Peace to all.

Lukas Kaspar scores his first NHL goal..

which turns out to be the GWG in their game against LA. Here's the clip from NHL.com:




Congrats to Lukas!

October 10, 2008

Now That's more like it! - Ottawa 6 - Belleville 3

The Ottawa 67s came into tonight's game after a pretty lousy effort against Kingston on Wednesday. Don't know what happened there but my guess would be that the boys went into the 0-4-1 game with a tad too much confidence. They deservedly were taken down a notch or two.

Belleville came to town riding a 4-game winning streak and looking to improve their CHL standings - having taken a hit when they last met the 67s.

Lines:
Cowick, Couture, Zamec
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Carnevale,Kiriakou, Nesbitt
Sonnenburg, Lindsay, Schinkelshoek

D-Pairs:
Paryzek, Cuma
Demers, Birkhoff
Hartwick, Ryan

Perugini in goal

Scratches: Zanetti, Vorobyhov (has been released by the team), Anderson, Hanes

This was an effort that we have come to expect and this time the team came out on top of the score.

It seems they are able to get motivated for the "teams to beat" but were lacking something in their game against the Division bottom-feeders on Wednesday. This would suggest that they have what it takes, they just need to bring it to every game. The most dangerous team is the one with nothing left to lose.

Anyhoo - about tonight's game. It was another stellar example of everyone doing most of the little things right and the big things taking care of themselves.

I'm not the only one to suggest that the second line is really the first line. The TML boys generated so many chances and kept the Bulls at bay - no goals were scored against them and they accounted for 6 of the 16 points accumulated tonight.

It looks like the 67s can roll three strong lines and a reasonable 4th line. Zamec was playing on the right wing of Couture tonight and Kiriakou centred a pretty strong 3rd line that saw a decent amount of ice time and produced an even strength goal and a short-handed one too!

Killer had his 4th line out in all three periods and they held their own reasonably well.

If the warm-up was any indication of the energy tonight, it was lead by Corey Cowick. He just seemed ready for this encounter and it must have been infectious with the rest of the team.

There was energy, the feet were moving, they looked organized (for the most part) and their sticks were in the way of everyone and everything. They beat Belleville to the puck so often one would have thought that the 67s were used to the bigger ice than the other way around.

Subban sure is a piece of work. This veteran started chirping our rookie Toffoli seconds into the game and he considered every call against him (3 all game) a personal insult. He certainly needs a couple of pegs taken out of his self-image.

Ottawa dominated most of the game but they, once AGAIN, allowed a short-handed goal. You could see the Bulls PK challenging the points as the 67s passed it around, passed it around, passed it around, looking for some perfect play. It was only a matter of time that a pass would be intercepted and the breakaway into Perugini.



Speaking of Chris, one might suggest that Perugini has played himself into the starter position. No 1A, 1B thing happening here so far. It looks like 1 and 2 (it just wouldn't be Ottawa without a goalie controversy!).

Once Belleville tied it up with a short-handed goal in the dying seconds of the second period, I thought it was over for the 67s.

But they came back in the third with three unanswered goals including a shortie of their own. They almost had a couple more goals on that same PK. The Bulls were clearly unable to turn it around at this point.

Here's the Game Sheet. for all the details.

Tyler Toffoli opened the scoring with his 3rd goal of the season at the half-way mark of the first period. Linemates Martindale and Latta got the assists. The Bulls Eric Tangradi responded a minute and a half later to tie it up. Cory Tanaka assisted on the goal. But Ottawa ended the period with a one-goal lead on a Sean Ryan powerplay goal. Julien Demers and Thomas Kiriakou assisted.

Just 19 seconds into the second period, Logan Couture scored his first goal of the season and put Ottawa up by two. Corey Cowick assisted. But despite dominating the play for that entire period, Bellville managed to tie the game first with a goal from the gift-to-hockey-P-K-Subban (assist by Cameron) and then a short handed goal in the dying seconds from Ottawa native Shawn Lalonde.

Ottawa took control of the game and the scoring in the third period with an even-strength goal from Michael Latta, a powerplay goal from Logan Couture and a short-handed goal from Thomas Kirakou.


Celebrating the short-handed goal (Thomas Nesbitt with the assist)


It was a good game with high energy, skilled play, strong defensive coverage by everyone and a bit of luck to boot. The Bulls had a string of a PP, a 5-on-3 and a PP and the 67s allowed only one shot.

There were some "Oh NO!" moments but all in all it was a great game to watch. There is a different attitude with the team this year and it's wonderful to watch.


Three Stars:
1. Michael Latta
2. Thomas Nesbitt
3. Chris Perugini


Hardest Working 67s as selected by the Team1200: Logan Couture


Nesbitt before the unscheduled dental work


After


Subban was called for tripping on this one - you be the judge


Great save by Chris!


Slo-mo goal


Likely won't catch the game Monday. See you Friday when the high-flying Windsor Spitfires are in town (am selling my Sens - Coyotes tickets so I can see this one!!).

October 08, 2008

Well, we know which team showed up tonight...

I caught up with the game at the start of the second period. I didn't bother goinga back to the beginning but I heard Schreibs give an update on the radio on the way home. ANOTHER short handed goal!! They should start declining penalties. That has to stop.

Adam Courchain's first night out wasn't so good for him - 3 goals on 11 shots. They never really got organized in the second period and once down 3 goals, they never really recovered. Then they got lazy and started taking stupid penalties. Ottawa did well on the first 30 seconds of the Latta penalty but Kingston regained and maintained control for pretty much the rest of it. Ottawa must have been across the Kingston blue line maybe twice in the second period? Their best scoring chances came when they were shorthanded on the Couture penalty!

Ottawa's passing was less than brilliant. They finally broke the looming shut-out when on a PP goal. Julien Demers was credited the goal with Zanetti getting the assist.

But Kingston got it right back with Josh Brittain getting the hat trick when a Kirikou pass was intercepted and picked up by Zerins, he rushed in, got the shot but Brittain picked up the rebound and put the Fronts back up by 3. Nothing was going right for Ottawa tonight.

Kingston has just scored its 5th goal. I don't think I can watch the rest of this. This is not the same team that we saw last week.

See you Friday.

Who will be the most composed tonight?

Interesting set up for tonight's game.

Here's an insight into what's happening in Kingston:

Fronts owner expects wins now
Posted By MIKE KOREEN

Consider it a warning. A loud warning. Kingston Frontenacs owner Doug Springer said yesterday that his troubled Ontario Hockey League team, in a worst-case scenario, has "to find a way to win at least two of these next four hockey games."

See the rest of the article from the Kingston Whig Standard.

************************************

The Kingston players will be playing desperate hockey. If combined with discipline and skill, it can be successful. If played without control and focus, it can be disasterous.

The 67s have had a reasonably good start to the season, playing energized, committed team hockey for the most part and want to continue surprizing everyone. With Cuma and Couture back, they want to be even stronger and more successful.

It will be interesting to see which coach gets the right response from his team.

Some head to head stats for this young year:

Kingston:
Record: 0-4-1-0 for 1 point
Goals for: 11
Goals against: 23
Leading Rookie: Gudbranson with 0-5-5
Leading Scorers: Moon (3-2-5); Kang (2-5-3); Gudbranson (0-5-5); Mignardi (0-4-4) and Werek (2-1-3
Goalies: Parks 2 games played, 8 GA, .899 sv%; Peters 3 games played, 15 GA, .853 sv%; the goalies have seen a total of 181 shots in 5 games
PK at home: 88.9%
PP at home: 20%

Ottawa:
Record: 4-3-0-8 for 8 points
Goals for: 22
Goals against: 18
Leading Rookie: Toffoli with 2-6-8
Leading scorers: Kiriakou (4-4-8), Latta (4-4-8), Toffoli (2-6-8), Martindale (3-4-7) and Cowick (5-1-6)
Goalies: Perugini 7 games played, 17 GA, .912 sv %; Perugini has seen a total of 193 shots in 7 games
PK on the road: 88.9%
PP on the road: 25%

I'll catch up with the game sometime in the second period. Hooray for PVRs!

October 05, 2008

They’re Baaaack! And the 67s Get Their First Home Win 4 -1 over Guelph

Tyler Cuma and Logan Couture were back from their respective NHL camps, Zamec returned from his suspension, the team played much better than on Friday and got their first home win of the season. All in all …. a pretty good Sunday in October.

The lineups were:

Cowick, Couture, Kiriakou,
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Zamec, Lindsay, Nesbitt
Sonnenburg, Anderson, Carnevale

The D-pairs were:
Paryzek, Cuma
Demers, Ryan
Birkhoff, Zanetti

Perugini was in the net for his 7th straight game (Courchaine was dressed and on the bench today)

Scratches were Hartwick, Schinkelshoek, Vorobyov and Hanes.

This was Guelph’s third in three on the road. They came from behind in Kingston on Friday and won in overtime; lost to Belleville last night 2 – 1.

Here’s the game sheet from tonight.

Logan Couture took his first faceoff of the season and won it to start the game. And it didn’t take long for Ottawa take control and get the first goal of the game. It was Tyler Toffoli getting his second goal of the season after Michael Latta worked hard in the front of the net and Tyler picking up the lose puck and getting it up over the shoulder of the former 67s goalie Fischer. Ryan Martindale had the other assist.

The team played hard, keeping their sticks and feet moving and not letting Guelph set up much. The TML line kept the Storm on their toes, forcing their way through traffic and creating great scoring chances including a great breakaway by Martindale early in the game. He hit the side of the net. The fore-checking had Guelph pinned a number of times.

The only goal that Guelph scored came in the first period when Luke Pither was left unattended by Tyler Cuma and he banged home the rebound. Tim Priamo got the assist.

Later, in a drive for the net Tyler Toffoli drew a hooking penalty and on the ensuring powerplay, Thomas Nesbitt kept digging for the net and swept it between the legs of Fischer to regain the lead. Tyler Cuma and Cody Lindsay got the assists. And they never looked back.



It looked a bit scary on the second power play of the game when Guelph’s Peter Holland chipped the puck past a pinching Tyler Cuma creating a 2-on-1 with Tim Priamo as Martindale raced back. The one-timer by Priamo was snapped out of the air by Perugini who anticipated the pass.

The second period was all Ottawa. For those of us at the other end of the ice, there wasn’t much close-up action. It started slow enough, with neither team getting much going for quite a while.

The main excitement was a breakaway by Tyler Toffoli at about the halfway mark when he blocked a shot from the point by Nathan Martine who rushed in on Fischer who made the glove save.

Ottawa had a number of scoring chances that they just couldn’t finish but they were getting more traffic to the net. It paid off again when Corey Cowick’s shot rebounded off Travis Gibbons and past Jake Fischer to put Ottawa up by 2 with just over a minute left in the period. Logan Couture was right on the doorstep waiting for the rebound that never came. Thomas Kiriakou got the assist.

As the period ended, Logan Couture and Nathan Martine got into it and both were escorted off the ice. Logan was some ticked off about something and kicked a Guelph player’s stick out of the way as the player was going to retrieve it. He earned himself an extra two for that bit of attitude. But I think his team mates liked seeing this side of their new captain. No more Mr. Nice Guy for him. He’s learned a thing or two out there on the west coast.

Guelph seemed to get their second wind in the third period which is pretty impressive given how much hockey they had already played this weekend but I imagine they were a bit charged after the pushing and shoving at the end of the second. Perugini made a momentum-saving save on Kennedy when Kennedy took advantage of a miscue and had the breakaway.

The game got a little chippier but nothing material came of it. As the Storm ran out of time, and down by two, they pulled the goalie with over a minute to play but the extra attacker didn’t do them any good. Corey Cowick put it into the empty net to put the finishing touch on the game. Logan Couture got the assist and his first point of the season.

Random thoughts:
  • Still some issues with finishing. Hopefully this will improve as lines continue to play together and players get used to each other.
  • Matindale has some Spezza-like habits - passes his line mates were not expecting. A habit he shouldn’t cultivate.
  • The 4th line made some good use of the limited time they saw.
  • There was some great work on the boards by Latta, Cowick, Kiriakou. Martindale got his stick in the way of a lot of Guelph pucks.
  • Cory Syvret is a bit of a dirty player. He had Kiriakou by the boards and with his back to the ref he threw in a couple of punches to Thomas’ face.
  • Corey Cowick fired a shot from the top of the face off circle that knocked the helmet off Jake Fischer.
  • Tyler Cuma got in late last night (early this morning??) and was likely playing on adrenaline alone
The team did a good job today and took advantage of a team at the end of a long road trip. It was good to have the team back together and it looks like a good year ahead.

See you next Friday when the Division leading Belleville Bulls are back in town!


Three Stars:
1 - Chris Perugini
2 - Tyler Toffoli
3 - Jake Fischer (no show)









Three of the many competitors in the wiener dog race!