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November 29, 2008

Ottawa 5 - Kingston 2

Well, this was a much better effort today. Kingston's new coach Doug Gilmour made his first trip into the Ottawa Civic Centre.


When these two teams last met, Kingston handed Ottawa a pretty solid defeat (5 - 1). If memory serves me correctly, that was Adam Courchaine's last start and he was chased from the net.

Well, things were going to be a little different today!

Forward combos:
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt (to start)
Nigro, Martindale, Toffoli
Sonnenburg, Lindsay, Schinkelshoek
Blunden, Anderson, Hanes

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

Goalie: Courchaine

Scratches: Carnevale (concussion), Kiriakou (shoulder), Ryan (groin), Birkhoff (mono)

Ottawa came out with much more jump and purpose to their game than they did last night against Oshawa. They held Kingston to one shot on their first powerplay and just over five minutes into the game, captain Logan Couture put Ottawa on the scoreboard with a short side shot that went in off the far post. I think Parks is still looking for it. Tyler Cuma and Adam Courchaine(!) got the assists.


And with just under 5 minutes left in the period (nice bookends doncha think?), Thomas Nesbitt and Logan Couture teamed up on one that counted this time - again beating Mavrick Parks blocker side putting Ottawa up by two.


With just over 2 minutes left in the period, Thomas Nesbitt limped to the bench favouring his left leg which is the same side that kept him out of the Oshawa game (high ankle sprain). He started the second period but only lasted 7 minutes before heading for the dressing room. Killer tried a few players in his spot (of note Toffoli and Nigro) but I think Nigro ended up with the steadier gig in that spot.

As the period hit the 13-minute mark, things got a little crazy with three goals on three shots within 26 seconds. It started with a pair from Kingston just 14 seconds apart both beating Courchaine blocker side. First was Andris Dzerins assisted by Ethan Werek quickly followed by Robert Mignardi also assisted by Ethan Werek to tie the game up. But that was it for the scoring output from the Fronts.

Not to be undone and clearly wanting to continue his goal-scoring streak Ryan Martindale restored the lead 12 seconds later (never to be relinquished) with a wrist shot that basically went through Mavrick Parks. Travis Gibbons and Julien Demers got the assists.

And
just 2 1/2 minutes later Ryan gave Ottawa a two-goal lead with a weak backhander that resulted in Mavrick Parks finding a spot on the bench in favour of Anthony Peters. Stephen Blunden and Tyler Toffoli got the assists.

Kingston came on strong in the third - pressing early in the period but an early PP goal by a very patient Logan Couture put Ottawa up by three and gave Ottawa the momentum. He was assisted by Corey Cowick and Martin Paryzek.
Logan airborne to put the puck in the net.


It was good to see Ottawa continue pressing right to the end including a couple of short-handed chances for Toffoli and Martindale. Anthony Peters made several great saves to keep more pucks out of the Kingston net.

And so the Ottawa 67s even the head-to-head series with a very solid win against the struggling Kingston Frontenacs. Given some of the pushing and shoving, and the nasty, very late period check-from-behind hit by Mignardi on Ryan Martindale, I would expect tomorrow's game to be lively.

Here's the game sheet.


The Three Stars as selected by the Team1200



Hardest Working 67s as selected by the Team1200: Tyler Toffoli


Random Thoughts:

  • Couture had an excellent game. Great back-checking, creating scoring chances for his line mates, getting 3 points. Closer to what we got used to seeing last year.
  • Cuma has to have the best diving move in the league for stopping pucks at the blue line or breaking up a scoring chance. We were treated to good examples again today.
  • About that late called goal last night...the puck entered and left the net so quickly that no one on the ice realized it was a goal. The boys upstairs on video review took a very careful review and called it down to ice-level.
  • With all the goodness of today's play by the 67s, I was wondering if a better team would have made them pay for the many mistakes they made. There were numerous turn-overs and give-aways in their own zone.
  • On the upside, the 67s put pressure on the Fronts and caused their share of turn-overs and take-aways.
  • The Latta trade was stunning news. But with Nigro and Gibbons each earning two points in their first two games - I'm getting over it. They are contributing early and often.
  • Martindale is back to his natural spot - center. Ryan Hanes was moved up from defense today.
  • Oh - and a note for Doug Gilmour, you may have earned the nickname "Killer" in the NHL but in Major Junior Hockey there is only on Killer and that's Brian Kilrea. Just in case you didn't know.




Poke check!!



That was one wierd game

John Tavares and the Oshawa Generals (sounds like a band) come to town after a solid win over Peterborough last night inspired no doubt after retiring the Oshawa jersey number 2 - Bobby Orr last night (you should ask me about my Bobby Orr story).

Oshawa wins 5 - 4 but it really wasn't that close for most of the game.

Forward Combos: (at least to start the game)
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt
Nigro, Martindale, Toffoli
Lindsay, Kiriakou, Carnevale
Sonnenburg, Anderson, Schinkelshoek

D-pairs:
Paryzek, Cuma
Hanes, Gibbons
Hartwick, Zanetti

Goal: Pergini

Scratches: Ryan (groin), Demers (flu), Blunden (sick), Birkhoff (mono)

Some days it's hard to get inspired. This is one of them. I don't have the energy to go through a recap. Here's the game sheet. Let's go right to...

Random Thoughts:
  • If you believe in omens then there were a couple of early ones starting with a goal called back. Less than 30 seconds into the game, Couture made a great move on Del Zotto resulting in Nesbitt taking a sharp angle shot. In diving to make the save Conway knocked the net off its mooring before the puck went in. He wasn't pushed into the post - he did it all on his own. So the goal was called off. Hunh! I wonder why goalies don't do that more often. It would be easy to fake.

  • Second bad sign was Perugini getting hurt on the first PK of the game. Somehow he got his leg all tangled up with a couple of Oshawa players at the post. He looked to be in some pain but after a bit of a break, he continued to play. He made it through the first period but left early in the second.

  • In a 4-on-4 situation, Tyler Cuma tried to play forward and was beat by Oshawa-D Tony Dehart who beat Perugini 5-hole to get the first goal of the game.
  • Cuma and Couture would like a couple of their shifts back - especially the one where Ottawa was on a 5-on-3. They were both outskated and outworked by John Tavares who got his own rebound to score on Perugini. Three goals on 9 shots!
  • But in addition to giving up the SHG Ottawa managed to score 3 PP goals. Go figure.
  • Courchaine came into the second period early when Perugini left. A shot that went off the post was subject of a lengthy review and Oshawa was awarded a goal to make it 4 - 1. Adam made peace with the posts and they saved him a couple of times later in the game.
  • Each team was awarded a penatly shot - both denied. Cowick tried the same move that he scored with in the shoot out last Sunday. Pretty sure that Conway would have remembered that one.
  • The second period was slow and BOOORING!
  • Ottawa left Oshawa players unattended in front of their goalie a number of times. All alone on the doorstep. The score could have been a lot worse.
  • Kirakou didn't return to the ice in the third period.
  • Overall, it looked like Oshawa was faster and sharper.
  • Nigro had a good debut as a 67s. A goal and an assist. I didn't notice Gibbons so much.
  • It must have been the lingering affects of the trade - everyone was still missing Latta. Meanwhile, Oshawa was still running on the energy from the night before with Bobby Orr.
  • It just seemed like a weird game.
The three stars as selected by Team1200:
1st - John Tavares
2nd - Thomas Nesbitt
3rd - Anthony Nigro

Hardest working 67s as selected by Team1200: Corey Cowick

Pictures from the game:




Let's have a caption contest for this one




Nigro celebrating his first goal as a 67s


November 27, 2008

Set up for Oshawa

Return engagement after Ottawa's Corey Cowick won the game against his former team in the shoot-out last Sunday. Ottawa had a two-goal lead in the third period but allowed TWO short-handed goals and the game was tied. Corey was the only player to score in the shoot-out as Chris Perugini kept the puck out of the net for all three Oshawa shooters. It was good to see Corey get the winner.

Oshawa is playing Peterborough tonight so no head-to-head stats. If Oshawa wins (leading by 2 as I write this), they will be just one point behind Ottawa and Niagara and the middle of the pack will get tighter.

This will be the first game without Michael Latta and the first game for newcomers Anthony Nigro and Travis Gibbons (wearing numbers 21 and 55 respectively). Oshawa will be without Taylor Carnavale who was traded to Barrie earlier this week.

I've heard that it will be a sell-out crowd on hand. In addition to great hockey, we will be entertained by the ZOOperstars.

See you tomorrow night and don't forget to get your teddy bears for the teddy bear toss on Saturday.

Update: The Oshawa Generals retired Bobby Orr's number last night and went on to beat the Petes 5 - 1. Ottawa is not in 4th place in the conference, 2 points behind Niagara (who won last night) and one point ahead of Oshawa.

November 25, 2008

LATTA TRADED!!!

Heard the news on the Healthy Scratches on the way home from work. Michael Latta has been traded to the Guelph Storm. Ottawa gets back Anthony Nigro, Travis Gibbons and Guelph's 2009 2nd round pick.

In the report, Dave Schreiber said that the main reason for the trade is to get Michael closer to home. Killer was supposed to be on the last segment of the broadcast to speak about the trade but it didn't work out.

Ottawa is losing a spirited, hard working, talented player who was going to contribute for the next couple of years. He had great chemistry with Martindale and Toffoli and the three of them were the most exciting line we had to watch in a while.

Ottawa gets back an older first round pick and a defenseman and a pick so Guelph paid a bit but I think they will get the better value in the long run.

Sorry to see him go - really sorry. But I trust Killer to have made the best decision for the team and the player. If it's important for Latta to be closer to home then so be it.

All the best Michael. Hope you enjoyed your time in Ottawa.

Welcome to Nigro and Gibbons. We look forward to your contributions.

Update: Just caught the clip on CTV sports. Michael's family requested the move. Michael couldn't say enough about the organization and, with a slightly choked voice said "its just something you gotta do, right?". I'm going to miss him alot.

Mancari Makes his Mark...

...pun intended. From the Sabres web site:

NOTEBOOK: MANCARI, INJURIES AND THE BUFFALO BILLS Erin Pollina
Sabres.com Nov 24, 2008, 3:58 PM EST

If there were a bright spot for the Buffalo Sabres this weekend, it would have to be Mark Mancari.

In his second career call-up with the team, the winger tallied his first NHL goal and recorded 12 shots – including seven to lead the team against the Islanders on Saturday.

Read the rest of the article here.

Keep it up Mark!!

November 22, 2008

Mancari earns Third Star...

...in Buffalo's shut-out loss to the Flyers. Here's the recap from NHL.com. Clearly he made good use of his 14:50 in ice time. He wore number 25 just like he did here.

Keep it up Mark!

November 21, 2008

3:10

That's all it took for Brampton to erase a 3-goal deficit in the third period, keep the momentum and eventually win the game 5 -4.

Ottawa came out strong, and pretty much owned the second period but as soon as the third period started I thought to myself "oh-oh they are slacking off and are going to pay for it." And pay they did. In the first 5 minutes of the third period, they only got out of their own zone twice - although one of those ventures resulted in Thomas Kiriakou's second goal of the game, Ottawa's 4th goal of the game on the first shot of the third frame to go up 4 - 1. Pieter Schinkelshoek got the lone assist.

I've already given away the ending (I always read the last page of a book right away) but stay with me for the rest of the story.

Forward combos (sort of - everything changed once Nesbitt was injured):
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt (to start - cameos after the injury)
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Lindsay, Kiriakou, Carnevale
Blunden, Anderson, Schinkelshoek

D-Pairs:
Paryzek, Cuma
Demers, Zanetti
Hartwick, Hanes

Goal: Perugini

Scratches: Ryan (injured), Sonnenburg, Birkhoff (sick), Stein (previous call-up)

The game started promising enough with Ottawa getting on the board first less that two minutes into the game on Ryan Hanes' shot from the point that Tyler Toffoli redirected past local boy Patrick Killeen for his 6th goal of the season. It was Ottawa's first shot on goal. But it didn't take long for Brampton to get it back. On their 4th shot of the game, rookie Kyle Pereira scored his first goal of the season. Assists went to Matt Duchene and point machine Evgeny Grachev.

The period remained scoreless despite several scoring chances and two power plays for the 67s. The PK by Brampton was outstanding. Ottawa might have had two shots on goal for the two PPs combined.

And there must have been some bad blood from the game on Sunday. Just before the halfway mark, Michael Latta and Stephon Thorne travelled from center ice down to the Brampton net whaling away at each other.


Then with just under 6 minutes left Marc Zanetti and Kyle Pereira (who previously turtled on Jon Carnevale) went at it.

I don't recall a 67s team in recent memory being so scrappy.

The Battalin are a fast, skilled team but the 67s outplayed them in the second frame. Latta had a good short-handed chance early in the period, the team broke up scoring chances, and skated hard. And it finally paid off with the go-ahead goal with 7:34 left to play. It was Thomas Kiriakou's 12th goal of the season putting it over the shoulder of Killeen. Jon Carnevale and Cody Lindsay assisted.

At some point in the whole proceedings (I didn't notice exactly when) Thomas Nesbitt got injured and wasn't taking anymore shifts. Killer was juggling his forwards and line combos were changing frequently it seemed. I didn't try to keep track.

Finally, on their 5th PP of the game, with Craig Moore out for delay of game (puck over the glass), Ryan Martindale scored to put the 67s up by two. Jon Carnevale and Julien Demers were credited with the assists.

So they went into the locker room up by two having just played an outstanding middle frame. They should have felt that beating this team was possible.

Well, perhaps too much. Brampton won the face off and kept Ottawa pinned in their end. The 67s seemed to be lost - unable to muster the jump and energy from the previous two periods. As mentioned in the opening, Kiriakou put the 67s up by three early in the period but the team just sat back after that and true to their name, the Battalion battled back.

In very short order, 3:10 to be precise, Brampton's Derek Gregorack (first goal of the season), Jason Dale, and Cody Hodgson scored. It started with Derek's goal from the blue line that Chris Perugini should have had. And it appeared that it rattled the team. Assisting on that flurry of goals were Kyle DeCoste, Ken Peroff, Jason Dale, Matt Duchene and Evgeny Gacheve. Yup - pretty much the point machines for Brampton.

The 67s did manage to step it up in the last half of the game but someone forgot about minding the opposition and Josh Shalla was left all alone in front of Perugini to score the game winning goal. Jason Dale and Thomas Stajan had the assists. Less than 5 minutes remained. Ottawa was unable to gain puck possession in the final minute to allow Perugini to leave the ice for the extra attacker.

And so it ended with the Battalion fighting back from a 3-goal deficit with 4 unanswered goals to win their franchise-record setting 15th game in a row and showing why their are among the country's top 10 teams.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200




Hardest Working 67s as selected by the Team1200: Jon Carnevale


Random Thoughts:

  • In the battle of the specialty teams (Brampton with a pretty solid PK and Ottawa tops in the PP department) I would have to give the game to the Battalion. Their PK (and it's really good) kept Ottawa to 1 goal in 5 tries. And not too many shots on goal in those five tries.
  • I imagine this one will eat at them for a while. They should have won this game. Guess they will remember that the game is 60 minutes.
  • To give credit though, their last 4 games have been against the two top teams in the conference. Those teams are pretty loaded with talent when compared to this relatively young 67s club (that is loaded with rookies). They have shown that they can compete with the best. They will learn from this game and it will serve to make them stronger.
  • Hockey legend Scotty Bowman was in the house tonight to celebrate 50 years since the Hull-Ottawa Canadians won the Memorial Cup. Scotty was an assistant coach for the team. Here he is being interviewed by CTV's Terry Marcotte

  • 9000 fans tonight. Brampton is lucky to get 2000. It must feel good to win in front of a lot of people even if it's not in your own rink Imagine being one of the best teams in the country and not being able to fill your own bunker (as they call it).

No game today (perhaps an energetic practice?) and then down the 401 tomorrow to take on the Oshawa Generals who are breathing down the 67s neck for third spot in the conference. They too are resting after a shoot-out loss on home ice last night. With a For Sale sign on his back expect John Tavares to play every game like it's his last one in Oshawa. Ottawa will have to seriously regroup after last night's big disappointment.

Sabres Recall Mancari from Portland

Buffalo Sabres Nov 21, 2008, 11:50 AM EST
Mancari The Sabres have recalled RW Mark Mancari from the Portland Pirates of the American League.

Mancari (23 years old, 6’3”, 225 lbs.) is currently second in the AHL in scoring with 25 points (11+14) in 14 games. He has six multi-point games this season, including a five-point (3+2) outing in Portland’s season opener on Oct. 11 vs. Manchester. Mancari was named the AHL’s Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 9, when he tallied eight points (4+4) in three games.

Mancari was Buffalo’s seventh-round choice (207th overall) in the 2004 Entry Draft.

**********
Good luck Mark!! (and all the AHL call-ups that are carrying the burden of turning their dreadful mothership teams around - sigh!).

He's looking a tad scruffy in his pic - trying to look dangerous I suppose.

Check out his interview.

November 20, 2008

THEY'RE HERE!!!

Our tickets for the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championship (gold packages) arrived in today's mail! It's getting close and the excitement is building. Tickets for the Red and White scrimmage are also on sale - showing us just soon we will all be totally obsessed with our national sport.

As mentioned earlier, the front and back covers feature pictures from the last two Canadian gold medal teams. The individual tickets have players such as Ovechkin, Crosby, Patrick Kane. And when you are putting up the big cash, you get to have your team's players on the tickets. Current and former Ottawa Senators who played in the tournament: Dany Heatley (2000 - 2001), Andrej Meszaros (2004 - 2005), Christoph Schubert (2000 - 2002), Jason Spezza (2000 2002), Chris Phillips (1996 - 1997 - he had a pretty healthy beard back then too), and Anton Volchenkov (2001 - 2002). If Redden was still around, he'd be on one too.

Who's bothering with a countdown to Christmas? Only 36 sleeps until the puck drops in the opening game!!

Set up for Brampton

Both teams come into the game with something to prove. A depleted and tired Ottawa team lost in Brampton lost 4 - 2 in Brampton last Sunday but they gave it all they had. Fresh and on home ice they will be looking to end the 14-game winning streak of the CHL 7th ranked team in the country. No word on Tyler Cuma and whether he will be joining Logan Couture in Guelph tonight for the ADT Canada-Russia series (which is now tied at one game each).

Brampton is bearing down on top spot in the East just three points behind Belleville and are moving up the rankings in the CHL chart. They will be looking to extend their winning ways. Forwards Matt Duchene and Cody Hodgson have been tapped for tonight's ADT game.

Ottawa 67s Head to Head Brampton Battalion
12-10-0-2 Record 16-6-0-0
26 Points 32
3rd - East Conference – Rank 2nd - East
81 GF 81
74 GA 62
4-4-0-2 P10 10-0-0-0
21.6 - 1st PP% (rank) 15.5 - 17th
85.8 - 4th PK% (rank) 87.3 - 2nd


Top Guns - Ottawa
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Cowick LW 17-5-22
Kiriakou C 11-10-21
Latta C 8-12-20
Toffoli RW 5-14-19
Martindale LW 7-11-18


Top Guns - Brampton
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Duchene C 12-19-31
Hodgson C 14-13-27
Grachev LW 12-9-21
Dale RW 8-6-14
Tanski C 4-9-13


See you Friday!

November 18, 2008

NHL Entry Draft Preliminary Rankings are out...

...and the Ottawa 67s have two well-ranked players.

Congratulations Michael and Chris!

The full update on NHL.com

Ontario Hockey League Preliminary Rankings - Fall 2008
SKATERS
RANK PLAYER TEAM BIRTHDAY HT WT POS SHOOTS
1 John Tavares Oshawa 20-Sep-90 6-foot 200 C L
2 Matt Duchene Brampton 16-Jan-91 5-foot-11 196 C L
3 Nazem Kadri London 6-Oct-90 5-foot-11.5 180 C L
4 Peter Holland Guelph 14-Jan-91 6-foot-1.5 188 C L
5 Calvin De Haan Oshawa 9-May-91 5foot-11.5 165 D L
6 Zack Kassian Peterborough 24-Jan-91 6-foot-2.5 212 RW R
7 Ryan Ellis Windsor 3-Jan-91 5-foot-9.25 183 D R
8 Ryan O'Reilly Erie 7-Feb-91 5-foot-11.5 205 C L
9 Taylor Beck Guelph 13-May-91 6-foot-1.5 209 LW R
10 Micheal Fine Sault Ste. Marie 10-May-91 5-foo-11.25 188 C L
11 Michael Latta Ottawa 25-May-91 5-foot-11.25 202 C R
12 Ethan Werek Kingston 7-Jun-91 6-foot-0.5 191 C L
13 Tyler Randell Belleville 15-Jun-91 6-foot-0.75 191 RW R
14 Garrett Wilson Owen Sound 16-Mar-91 6-foot-2.5 199 LW L
15 Bjorn Krupp Belleville 6-Mar-91 6-foot-2.5 189 D L
16 Marcus Foligno Sudbury 10-Aug-91 6-foot-1.75 203 LW L
17 Taylor Doherty Kingston 2-Mar-91 6-foot-6.5 217 D R
18 Casey Cizikas Mississauga St. Michael's 27-Feb-91 5-foot-10.25 190 C L
19 Jesse Blacker Windsor 19-Apr-91 6-foot-1 190 D R
20 Philip Varone London 4-Dec-90 5-foot-9.5 186 C L
21 Matthew Tipoff Belleville 4-Oct-90 5-foot-11.25 178 RW L
22 Alex Hutchings Barrie 7-Nov-90 5-foot-10.25 184 LW R
23 Matthew Clark Brampton 17-Oct-90 6-foot-3 205 D R
24 Ben Chiarot Guelph 9-May-91 6-foot-2 211 D L
25 Simon Gronvaldt Kitchener 30-Jan-91 6-foot-1.25 181 D R

GOALTENDERS
RANK PLAYER TEAM BIRTHDAY HT WT POS CATCHES
1 Edward Pasquale Saginaw 20-Nov-90 6-foot-2.5 215 G L
2 Scott Stajcer Owen Sound 14-Jun-91 6-foot-2.25 194 G L
3 Chris Perugini Ottawa 6-Feb-91 5-foot-9.5 140 G L
4 Alain Valiquette Sudbury 21-Dec-90 6-foot-2.75 184 G L
5 Peter Di Salvo Barrie 14-Nov-90 5-foot-11 190 G L
6 Michael Zador London 8-May-91 6-foot-1.5 172 G L
7 Brandon Foote Brampton 26-Apr-91 5-foot-11.25 168 G L

November 15, 2008

Low Scoring Excitment! Ottawa 2 - 1 in the Shoot-Out

Well, wasn't that a great game! Who says only the high-scoring games are fun to watch? This may have been the best game we have seen this year so far (I know, I said that before).

It was fast, momentum shifted between the the two teams, there were great scoring chances and great saves and the iron got into the action as well. Full value for our entertainment dollar last night.

Forward combos:
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Blunden, Kiriakou, Carnevale
Sonnenburg, Lindsay, a double-shifter

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

Goal: Perugini

Scratches: Schinkelshoek, Birkhof, Anderson

Ottawa jumped into the game right from the first face-off getting a couple of quick shots on Murphy and keeping the Bulls penned for the first couple of minutes.

Then the Bulls broke out and had Ottawa on their heels for a while but Ottawa rounded up the steers and regained control. With only 5 minutes left in the opening period, Ottawa had outshot the Bulls 9 - 3 but were unable to score on the two powerplays that they had including the penalty that Mike Murphy was assessed for tripping Jon Carnevale.



Both regulation goals came within 36 seconds of each other in the second period. But not before some great scoring chances and a terrific penalty kill by Ottawa. First it was Nesbitt going off for slashing and then Sean Ryan getting called for hooking creating a 5-on-3 for 57 seconds. Belleville only managed a total of 3 shots on Perugini for the entire stretch.

The Bulls were starting to maitain momentum and finally with just over 5 minutes left in the period, Ottawa native and frequent-scorer-on-Ottawa Shawn Lalonde was gifted an open-net goal when Stephen Johnston's cross ice pass found him all alone at the corner. Andy Bathgate got the other assist.

But before the announcer was finished with that one, Thomas Kiriakou tied it up with his 11th goal of the year when he took a feed from the corner to beat Murphy. Stephen Blunden and Ryan Hanes got the assists. That's Blunden's first point against his former team.

Late in the period Derek Hartwick was drilled into the boards by Spencer Anderson. Anderson was kept to short shifts in the third which didn't leave the 67s much of a chance to settle it up. We'll see what happens in the return engagement.

Both teams kept the pace up in the third looking for that go-ahead goal. But the goalies were also doing their bit to keep the puck out. Corey Cowick was called for diving and earned himself a 10-minute misconduct mid-way in the third. Cuma was hit by a puck and laboured at end of the period. Logan also got stung. And Paryzek was called for trippng late in the period. But the team prevailed and the game went into overtime.

Overtime did not end the game despite Ottawa's powerplay when Subban called for holding Toffoli.

So it went to a shoot-out. Belleville went first.

Bryan Cameron X
Logan Couture GOAL!! He got Murphy moving and beat him with a back-hand.
Stephen Johnston X
Corey Cowick GOAL!! it looked like Murphy had it initially but...NOT!

And Ottawa takes the 5th meeting of these two teams in a shoot-out. Here's the game sheet.


Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest working 67s as selected by Team1200: Julien Demers


    Random Thoughts:
  • Thank you, thank you, thank you. After that craptastic display of hockey by the Senators on Thursday, I was really looking forward to seeing some good hockey. I think Hartsy needs to bring the big boys to the Civic Centre to see what working hard and playing with heart looks like. That was brutal!
  • It was Alyn McCauley night at the game. He played before I was a 67s fan but it was clear that he was a fan favorite. He's now coaching at Queen's where former 67s Brady Morrison is tending goal.
    Photo courtesy of Mike Carroccetto (613-266-8505)

  • Toffoli sure doesn't appear to be intimidated by anyone. Subban was in his face frequently and the two of them were jawing at each other. Tyler was right up into the Subbinator's face.
  • And speaking of Tyler Toffoli, watching him skate reminds me of Dany Heatley.
  • Well attended game and the crowd was into it.
  • Adam Zamec has moved on to play in Penticton.
  • Cudos to the Team1200 team for giving Murphy the first star. You don't often see the losing goalie getting a first star much less a visiting losing goalie but he was outstanding and the reason this game was so close with 50 saves.
  • Tyler Cuma and Logan Couture have been named to Team Ontario for the ADTCanada-Russia challenge.
  • Tyler Toffoli has been named to the Team Ontario for the Men's U-17 2009 World Hockey Challenge that will take place in Port Alberni, British Columbia from December 29th, 2008 through January 4th, 2009.



Toffoli and Subban

Toffoli and Subban

One of Murphy's great saves - no stick!

Jeff Hunt presenting the OHL jerseys to Logan Couture and Tyler Cuma

For you Riley Sonnenburg fans out west - yes I know you are out there.

November 13, 2008

It Really is a Small World

You may recall a previous post that provided an update on former Ottawa 67s and Brad Bonello was among the players mentioned. At the time I noted that he was with the Texas Brahmas of the Central Hockey League (CHL).

Well, it turns out that the son of a colleague also plays in the professional minors. During the usual office hockey chat about her son she mentioned that Matt had moved from the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) league champions Knoxville Ice Bears to the CHL Mississippi River Kings. We started chatting about the CHL and the great team names and I noted that a former Ottawa 67s was playing for the Texas team.

Today Matt's mom informed me that Brad Bonello was traded to the Mississippi River Kings. Brad has made a big impression on his new team - earning CHL weekly honors.

The world is indeed small. Which is why you shouldn't pick your nose in traffic - you never know who's in the vehicle next to you!

Set-up for Belleville

Long time no post. With the team on the road last weekend and not much else to report, I haven't had much to share with you.

Here's the set-up for tomorrow night's game. These teams are scheduled to play 8 times this year and this will be their 5th meeting. After Saturday they will have played 6 of the 8 scheduled meetings. What were the schedulers thinking?

Anyway, the Belleville Bulls are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the Conference with 30 points in 22 games. The Brampton Battalion is a close second with 28 points followed by Ottawa with 23.

Head to head: the teams have split the previous 4 meetings with Belleville having won the last game on home ice 5 - 3 on October 13th.

Ottawa has come close to knocking off Windsor a couple of times and would see Belleville as another opportunity to take the game to one of league favorites.

Ottawa 67s Head to Head Belleville Bulls
11-9-0-1 Record 14-6-1-1
23 Points 30
3rd - East Conference – Rank 1st - East
74 GF 73
65 GA 57
6-3-0-1 P10 7-2-1-0
20.8 - 4th PP% (rank) 18.0 - 11th
84.9 - 7th PK% (rank) 83.3 - 9th


Top Guns - Ottawa
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Cowick LW 17-4-21
Kiriakou C 10-9-19
Toffoli RW 5-14-19
Latta C 6-12-18
Martindale LW 7-10-17


Top Guns - Belleville
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Tangradi LW 14-9-23
Cameron C 3-17-20
Subban RW 4-6-10
Tipoff C 6-12-18
Lalonde C 5-11-16


See you at the rink on Friday.

November 06, 2008

Ottawa Takes Windsor On Again...

The second meeting of these two teams this year. They met early in the season and it was a close event - Ottawa was stoned by a very hot goalie.

Windsor is solidly entrenched as the unquestionably best team in the country. To date they still have only lost one game out of 18 played.

Ottawa comes to the game on a two-game winning streak and always able to suprize.

This is also Brian Kilrea's last trip into Windsor as the Coach. Kind of fitting that it will be in the old barn. A warm and brief ceremony acknowledging his contribution to the sport and announcing the Brian Kilrea Teaching Room at CHEO. A great legacy.

Forwards:
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Blunden, Kiriakou, Carnevale
Hanes, Lindsay, Schinkelshoek

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

Goal: Perugini

Scratches: Couchaine (injury), Zamek (injury), Cuma (injury?), Anderson,

Adam Stein in as back-up goali

Face-offs are pretty important but tonight they were also profitable as at least three goals came off the face0f. The first one just 8 seconds into the game which was a record for the Windsor Spitfires. After a pretty fast period where the Spits carried most of the play, they scored two in the last 5 minutes. Here's the game sheet.

Aside from a lapse in the second period that allowed Ottawa back into the game, the Spits showed just why they have held on to first spot overall in Canada - especially in the third period when they owned the first half of the period.

But Ottawa made a game of it starting in the second period and the goals came from a new crew this time. It started with Pieter Schinelshoek getting his first OHL goal when he buried a rebound past Engelage and ruined any thought of a shut-out. Cody Lindsay and Derek Hartwick got the assists. Then Stephen Blunden >pulled Ottawa within 1 when he too he picked off a rebound while going to the net. Logan Couture and Thomas Nesbitt got the assists.

The Spitfires came out hard and fast in the third period and Ottawa's penalties finally caught up with them. Having just finished the tail end of a late second-period penalty, they went right back to the PK when Demers was called for hooking Tayler Hall. The Spits finally made Ottawa pay although there are some who think the play should have been whistled offside at the blueline. Perugini was beat going down early on a wrap-around. Windsor went back up by two.

Ottawa got that one back on a Spits give-away in their own zone. Stephen Blunden got the puck to Carnevale in the slot who fired it past Engelage before he knew what happened.

Then the pace really picked up and Windsor poured it on hard. Perugini made save after save to keep this game in reach. And just as their 6th PP ended, Corey Cowick scored his 15 goal of the season putting the puck into a completely open side. Logan Couture (or kutcher as pronounced by the announcer) and Sean Ryan got the assists to tie up the game with three minutes to play.

OVERTIME!!!
Winsdor put three forwards and a defenseman out to start the OT. It looks like they are trying to go high on Perugini. It's all Windsor. Ottawa didn't get a shot on goal for the first half of the period. Two great scoring chances by the 67s that started with Tyler Toffoli breaking in. Engelage stopped it and then stopped the rebound shot from Martindale. They were definitley gave savers.

The 67s were a man down in the last 45 seconds when Zanetti was called on a good penalty to keep Windsor from scoring. Killer called a timeout with 15 seconds left in the OT period. This gave the Ottawa penaly killers a rest. The Spits had a good chance in the dying seconds but Perugini kept the puck out.

23 - 42 shots on goal for Windsor

To the Shoot-Out!!
Logan Couture - yes
Taylor Hall - yes
Michael Latta - No
Ryan Ellis - No
Thomas Kiriakou - No
Andrei Loktionov - No
Tyler Toffoli - No
Dale Mitchell - Yes

And Windsor takes it 5 -4 in the shoot-out.

The Three Stars in the arena:
1. Taylor Hall
2. Chris Perugini (and well earned!!)
3. Andrew Engelage

I missed the Team1200 selections.

Random Thoughts:
  • Windsor is clearly a very strong team. If memory serves me correctly they have 8 NHL drafted players and a couple of other players that are slated to go high in the next draft and the team is older. They should be very strong. But Ottawa certainly gave them a run for their money. It was a good game.
  • I had heard that Cuma didn't skate the last few minutes of the game on Sunday due to a hip injury but I hadn't heard anything since. It must be somewhat serious to not have resolved itself by now.
  • That left the 67s with a pretty young blue line with just Demers, Ryan and Paryzek with any experience.
  • I'm pretty sure that the league supplies pronunciation guides for the media. So why is it that there are so many different ways to pronounce Toffoli or Paryzek? These are not really tough names to pronounce.
  • Couture's interviews are getting quite good.
  • So who do you think came out ahead in the Cowick - Valliquette trade?
  • Favourite announcer term..."under pressure". Everyone was "under pressure".
  • During the first intermission, they cut over to the game in Brampton. The rink is almost empty!! According to the game sheet attendance was 2101. How can a team survive like this?


Ottawa now hits the road for their game in Saginaw tomorrow.

November 02, 2008

Ottawa Overpowers a Weak Attack: 7 - 3

A solid win by the 67s today. They dominated play for most of the game, especially the third period, but found it hard to hold the lead for the first half of the game. Tyler Beskorowany, the Dallas Stars second round pick, made some big saves to keep his team in the game in the early going. It looked like another game where they might outplay the visitors but not get the win.

Forward Combos:
Cowick, Couture, Nesbitt
Martindale, Latta, Toffoli
Blunden, Kiriakou, Carnevale
Sonnenburg, Lindsay, Schinkelshoek

D-Paris:

Paryzek, Cuma
Hartwick, Ryan
Birkhoff, Zanetti

Goal:
Perugini

Scratches:
Demers (late scratch - lower body injury), Zamec (groin), Anderson, Hanes

Right from the first face-off, Ottawa served notice that they were going to get shots on the 6'5" Attack goalie with Thomas Nesbitt forcing the first save just 10 seconds into the game. And that was just the first of the 47 that Beskorowany would see in the game - many of them good scoring chances.

Owen Sound had some good control early in the game but the defensive play of the 67s kept them harmless. After 8 minutes of play, the shots on goal were 4 - 3 for Ottawa.

Then, just over the halfway mark, Thomas Kiriakou scored his 9th of the season on a scramble in the goal crease. Beskorowany thought he had the puck in his pads but it had squeaked out behind him and lay just in front of the goal line. Thomas-on-the-spot Kiriakou reached in and knocked it across for the first goal of the game. Corey Cowick got the lone assist.

That's Kiriakou's stick reaching in ...


But the lead didn't last long, a minute 10 to be exact when Owen Sound overager Andrew Wilkins intercepted a Zanetti pass and scored a short-handed goal to tie the game up. That was the 6th short-handed goal (I think) that Ottawa has given up already this year. Joey Hishon got the assist. I believe that Ottawa leads the league in giving up SHGs.

But this didn't turn the momentum. Ottawa was on the penalty kill late in the period and limited the Attack to only three shots despite not clearing the puck too often and Cuma playing with Nesbitt's stick, having broken his, for most of the kill.

At the end of the first, the game was tied with SOGs 16 - 8 for Ottawa.

Owen Sound found their second wind in the middle part of the second period, tying the game up once again after Logan Couture and Tyler Cuma teamed up on a great goal to put Ottawa ahead early on Ottawa's first power play goal of the game. Thomas-on-the-spot Kiriakou put the 67s ahead for good with ANOTHER goal from a goal mouth scramble. Stephen Blunde and Martin Paryzek assisted on Ottawa's second power play goal of the game.

Another goal in the scrum.


And then came the third period. I'm not sure whether Ottawa was just that dominant or the legs just collapsed under the Attack. It was Ottawa on the Attack for pretty much 20 minutes. Each of the 4 lines put a goal on the board, a power play goal from Corey Cowick (Latta and Toffoli), even strength goals from Tyler Toffoli and Riley Sonnenburg (Martindale, Latta and Lindsay, Zanetti respectively) and a short-handed goal by Corey Cowick(Couture) with just 5 seconds left in the game.

Owen Sound's Myles Doan scored his first OHL goal in the Attack's big loss.

So the game ended 7 - 3 for Ottawa with shots on goal 47 - 24 for Ottawa.

Random Thoughts:
  • First, for you Minnesota Wild fans who were concerned about Tyler after the ambush on Friday. He dressed and had a good game. He was kept out of the third period on Friday simply as a precautionary measure.
  • The TML line as reunited with Latta returning from his injury and they didn't miss a beat. They have awesome chemistry and as usual, they created chances and played well defensively. They were such fun to watch - especially in the third period.
  • The 67s gave up a few odd-man rushes but Perugini was successful as the last defenseman.
  • Talk about spreading the scoring around: 12 different players earned points in the game; 6 players had two points.
  • No power play goals allowed and three scored on the opposition. Specialty teams are clicking again.
  • Getting goals from working hard for the good scoring areas.
  • The fourth line worked hard with the minutes they got.
  • Today was the first time using a new camera. Lost a lot of would-have-been good pictures (include Riley Sonnenburg's goal, Latta's fight) if I was more familiar with the gear. It's like getting a new car - it takes a while to figure out what buttons do what.



Three Stars as selected by Team1200



Hardest Working 67s as selected by Team1200: Logan Couture






Ottawa is on the road next weekend playing Windsor on Thursday. They remain the number 1 ranked team in Canada. They meet the Saginaw Spirit on Friday (4th in the Western Conference) and then Plymouth on Saturday (10th in the Western Conference).

November 01, 2008

Set-up for Owen Sound

The Owen Sound Attack will conclude their three-game swing through the eastern-most end of the league with their game on Sunday. They won 2 -1 just 54 seconds into overtime in Kingston on Friday. Neither team scored until the third period. Attack goalie Tyler Beskorowany only faced 27 shots in the game. Tyler has been named to the to roster for game 3 of the ADT Canada Russia Challenge that will take place in Guelph on November 20th.

Both Logan Couture and Tyler Cuma have also been named to that roster and Logan was also named to the roster for game 4 which takes place on November 24th in St. Catharines.

These stats are prior to Owen Sound playing in Belleville tonight (Saturday November 1).

Ottawa 67s Head to Head Owen Sound Attack
9-8-0-0 Record 6-5-2-1
18 Points 15
3rd - East Conference – Rank 7th - West
57 GF 45
48 GA 49
5-5-0-0 P10 5-3-1-1
21.6 - 5th PP% (rank) 22.8 - 3rd
84.3 - 8th PK% (rank) 86.0 - 5th


Top Guns - Ottawa
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Kiriakou C 8-8-16
Cowick RW 12-3-15
Toffoli RW 4-11-15
Latta C 5-9-14
Martindale LW 5-8-13


Top Guns - Owen Sound
Player Postion G/A/PTS
Hishon C 13-8-21
Wilkins RW 2-9-11
Carroll C 4-6-10
Kolomatis D 3-6-9
Lomas C 3-6-9