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October 31, 2009

67s Win the Battle

The 67s battled back twice from 2-goal deficits and with 4 unanswered goals, starting with a goal in the dying seconds of the second period, they put in a convincing winning performance on home ice.

Forward Combos:
Nigro, Martindale, Nesbitt
Lindsay, Merrett, Toffoli (starters)
Sointu, Graovac, Carnevale
Janes, Anderson, Stevens

D-pairs
Birkhoff, Gibbons (starters)
Zanetti, Ceci
Hartwick, Hanes

Goal: Perugini

Scratches: Demers (knee), Cowick (shoulder), Smith (shoulder), Cuma (suspended)

The game started with good speed and chances by both teams with Ottawa getting more shots on goal early but it was the Battalion who scored first when Matt McLeod beat Perugini short-side over his glove from a sharp angle before the game was 5 minutes old. And then Sean Jones put his team ahead with less than 5 seconds left in the period with a shot off the far post that ricocheted in.

But Ottawa got one back two minutes later when Jon Carnevale got the puck under Killeen in a goal-mouth scrum. Tyler Graovac got the assist but he should have had two assists credited to him for his hard work to set up the goal.

But the rather porous defense made this game harder to win than it should have been. Matt McLeod notched his second of the game when two 67s allowed Barclay Goodrow to throw the puck from the corner right to the front of the net where Matt had the easy point-blank shot.

Thomas Nesbitt got Ottawa back within one again with a back-hand shot that over the shoulder of Killeen. It was the finishing touch on a two-on-one with Anthony Nigro feeding him the puck. Ryan Martindale got the other assist to continue his league-leading point streak at 14 games.

And just over a minute later, Tyler Toffoli tied up the game when he capitalized on a neutral zone turn-over caused by Matias Sointu's pressure on the Brampton defenseman. Andrew Merrett got the other assist for starting the whole thing off by flipping the puck from the half-boards into the neutral zone.

Brampton took the lead for the last time with Sean Jones' scoring his second goal of the game on a break-away when Sointu had his pocket picked just inside the Brampton blue line.

We finally saw the 67s bear down and take over the scoring game for good. First it was Ryan Martindale tying the game up again with just 34 seconds left in the second period when he buried the pass from a hustling Thomas Nesbitt who got the puck from behind the net.

The third period was all Ottawa with three more unanswered goals. It was Brian Birkoff's first goal of his OHL career that broke the tie and stood up as the GWG. It was a laser-guided shot from the point that picked off the top corner of the net. Tyler Toffoli and Cody Lindsay with the assists. I think I saw Toffoli go get the puck for Brian as well.

With second goals from Jon Carnevale and Ryan Martindale (a PPG) and some stellar saves from Chris Perugini, the 67s put the game away and gave their fans a home game to cheer about.

Final score: 7 - 4 Ottawa with SOGs of 31 - 26 for Ottawa.

Here's the game sheet.

Brian Birkhoff was selected by the Team1200 as the Hardest Working 67s. I didn't get a decent in-game picture of him (which is unusual as he seems to get into camera range for most games).

Random Thoughts:
  • The Battalion were without their coach, Stan Butler who was fined and suspended for two games for his actions at their game against the Niagara IceDogs. He was in town for the game and watched from Killer's box I believe.
  • Ottawa was perfect on the PK - limiting Brampton to 4 shots in total for their 4 PPs. Perguini did his part in dealing with those 4 shots.
  • Martindale worked hard all game and generated a lot of energy for his team.
  • The D still needs a lot of work. Even though Cuma and Demers are out of the lineup, you gotta remember that between last season and this season, Tyler has only played 31 games for the 67s. They have been playing without him for a long time already.
  • Jon Carnevale's second goal was a bullet. Good thing no one got in front of it - they would be seriously damaged goods. He picked up a rebound off the end boards at full steam and let 'er rip.
  • Tylers Cuma and Toffoli are on the Canada-Russia Super Series roster.
  • Demers is skating again but is not yet cleared for contact.


Here
are some pictures from the game. Be sure to check out the gallery on the 67s web site for more.

October 29, 2009

Game Set Up - Brampton

The Brampton Battalion roll into town for a Friday night game at the Urbandale Centre. They are coming off an at-home 4-0 loss to Kitchener on Thursday. They are not likely to be happy.

Ottawa players should definitely be playing with more intensity. They haven't played since last Sunday and haven't traveled in a while. There really aren't any excuses (unless the flu bug hits the room - I haven't heard anything along those lines).

They will still be missing Cuma, Demers, Cowick and likely Smith but they have enough talent on the ice to compete against Brampton. If the 67s are going to turn the season around, now would be a good time to start.

Ottawa 67'sHead to HeadBrampton Battalion
3-9-2-1 9 pointsRecord5-6-1-1 12 points
10th EasternConference - Rank7th Eastern
46 GF37
62 GA39
1-7-1-1P105-3-1-1
(13/71) 18.3 (12th)
PP% (rank)(10/75) 13.3 (19th)
(18/71) 74.6 (19th)
PK% (rank)(13/64) 79.7 (11th)


Top Guns
Ottawa 67'sBrampton Battalion
Martindale (6-14-20)Carrick (7-5-12)
Lindsay (9-9-18)Jones (8-3-11)
Nesbitt (6-6-12)Tanski (3-8-11)
Nigro (3-6-9)Peroff (0-8-8)
Smith (6-2-8)Thorne (4-3-7)

October 28, 2009

Catching Up with 67s Alum

Just decompressing with a bit of surfing and adult beverages after a tough day in the bureaucratic salt mines. Here's what I found about some former 67s:
  • After the whole Dany Heatley thing, I really don't want to care about the San Jose Sharks but I would be doing a huge disservice to the many McGinn and Couture fans out there. In fact, Couture, McGinn, Staubitz and Joslin are all making their marks. It seems the only bust was Lukas Kaspar. Logan made his NHL debut when the Sharks were on their eastern road trip. McGinn was also called up. Here's a quick item from the baby Sharks site. Here's a news item from the Sharks site. It seems that McGinn, Couture and Staubtiz are still with the mothership. Derek Joslin has also experienced a call up. Here's some news too! Derek is wearing an A when he's in Worcester. Great news for the former 67s players. We will continue to watch with great interest.
  • Update: McGinn, Couture and Staubitz were all in the lineup for last night's game against LA.
  • Adam Courchaine was sent back to junior and as a result of the off-season trade he is with the Sarnia Sting. Looks like he got some 'tude since leaving the 67s - he actually got into a fight (!) and earned himself a few days rest as a result. Hope Perugini and Mrazek are ready to drop 'em if challenged by Adam.


  • A faithful reader enquired about former eruo D-man Martin Paryzek. He's alive and presumably well playing in the Czech Republic.
  • Who else should we track down...how about Mark Mancari. He's still with the Buffalo AHL team, the Portland Pirates where he leads his team in points. It seems that Mark asserted himself during contract negotiations (see the last line in this article). He finally signed a one-year deal. Here's a clip of a post-practice interview.


  • Thomas Kiriakou is at Guelph University playing varsity hockey and making a difference.

That's all the news I can come up with now. Listening to the Sens vs Panthers on the Team 1200 and settling in for the evening. If you have news to share, please pass it along for the benefit of all your 67s fans-in-arms.

Cheers!

October 25, 2009

Spirit Too Strong

The 5 - 2 score does not tell the whole story. The seriously depleted 67s played two solid periods and even though they were really outplayed in the third - they were in it until the last minute and change.

Forward Combos:
Lindsay, Nesbitt, Nigro
Sointu, Martindale, Toffoli
Janes, Merrett, Carnevaleb (starters)
Graovac, Anderson, Stevens

D-pairs
Zanetti, Ceci
Birkhoff, Gibbons
Hanes, Hartwick

Goal: Petr Mazrek

Scratches: Demers (knee), Cowick (shoulder), Smith (shoulder), Cuma (suspended)

The 67s put up a good fight (4 of them to be precise) against the Saginaw Spirit. The first period was fast-paced and for the first 7 minutes, neither team spent any length of time in the offensive zone. Saginaw didn't get their first shot on goal until the 11:21 mark but it was a good one - a goal after finally getting something going in the previous shift. It was Josh Shalla who got the Spirit on the board with his 12th goal of the year on a bad line change that led to a three-on-two.

But Tyler Toffoli got it back less than 4 minutes later on a play that started with Ryan Martindale's back check in his own end. Tyler drove to the net and despite losing an edge on the way, managed to tuck the puck 5-hole on Pasquale before hitting the net off its moorings.

While Ottawa played well, Saginaw started taking over. The shots started creeping up and they tended to control the puck more than Ottawa. They were fast, crisp and accurate in their execution. Vincent Trocheck gave the Spirit the lead again when he wrapped around the back of net and bounced it in off Mrazek.

But the 67s kept at it and got a luck bounce later in the second when Cody Lindsay's shot from the blue line managed to find its way behind Pasquale to tie the game again. Travis Gibbons and Thomas Nesbitt assisted.

But once again, Saginaw took the lead early in the third period when Tyler Murovick's quick shot from the face-off dot beat Mrazek short-side over the shoulder. By now the strength of Spirit forecheck was wearing the 67s down and they pretty much had them pinned in their end for most of the period - putting 17 shots on Mrazek. They scored two goals 12 seconds apart late in the third to put the game away.

It ended 5 - 2 for Saginaw with the shots 44 - 27 for Saginaw as well.

Here's the game report.

Random Thoughts:
  • With his assist on Toffoli's goal, Ryan Martindale becomes the OHL player with the longest point streak this season.
  • The 67s were perfect, killing all three penalties against the team with the best PP in the league.
  • Matias Sointu is still nursing a sore foot, Travis Gibbons' ankle is not 100% and Anthony Nigro apparently needed a few stitches after getting elbowed in the head on Friday. Add this to missing Cuma, Demers, Cowick and Smith and it's easy to appreciate just how short-handed this team played.
  • Had a chance to chat with Julien Demers. He's just getting back into things and plans to test the knee out tomorrow. If all goes well, he might be back into the game in a couple of weeks.
  • Despite the outcome, I thought the 67s played a much better game today than they did on Friday. They skated, battled hard, and looked more cohesive as a team. They are missing lots of key players and were up against a strong team. The Spirit were just stronger and faster and, I expect, a lot older (I haven't bothered to work out the age differences). Our young guys are getting a lot of ice time.
  • Lots of scouts in the house today - Montreal, Boston and Phoenix for sure from what I saw.
  • Brian Patafie was back in town and received the appropriate welcomes from his former colleagues and others.
  • Don't forget to get your online bids in for the unique game-day jerseys and support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Bidding closes Monday October 26th at


I'm trying out a new site to host my pictures. Click here to see pictures from the game.

October 24, 2009

Game Set Up - Saginaw

The 6th place Saginaw Spirit visit the Urbandale Centre to return the favour from last weekend's game in Saginaw. The 67s put up a good fight against the Eastern Conference leaders on Friday - let's see what they have for the Spirit on Sunday.

Here are the stats going into the game:

Ottawa 67'sHead to HeadSaginaw Spirit
3-8-2-1 9 pointsRecord7-4-2-0 16 points
10th EasternConference - Rank6th Western
44 GF54 
57 GA43 
2-6-1-1P104-4-2-0
(13/68) 19.1 (12th)PP% (rank)(21/75) 28.0 (1st)
(18/68) 73.5 (19th)PK% (rank)(19/79) 75.9 (16th)


Top Guns
Ottawa 67'sSaginaw Spirit
Martindale (6-13-19)Skellett (6-15-21)
Lindsay (8-9-17)Shalla (11-5-16)
Nesbitt (6-5-11)Crawford (3-12-15)
Nigro (3-6-9)Brodie (2-13-15)
Smith (6-2-8)Telegin (7-7-14)

Break out the Buckely's...

...there was waaay too much coughing (up the puck) in this 7-4 loss to the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors.

The 67s played with a seriously depleted blue line and managed to claw their way back into the game late in the third period, but before they could complete the come-back, a very ill-timed turn-over in their own end turned into the 6th goal by St. Mike's (and Devante Smith-Pelly's 4th goal of the game) to seal the deal.

Forward Combos:
Lindsay, Nesbitt, Nigro
Smith, Martindale, Toffoli
Sointu, Merrett, Carnevale (starters)
Janes, Graovac, Stevens

D-pairs
Hartwick, Ceci
Birkhoff, Zanetti (starters)
Hanes, Anderson

Goal: Perugini

Scratches: Demers (knee), Cowick (shoulder), Gibbons (ankle), Cuma (suspended)

It was not pretty in pink that's for sure. The team and officials wore limited edition pink jerseys for Pink Night to raise funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

With two veteran defensemen on the sidelines, the 67s took on the Conference leading Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. Gibbons was out with a sprained ankle walking down a set of stairs and Cuma served his first of a four-game suspension. Apparently referee Mike Pearce didn't appreciate Cuma's comments at the end of the Plymouth game last week and handed him a game misconduct for abuse of officials which carries an automatic two-game suspension. It appears that no one on the team knew that and Cuma played in the Saginaw game. The league handed him another two games to make sure that he won't forget it in the future.

The play was pretty even between the two teams for most of the first period until Mississauga got two quick goals within a minute of each other. The first was tipped through the 5-hole by Riley Brace and the second one was off a rebound that Dustin Ekelman buried. And just like that the 67s were in a two-goal hole.

Tyler Toffoli got the team back into game before the period ended with a top-shelf laser shot off a face-off win by Ryan Martindale.

Mississauga's Devante Smith-Pelly was a one-man wrecking crew getting the next 4 (!) goals for the majors: two early in the second and two in the third.

But Ottawa kept battling. Nine seconds into the second PP for Ottawa, Ryan Martindale beat Anderson 5-hole with a shot from the top of the face-off circle, closing the gap to two. Tyler Toffoli and Cody Lindsay with the assists.

With the score 5 - 3 for the Majors in the third, Ottawa got within one with two unanswered goals on the PP. The whole thing started when Jon Carnevale was hit from behind by Josh McFadden and sent into the boards. In the ensuing scrum Smith and Flemming emerged as the major combatants. Smith clearly won the tilt responding to the dangerous hit on his teammate.

Dalton Smith taking on Brett Flemming after Josh McFadden checked Jon Carnevale from behind and into the boards


When the refs sorted it all out, Ottawa ended up with a 5-on-3. On the first shot, Tyler Toffoli blasted one from the slot past the screened goalie. Assists to Lindsay and Nigro. They still had the PP for 1:38 but it wasn't close to being dangerous.

With time running out on the 67s, the Majors took another penalty that Ottawa took advantage of. Anthony Nigro brought his team within 1 when his sharp angle shot went in 5-hole off the goalie. Martindale and Ceci with the assists.

With just over 3 minutes left to play and riding the momentum of two PPGs, Ottawa was ready to complete the come back with.....oh no! Not a turn over!! Yup, Anthony Zanetti turned over the puck in his own end and Smith-Pelly buried it to end Ottawa's chances. Riley Brace book-ended the Major's scoring with his second goal of the game just to put an exclamation mark on it.

And so it ended 7 - 4 for the Majors.

Here's the game sheet.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200


Hardest Working 67 as selected by the Team1200: Cody Lindsay


Random Thoughts:
  • The passing of Ottawa 67s former owner and local sports promoter, Howard Darwin's was noted with a moment of silence before the game started.
  • New numbers for Graovac (taking the now available 12) and Stevens (changed to 6).
  • With the top d-men on the side-lines, Tyler Toffoli played the point on the PP.
  • Birkhoff* made a great diving play late in the second period to break up Geoffrey's drive to the net.
  • Yes the team was missing some key players and had a pretty young crew out there across the board, but they had some good chances that they didn't finish. It didn't help that Perugini didn't have his best game either. This game could have been stolen by the goalie.
  • Shock Wave seriously changed their harmonies for the anthem - I didn't recognize it! Please don't do that again.

* Thanks for the reader who sent me the correction. I had incorrectly identified Hartwick as the 67s player.
More Pictures:
Matias Sointu


Chris Perugini


Anthony Nigro looking to chat with Billingsley after taking an elbow to the head


Cody Ceci rubbing Brett Flemming out along the boards


Jon Carnevale and Brett Flemming


"Skate with the Players: Camden McCaffrey of the Gloucester Centre Novice As


Players shaking hands with the game's breast cancer survivor guests

October 22, 2009

Mississauga Game Set-Up

The Eastern Conference leading Mississauga St. Michael Majors visit the Urbandale Centre riding a 4-game winning streak. The Ottawa 67s are at home after a tough weekend trip where they managed to get 2 out of 6 points against tough opposition. It's worth mentioning that they were without Tyler Toffoli and got their win in the third game of the weekend.

As I mentioned in the weekend wrap-up, the numbers on their specialty teams were much better; no PPGs allowed and they managed a few PPG's of their own.

The key to St. Mike's success is the very low goals against after 12 games (24 goals allowed). Goalie Chris Carozzi is first in the league in both GAA (1.76) and Save % (.937) in the 8 games he's played. Their backup, JP Anderson ranks 4th and 14th respectively in both categories. Goaltending really makes a big difference.

Ottawa 67'sHead to HeadMississauga St. Michael's Majors
3-7-2-1 9 pointsRecord9-3-0-0 18 points
10th EasternConference - Rank1st Eastern
40 GF42
50 GA24
2-6-1-1P108-2-0-0
(10/63) 15.9 (16th)
PP% (rank)(17/65) 26.2 (5th)
(18/67) 73.1 (19th)
PK% (rank)(10/54) 81.5 (6th)


Top Guns
Ottawa 67'sMississauga St. Michael's Majors
Martindale (5-11-16)Wallen (8-6-14)
Lindsay (8-7-15)Smith-Pelly (5-6-11)
Nesbitt (6-5-11)Cizikas (4-7-11)
Smith (6-2-8)Gaunce (2-9-11)
Nigro (2-5-7)Mayer (7-3-10)

October 19, 2009

Real Men Wear Pink!

...when they're supporting a good cause.

This Friday's game-day sponsors A Touch of Light and their friends at Otto's BMW have joined forces with the Ottawa 67s to support the CIBC Run for the Cure that took place on October 4, 2009.

Players will wear pink jerseys donated by the sponsors and you can own one of these limited-edition game-worn jerseys through the online auction that has already started. Bidding on these jerseys closes on next Monday (October 26th) at 4:00 PM.

But to bid on the jerseys for Ryan Martindale, Cody Ceci, Andrew Merrett and Jon Carnevale, you will have to be at the game. These jerseys will only be available then!

All proceeds from the auctions go to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Show your support and wear pink to the game!!

October 18, 2009

Weekend Wrap Up

The team is on it's way home from one of the longer road trips of the season (about 2000km round trip). They went up against some top-ranked teams and were without Tyler Toffoli who was sick. They also continue without the services of Demers and Cowick but Jon Carnevale was back in the lineup.

The first game was on Thursday in Windsor where the Spits were likely remembering the loss in Ottawa not so long ago. I only caught a bit of the game listening to Team1200 and despite getting a two-goal jump on the Spits, they lost 8-5. They allowed 7 unanswered goals! Here's the game sheet - you can tell as good a story as me from looking at it. On the upside: they capitalized on two of their 4 power plays and didn't allow Windsor to score on either of their two power play chances.

Then it was a short trip to Plymouth for the Friday game where they were unable to get the tying goal after Cody Lindsay closed the gap in the third. Here's that game sheet for you. Again, specialty teams appear to be getting better; a PPG and they held off Plymouth from scoring on all 6 of their power play chances. Mrazek held his own - 38 saves in a 3-2 loss.

The final leg of the trip was in Saginaw where the team met up with former Ottawa67s trainer Brian Patafie and the third place Saginaw Spirit for a Saturday night game. Saginaw had just returned from Sault Ste Marie where they beat the 'Hounds 4-1 the night before, scoring 3 of those goals on the powerplay. Ottawa dug deep and won that game 3-2 getting two PPGs and not allowing any PPGs against. This is starting to look good for the specialty teams. Here's that game sheet for you.

Some observations after 13 games (almost 20% of the season):
  • Cuma seems to have caught the eyes of the refs (especially this past weekend - he had a few penalties to add to his stats). He leads the team with 20 of the 226 PIMs doled out to the 67s (Dalton Smith is a close second with 19). The 67s rank 18th in the league in PIMs averaging 17.4 PIMs per game.
  • Ryan Martindale (16 points), Cody Lindsay (15 points) and Anthony Nigro (7 points) are averaging better than a point-a-game so far (Martindale and Lindsay have played 13 games; Nigro 6). Martindale is in 20th spot in scoring in the league and Lindsay is 24th.
  • On the plus/minus front, Nesbitt has the best at plus-5; Nigro the worst at minus-5.
  • There are three games on today's slate but at this moment Ottawa has managed to move out of the basement on specialty teams: now 17th in the league for the PK and 19th on the PP. Not huge leaps but positive movement all the same. They went 5/14 over the weekend on the PP and were perfect 0/10 on the PK. They did allow one shortie to Windsor on Thursday.
  • On the goalie front, Petr Mrazek and Chris Perugini rank 19th and 23rd in the league respectively.
  • With a record of 3-7-2-1 Ottawa is now in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. This will change if Sudbury beats Brampton later today.


So, they end their 7-game losing streak playing the third-game in three on the road against a pretty good team. They are trending in the right direction on specialty teams. Hopefully this will contribute to trending in the right direction for wins too!

See you on Friday when the (currently) third-place Mississauga St. Michael's Majors pay a visit.

October 15, 2009

Pieter Schinkelshoek is a London Knight


Pieter Schinkelshoek has been traded to the London Knights for Sudbury's 2010 6th round pick. Here's the press release from London.

The London native is now playing in his home town. Good luck Pieter.

October 12, 2009

Another 1-Goal Loss

This was the second game in the home and home series that started in Ottawa on Friday. The 67s were hoping for a better result, and things looked pretty good for a while. Nigro was back in the line-up but Cuma was out...apparently very sick.

Specialty teams weren't working well for the 67s. They allowed 3 PPGs (having taken 5 penalties) and only capitalized on one PP - including a 53 second 5-on-3). Kingston had the best PK in the OHL going into the game and Ottawa the worst.

Forward Combos:
Lindsay, Martindale, Toffoli (starters)
Sointu, Smith, Nesbitt
Janes, Merrett, Schinkelshoek
Nigro, Graovac, Stevens

D-pairs
Birkhoff, Ceci (starters)
Zanetti, Gibbons
Hanes, Hartwick

Goal: Mrazek

Scratches: Carnevale (mono), Demers (knee), Cowick (shoulder), Anderson, Cuma (sick)

With Cuma out of the lineup Ryan Hanes got the opportunity to play his natural position at D and for a guy who has not been in the lineup regularly and normally as a forward when he gets in the lineup, he did a pretty good job.

The backup goalies from both teams started the game but neither one saw the end of the game.

Once again, Ottawa scored first in the very early going of the game - on their first shot on Cullen at 1:21. It was Matias Sointu tapping in a pass from Thomas Nesbitt. The lead only lasted a few minutes when Ethan Werek's shot from the faceoff dot beat Mrazek high on the short side.

In his first game of the regular season, Anthony Nigro contributed immediately with an assist on Derek Hartwick's first goal of his OHL career. Nigro's centering pass to Graovac went off a Kingston skate and Derek picked up the puck and tucked it past Cullen. The other assist went to Tyler Graovac.

The rest of the goals were scored in the second period with Ottawa starting out with its only PPG of the game just 34 seconds in the second period. Ryan Martindale got behind the Kingston defender and tapped in Anthony Nigro's cross-crease pass. Cody Lindsay had the second assist and continued his point streak and Ottawa had a two-goal lead.

But then the wheels came off. First it was a PPG, again on the first shot of the PP. Zach Harnden was all alone at the corner of the crease - and I mean all alone - Mrazek was hung out to dry and could not get across fast enough to block the shot. As a result (?) of the PPG, Kingston pulled their goalie! Cullen got the hook and Big Beskorowany was back in net early in the second period. Guess Gilmour was not taking any chances.

Kingston's Clouthier tied it up at the half-way mark when he put it past Mrazek in a bit of a crowd in the blue paint.

Kingston got their first lead of the game a minute and change later, on the PP when Mrazek went way out of his crease to go after the puck and Ethan Werek just threw the puck at the net. It likely went in off one of the 67s skates. Three unanswered goals and Kingston finally had the lead.

Ok, we're still in the second period and the scoring isn't done yet.

Ottawa fought back and tied it up when Travis Gibbons' wrist shot from the blue line went over the shoulder of a screened Beskorowany. Merrett and Schinkelshoek with the assists.

The final goal of the game came on a Kingston PP with Cody Ceci in the box for slashing Ethan Werek's stick in half. And in another odd goaltending decision, Mrazek was pulled for Perugini at this very moment. Perugini had to take the start of the PK at the end of the second period. Of course he was cold and on the very first shot of the powerplay Alan Quine beat him five-hole to go ahead for good.

Ottawa played hard in the third period but Beskorowany was big in net, making a couple of big saves to protect the lead.

The game ended with Kingston's big come from behind 5-4 win although Ottawa outshot the Fronts 31 - 28.

There are 5 teams in the Eastern Conference with 7 points but Ottawa is in last place having played 10 games. The other four teams (Niagara, Belleville, Sudbury and Brampton) all have games in hand.

Ottawa has a big road trip ahead of them next weekend, playing Windsor (4th place in the West), Plymouth (5th) and Saginaw (3rd).

Here's the game sheet.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200 (no good picture of second star Ethan Werek)


Hardest Working 67 as selected by the Team1200: Matias Sointu


Random Thoughts:
  • The new Kingston arena is pretty nice. There weren't very many fans (I don't believe the number on the game sheet) but they are a very loyal bunch. I spent some time in the tuck shop and they were moving a lot of stuff. I'm sure just about every fan has a hat and at least three pictures of their favourite Fronts. Now that Kingston is icing a better team and getting better results, this is likely to get even better.
  • Mrazek's fondness for leaving the crease has always worried me (I like it when goalies stay put) and his bold move contributed to the results.
  • There were some really terrific plays by Ottawa players to break up the Kingston rushes, clear out in front of the net, and put pressure on Kingston and their goalies but they are just not getting the finishing. They skated much better in this game than on Friday.
  • The in-the-house three stars were Werek, Fine and Nigro.
  • Speaking of Nigro, in his first game back he went from the 4th line to the top line and specialty teams. Expect to see some line juggling to make room for him further up the depth chart.
  • When Kingston changed goalies, you could see the team pick up its game. They know which of the two tenders is going to carry them far this season. And Beskorowany is going to carry them far. This Dallas prospect fills the net with his big body and moves fast.


More Pictures:
Mrazek save


Hanes on D


Peter Stevens has decided to forgo the facial hair.


Clearly no one on the team takes Don Cherry's rants on taping the skates seriously. He reminded players of the importance of this when Montreal's Markov was sidelined with a cut tendon. Ah to be young and invincible! Until someone gets hurt.


Someone should mention to Kingston that it should be "You're on TV".

October 10, 2009

Ick at the UC

The recently re-branded Urbandale Centre (UC) has not been a really lucky place for the 67s thus far. With their 3-1 loss to Kingston on Friday, their home record is 1-3 and they sit in last place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 2-4-2-1 for 7 points. Also with 7 points in this young season: Niagara, Belleville, Sudbury and Brampton so there's plenty of time and room to move up.

Ottawa 67'sHead to HeadKingston Frontenacs
2-3-2-1 7 pointsRecord4-4-0-0 8 points
7th EasternConference - Rank4th Eastern
25 GF24 
29 GA26 
2-3-2-1P104-4-0-0
(4/40) 10.0PP%(7/50) 14.0
(14/46) 69.6PK%(6/44) 86.4


Top Guns
Ottawa 67'sKingston Frontenacs
Lindsay (5-5-10)Farrell (5-5-10)
Martindale (3-7-10)Harnden (3-3-6)
Nesbitt (4-4-8)Werek (3-2-5)
Smith (5-1-6)Moon (1-4-5)
Sointu (2-3-5)Gudbranson (0-5-5)


Forward Combos:
Lindsay, Martindale, Toffoli (starters)
Smith, Merrett, Nesbitt
Sointu, Graovac, Stevens
Janes, Anderson, Schinkelshoek

D-pairs
Birkhoff, Cuma
Zanetti, Gibbons (starters)
Hartwick, Ceci

Goal: Perugini

Scratches: Carnevale (mono), Nigro (mono), Demers (knee - going under the knife), Cowick (shoulder), Hanes


Cody Lindsay started the game off in the right direction when he took a cross-ice from Ryan Martindale to beat a moving Tyler Beskorowany just 21 seconds into the game.

But it didn't last long.

In a communication failure between Hartwick and Perugini, Kingston's Derek Froats was able to tuck the puck under Perugini in a wrap around just 1:14 later to tie up the game and on the very next shot on goal 45 seconds later off a face off, Kingston went up by one on Ethan Werek's goal. Three goals between the two teams just 2:20 into the game.

Ottawa had a few good shifts and managed to pull even with Kingston for shots but I would venture to say that Kingston played a better first period. They kept more of the play in Ottawa's end.

In the second period, it was the other way around. Ottawa kept most of the play in Kingston's end and got a lot of shots through to Beskorowany, including about 8 shots in the 3 PP opportunities they had, but he's such a big guy, unless you get him moving, pretty much everything hits him in the crest and he didn't give out too many rebounds.

Despite working hard for most of the period, Ottawa's undoing was undisciplined penalties. Chris Perugini was screened on Brian Lashoff's shot from the mid-point early in the first 5-on-3 that Ottawa gave Kingston. Ottawa killed the rest of the penalties but the damage was done and Ottawa was unable to capitalize on any of their 5 PP opportunities.

With the man advantage for the last 46 seconds of the game, Byrne pulled Perugini for the 6th player but Ottawa was unable to score.

So, with this loss to a Divisional rival, Ottawa falls to last place in the Conference. These teams meet again on Sunday in Kingston. I plan to be at the game. Hopefully we will see a better result.

Here's the game sheet.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200


Hardest Working 67 as selected by the Team1200: Cody Ceci


Random Thoughts:
  • Cody Lindsay has been on a tear lately and is the team's top scorer with 6 goals and 11 points so far.
  • Chris Byrne might not want to cut the team any slack about the key players out of the line-up but you gotta admit that missing Nigro and Cowick up front is not great. Between the two of them last year, they had 129 points with Nigro being a point-a-game guy. But as the coach said, this is an opportunity for the other guys to step up and show what they are all about. Tyler Toffoli is having a slow start.
  • As for the D, there's only one rookie back there, Cody Ceci, and he seems to be doing very well as a rookie. Gibbons had his struggles on the point last night.
  • In looking at how old the teams are that were iced last night, Kingston put an 'older' team in play with 6 18 year olds, 6 19 year olds and 2 20 year olds in comparison with Ottawa's 5, 5, and 2. Ottawa had 3 16 year olds which includes Ceci who is does not turn 16 until December 21 (the youngest player in the OHL this year).
  • I shot from between the benches in the first period and overheard the friendly exchanges between Kingston backup goalie Cullen and former Front and recently acquired Peter Stevens. Likely to spend a lot of time on the bench backing up Beskorowany this year, I suppose Cullen has to amuse himself somehow.


More Pictures:
Newly acquired Chester NY native Peter Stevens


Michael Fine apparently took umbrage with Smith's hit on Gudbranson. Smith responded.


Smith tangled up with a Kingston player


Chris Perugini pouncing on the puck


Nigro must be on the way to recovery - allowed to be around the team


Cuma and Fine going for the air-borne puck


A summit discussion between Nesbitt and Beskorowany


One of the many contestants in the annual Wiener Dog Race.

October 03, 2009

Click!

It was as if someone threw a switch.

The Memorial Cup champs and third best ranked team in the country rolled into town Thursday for Friday's game. They are a team stacked with talent including two players who are being touted as possible 1-2 picks (Tylor Hall and Cam Fowler) in next year's NHL entry draft. They also iced 8 players who have been drafted in the NHL including two first rounders (Ryan Ellis 11th overall by Nashville in 09 and Greg Nimesz 25th overall by Calgary in 08).

Forward Combos:
Lindsay, Martindale, Nesbitt (starters)
Smith, Toffoli, Merrett
Sointu, Graovac, Carnevale
Hanes, Janes

D-pairs
Birkhoff, Cuma (starters)
Demers, Gibbons
Zanetti, Ceci
Hartwick

Goal: Perugini

Scratches: Schinkelshoek, Nigro (mono), Cowick (injury), Anderson

Like the game against the Soo last Sunday, Ottawa drew first blood. Just 32 seconds into the game Cody Lindsay scored his first goal of the season when he ripped the first shot of the game top shelf past Troy Passingham from the face-off circle. Ryan Martindale and Tyler Cuma were credited with the assists.

It was good up and down hockey but Windsor had the edge. It started with Ottawa's first PP...which wasn't so good although they managed to get a couple of shots through. Then it was Windsor's turn on the PP. The best in the league. And it only took one shot 30 seconds in. Adam Henrique's shot got by a screened Chris Perugini. Cam Fowler and Greg Nemisz got the assists. The rest of the period saw a lot of skating but not too many real scoring opportunities.

Ottawa had some good pressure early in the second but could not get a goal. Windsor went up by two with two PP goals. Like the first goal, these two were also scored on the first shot on goal on each of them. Cam Fowler got his first OHL goal with an easy tap in on the side when he was left all alone at the side of the net. Scott Timmins put the Spitfires ahead 3 minutes later. Ottawa had their chances but couldn't bury any of them. The shots after two were 22 - 14 for Ottawa but Windsor had the lead.

After two, it didn't look that good for the 67s but someone found the switch for these players during the second intermission.

The comback started just 2:40 into the period with Tyler Graovac notched his second goal of the season when he put Cuma's rebound past Passingham short side. Tyler Cuma had the only assist and it was a one-goal game.

The 67s continued playing aggressively, putting pucks on the net and going for the big fat rebounds coming from the Spitfire goalie and it paid off. About 5 minutes into the final frame, Thomas Nesbitt tied it up when his shot from below the goal line bounced into the net off Passingham. Cody Lindsay and Ryan Martindale assisted.

And it was just over the half-way mark when Cody Ceci scored a memorable first OHL goal that put his team ahead and stood as the game winner against the third ranked team in the country.

Cody Ceci celebrating his first OHL goal (and the go-ahead GWG)


Windsor poured it on in the third and certainly had their chances, including 3 PPs, one of which was a 5-on-3 for 32 seconds. The 67s played more aggressively on the PK, Perugini made some great saves and Ottawa had some luck to boot to come back with 3 unanswered goals, defend the PP and hold of the final push by the Spitfires with the extra attacker.

Here's the game sheet.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200


Hardest Working 67 as selected by the Team1200: Brian Birkhoff


Random Thoughts:
  • Practice this week clearly paid off. Among the good news, the 67s did not give up any 5-on-5 goals. And they kept the Windsor big guns from doing real damage.
  • Scare with Gibbons going down in the second when he went hard into the boards feet-first. He had to be helped off the ice to the dressing room. But he managed to come back later in the game but he probably played with a lot of pain.
  • The new players, Graova, Smith, Ceci, Sointu and Janes are all improving.
  • Lots of scouts in the house again, as expected with Taylor Hall and other promising '91 birth years on the ice.
  • The Spitfires are very aggressive on their PP. They are fast enough to defend all over their zone.
  • Passingham gave out really juicy rebounds. The Windsor D had to be sharp to clear them out of harm's way.


More Pictures:
Chris Perugini making one of many saves


Steven Janes


Derek Hartwick and Taylor Hall


Tyler Toffoli shot on goal


Tyler Toffoli


Matias Sointu