Forward Combos:
Cowick, Martindale, Nesbitt (starters)
Nigro Lindsay, Toffoli
Smith, Prince, Carnevale
Janes, Merrett, Hanes
D-pairs
Zanetti, Cuma (starters)
Demers, Gibbons
Birkhoff, Ceci
Goal: Mrazek
Scratches: Graovac
To be fair, the Kingston Frontenacs were missing some key players: Eric Gudbranson (still with mono), OA Kaine Geldard, Brian Lashoff and Michale Fine who has notched 10 of his 26 points against Ottawa.
John Cullen got one of his rare starts today but unfortunately it didn't last long. As Kingston was defending it's third penalty of the game, John was visibly in pain and struggling. He still managed to hold the fort but was unable to move to stop Cody Lindsay from reaching around and putting it in the back of the net. and Mark Anthony Zanetti got the assists. So with the first period just over half done, Cullen left the game and Beskorowany took over with the shots 9 - 4 in favour of Ottawa. Apparently Beskorowany was trying to rest up....not gonna happen this game.
The 67's poured it on, getting 11 shots on Beskorowany (while allowing none on Mrazek) for the rest of the period but they were unable to get any past the big guy - injured or not.
They came out firing on all cylinders in the second, keeping pressure on the Fronts pretty much the entire 20 minutes. I was at the end where Ottawa was defending so I didn't really see too much. But I could see the second goal develop as the 67's and Fronts were battling on the boards for the puck. Tyler Toffoli picked up the puck when it sprung loose and passed it up cross-ice to Anthony Nigro. Anthony then fed it nicely to Cody Lindsay as he was coming up the middle and he beat Beskorowany short-side for his second goal of the game.
And the scoring for the day was completed with just over 5 minutes left in the second period when Petr Mrazek got an assist for a rebound that went to Marc Anthony Zanetti. In a great heads-up move, he sent a sharp stretch-pass to Shane Prince who had just gotten on the ice from the bench. It resulted in a breakaway goal, his first as an Ottawa 67's as his shot beat Beskorowany top shelf.
Meanwhile, Ryan Martindale left the game with an apparent shoulder injury with 11:29 to go. He did not return.
With a 2-goal lead, I worried that the 67's might let up and for the start of the third period, you could see that their intensity was not the same as in the second period. The Fronts got some early shots on Mrazek. As the period went on, the 67's got back into it, playing aggressively rather than trying to protect the lead. For their part, the Fronts got their second win and started getting shots through to Mrazek but Petr was ready for the challenge and successfully defended his territory.
It was another great effort right to the end as the 67's were perfect against another divisional rival.
Final score 3 - 0 Ottawa with final shots 43 - 28 for Ottawa.
Ottawa's next home game is next Friday against the Oshawa Generals.
The game sheet can be found here.
Random Thoughts:
- Cody Lindsay had a terrific game. Pierre McGuire would have clearly declared him a monster. Aside from his two goals, he was pressuring the Fronts for the entire game - there simply was no let-up.
- I also watched Cody Ceci for a while. It's hard to remember how young he is. He was having a good game, at least while I was paying attention to him.
- This game it was the Kingston Frontenacs who kept up the parade to the sin-bin. Ottawa did a good job maintaining possession during their PPs and were rewarded with one PPG for their efforts.
- Scouts in the house today - lots of them. I noted Columbus, Oilers, Phoenix and the NYI - including the gentleman I believe to be their head scout. There were others that I didn't recognize (or don't know who they scout for).
More Pictures:
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