Full Team Effort in 67's 5 - 2 Win Over Barrie

Another strong game from Sean Monahan led the injury riddled 67's to a 5-4 win over the visiting Barrie Colts. Everyone stepped up to give Shayne Campbell another win at home.

Click here for the game sheet.

Down two veteran D (Zanetti and Luciani) and arguably their best defensive player not playing defense, Petr Mrazek, as well as Jon Carnevale and with Janes and Fontana still side lined, there were no healthy scratches for this game.

And despite being in last place in the league, the Barrie Colts were not to be taken lightly. They already beat Ottawa twice this year and their last two games were one-goal losses against Kingston and Guelph where they had scored a total of 9 goals.

Remy Giftopolous and Brett Gustavsen were called up last weekend while the 67's were on the road and they will be staying with the club for the rest of the season.

Byrne went went with the same lines as Wednesday, sprinkling his older vets across the lines: Smith, Martindale, Toffoli; Prince, Monahan, Nesbitt; Lindsay, Graovac, Dubois; Giftopolous, Foglia, Gustavsen.

The order of the day was strong defensive play and so they did but not at the expense of generating scoring chances. Barrie didn't get their first SOG until halfway through the first period by which time Ottawa had 10 shots on Barrie keeper John Chartrand.

Ottawa went 1/4 on the PP while the Colts went 1/6. Cody Ceci started the scoring with Ottawa's lone PPG on a one-timer from the high slot. Ryan Martindale with the perfect feed off the half-wall with the first assist and Tyler Toffoli with the second assist.

Hard working Tyler Graovac put the 67's up 2-0 when he knocked Ben Dubois' rebound out of the air and past Chartrand 5-hole. Cody Lindsay with the other assist.

But despite being pretty much outplayed all period, Barrie pulled within 1 when Thomas Nesbitt turned over the puck inside his own blue line allowing Taylor Pearson to pick it up, shoot, get his own rebound and beat Campbell top shelf. That was Barrie's 6th SOG with about 4 minutes left in the period.

Sean Monahan continued his scoring ways as he restored the two-goal lead with 1:12 left in the period. Shane Prince fed a great pass to Sean in slot. Brett Gustavsen with the second assist.

The Ottawa 67's got themselves into a bit of penalty trouble in the second, playing almost half of it short-handed, including 54 seconds of a 5-on-3 with both Gibbons and Smith in the penalty box. Ottawa successfully defended the 5-on-3, limiting Barrie to one SOG but with 8 seconds left in the Smith penalty, Petr Beranek slipped the puck in the net on a wrap-around attempt that went in off Sedlak's stick.

The early PPG got Barrie back in the game. They started carrying the game and Ottawa was scrambling at times. But neither team scored for the rest of the period and at the end of two it remained 3-2 Ottawa with SOGs at 27-19 in favour of Ottawa.

It took until the second half of the final frame for the 67's to get some breathing room on the scoreboard despite having possession in the offensive zone for a long stretch. Thomas Nesbitt scored short side on a play that started with Sean Monahan's hard work to keep the puck in play before the blue line. Shane Prince with the first assist.

Sean Monahan put the icing on the cake with under 7 minutes left with a nice move at the top of the crease on a pass from Thomas Nesbitt.

And these two teams have played each other for the last time this season with each team winning at home. Ottawa is 5 points ahead of Oshawa for the divisional lead with Oshawa having 2 games in hand.

The 67's now prepare for Sunday's game against the high-flying Kitchener Rangers who are led by top-NHL draft prospect Gabriel Landeskog and the league scoring leader and Ottawa native Jeremy Akeson.

Hope to see you there.


Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Tyler Graovac
Random Thoughts:

• Brian Kilrea has said that after Christmas, there are no more rookies on the team meaning by then the kids have enough experience to play like veterans. Despite that expectation, it's still a bit nerve wracking to see all of them playing because so many older veterans could not. A bit like watching the Senators....only with much more on the line.
  
• Some folks have suggested that Shane Prince's success was due in large measure to the players he was playing with. In his last two games since returning from his shoulder injury he has 5 assists and is a +3 with new line mates so I guess that puts that theory to rest. He's a good player - plain and simple.
  
• Barrie Colts Behenna had at least two one-timer chances at the edge of the crease that he could not connect on. It could have been a much different outcome.
  
• Great to see points developing across the roster. Sean Monahan has been the highest scoring 67's since January 1st with 10 goals, 24 assists goals and a +16 and Cody Ceci has quietly racked up 17 points in his last 20 games. The newest members of the team, Gustavsen and Giftopolous made big contributions last weekend.
  
• This was a good win for Shayne Campbell too - creating confidence as he is likely to be in goal again on Sunday against Kitchener.
  
• Don't forget to get your copy of the 2010-2011 limited edition of "Through Our Lenses", a beautiful, 80-page full colour book of photos of the 67's. You can get your copy for $35 at the Booster Club or order it for $40 via kijiji Ottawa.
  
  
  
  
  

More Pictures: Sean Monahan's hard work leading to Thomas Nesbitt's goal in the third A one-timer in the making Welcome back Remy Giftopolous Welcome Brett Gustavsen Click here to see more pictures from the game.