Tyler Toffoli and Shane Prince combined for 9 points in a 5-2 victory over the Niagara IceDogs in front of a crowd of 6,382 on Canadian Forces Day.
The 67's started out of the gate early scoring 3 goals in the first seven minutes of the game. Tyler Toffoli got the 67's on the board after a nicely executed tic-tac-toe play. Cody Ceci picked up the puck at the half boards and passed it to Shane Prince who fed Toffoli in the slot. Less than two minutes later, Prince gave the 67's a two-goal lead wristing a powerful shot from the hashmarks. And then, just over two minutes later, Prince notched his 2nd of the game and 11th of the season after shooting the puck past Mark Visentin in close on stick side.
After allowing 3 goals on 4 shots, Visentin was quickly pulled and replaced by Christopher Festarini. This mixed up the course of the game and the IceDogs came out stronger after the first period. Festarini was solid when he needed to be, but the story was on the other side of the ice. By the end of two, the IceDogs were leading on the shot clock 28-16. Mrazek had to come up big on a couple of great scoring chances the rest of the game.
One goal got past Festarini when Prince did some great work handling the puck behind the net and snapping it to Toffoli who was right out front. That goal would mark Toffoli’s 2nd of the night.
After coming in fast, Andrew Agozzino roofed it high on Petr Mrazek to get the IceDogs on the board.
The 67’s ran into penalty trouble but were able to keep the damage low until Remy Giftopolous was in the box for hooking. Alex Friesen wired a shot from the point which hit an Ottawa 67’s player near the net and redirected past Mrazek to cut the lead in half.
The IceDogs kept pressing firing a total of 45 shots at Mrazek, but were unable to solve him again. Toffoli rounded out the scoring with his 3rd of the game and 24th of the season into an empty net.
NEXT GAMES:
The Ottawa 67’s host the Oshawa Generals on Friday, November 25th @ 7:30pm
The Niagara IceDogs host the Brampton Battalion on Thursday, November 24th @ 7:00pm
NEWS AND NOTES: Shorthanded, the 67’s played with 15 skaters … Sean Monahan and Taylor Fielding are expected to be back practicing with the team this week … The 67’s were 3/0 on the powerplay and held the IceDogs to 1/4 on the powerplay … Alex Friesen extended his point streak to 8 games … Dougie Hamilton extended his point streak to 6 games.
Click here to see the game sheet.
Random Thoughts from Behind the Lens:
- 8 of 9 periods played this weekend were with 15 skaters. That's a long time with a really short bench. 5 of 6 possible points won.
- When I saw the Ottawa scratches for the game and realized that Niagara hadn't played on Saturday, I thought the 67's were in tough. But they were more than up to the task with their outstanding team game. This was a great win - well played by everyone.
- The game winning goal by Prince was great chemistry between him and Toffoli. Once Prince saw Toffoli get control along the boards, he sprinted to the front of the net to tap in the laser-sharp pass. Visintin didn't stand a chance.
- The Ottawa 67's penalty kill is more lethal than their PP. Room for improvement on the PP.
- A rested Mrazek is a much more effective Mrazek. Nishi is a welcome addition to the team.
- The Ottawa 67's have a Movember team. I was planning to get shots of the 'staches but it seems that more than a few players have shaved their attempts. No matter. Men's health is a worthy cause and if you are looking for somewhere to spread your donation-giving-budget, consider the Ottawa 67's team. Click here to go to the donation site. For the men in your life.
Click here for more pictures from the game.
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