With only twenty-one seconds into the first period, Owen Sound Captain Mike Halmo surged into the Ottawa zone and ripped a shot over Petr Mrazek’s shoulder for the lead. It was the last thing the 67’s wanted after coming off a disappointing 6-5 overtime loss to the Belleville Bulls Wednesday night where they gave up a four goal lead.
The first five minutes was not the 67’s best hockey – Mrazek looked shaky and the team in front of him did not register a shot until the 14.5 minute mark. The 67’s regrouped and Mrazek came back to form after gaining more confidence off a good couple saves.
Ben Dubois got the 67’s on the board with his second shorthanded goal of the season while Steven Janes was serving a 2-minute minor for goaltender interference. The 67’s had a couple more key chances near the end of the period beating goaltender Jordan Binnington on a rebound but ringing the puck off the post.
On an early powerplay in the second period, Shane Prince grabbed a loose puck out of mid-air and tapped it past Binnington for his fifth of the year.
Some great plays continued on both sides with both goaltenders needing to be sharp. Again, the 67’s hit their second post of the game after Binnington made a great stick save.
The 67’s continued to press and the Attack progressively got more frustrated as the game went on. The Attack took a couple careless penalties including one that lead the 67’s third goal and Shane Prince’ssecond of the night. Cody Ceci wired a shot from the point which got redirected by Prince’s tip in.
Frustrations continued for the Attack. Only a couple moments later, Steven Janes was awarded a penalty shot after being taken down on a breakaway, but he failed to score and Binnington made a solid stop to keep the 67’s to a two-goal lead.
Tensions boiled over leading to a fight between Ryan Van Stralen and Kuris Gabriel. The decision was given to Van Stralen, but Van Stralen was also given a game misconduct after removing the Gabriel’s helmet. He could face supplement discipline once reviewed by Dave Branch.
Two slashing penalties within minutes of each other put the Attack in another bad position. On the two-man advantage, Tyler Toffoli beat Binnington short side and the 67s were up 4-1. More scrums ensued after the whistle but not much came from it. Steven Janes rounded out the scoring with an empty net goal to seal the 5-1 win.
Click here to see the game sheet.
NOTES: Shane Prince and Jake Cardwell extended their point streak to 6 games each … Marc Zanetti was skating today but was limited with a boot cast … Shayne Campbell is still injured while Karsten Pankhurst fills in … Brett Gustavesen was not play due to an undisclosed injury … Cameron Brace was hit with a highstick from his own teammate and stayed on the ice for a while – he stayed in the game … Rookie Artur Gavrus took a hit from behind early in the game, was a little woozy, but also stayed in the game.
NEXT GAME:
Saturday, Owen Sound @ Belleville Bulls, 7:05pm
Sunday, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds @ Ottawa 67’s, 2pm and it's the annual Wiener Dog Race Day
Three Stars as Selected by the Team1200
Random thoughts from behind the lens:
- The quick first goal against was a bit of a shocker but it might have been the best thing for the 67's as they had no time for complacency - they had to get into the game and play hard for the win.
- Steven Janes had at least 4 great scoring chances that he couldn't bury. Finally got his goal with the EN.
- It was good to see Tyler Graovac back in action after missing a couple of weeks due to illness.
- The refs called 9 penalties in the game but it sure looked like they left a lot more out there on the ice in the third period. Ottawa was 3/6 on the PP and perfect on the PK.
- It's Movember and it's entertaining to see the various facial hair results in the major junior ranks. Zanetti appears to have the lead with the most interesting (albeit still patchy) 'stach. Other players might not shave for their entire adult life and not be able to sport a credible cookie duster. Fun.
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