67's Battle Back for a Controversial OT Win over Windsor

By Kathryn Jean

It wasn’t all fun and games right away for the home team.  With only 15 seconds into the game, Alexander Khokhlachev scored on Petr Mrazek after the 67’s were unable to clear the zone. 

The 67’s would tie it up less than three minutes later when Shane Prince slid the puck through the legs of John Cullen on the right side.  This sparked thousands of teddy bears being launched from the stands to signify the home team’s first goal.  All those teddy bears will be donated to local kids.

The Spitfires continued to press until Brandon Devlin shot the puck past Mrazek and it landed in the back of the net just over a minute later.

After the three quick goals, things started to get heated.  Dalton Smith and Ty Bilcke squared off in a lengthy battle with Smith coming out victorious.  A couple minutes later, after taking exception to a hit Ryan Van Stralen and Nick Czinder dropped the gloves with Czinder falling over from not being balanced.

With a screened Mrazek, Brady Vail fired a shot from the slot which jumped over Mrazek stick high on the blocker side and in.  Play continued at both sides of the ice.  Ryan Van Stralen notched his third of the season with a wrist shot from the faceoff dot – the puck flew top shelf past Cullen with 3 minutes to go in the second.

The two teams continued to press with Windsor controlling portions of the play and the 67’s being lucky that the posts made a couple of saves.  Midway through the third, the 67’s caught a break when Nicholas Foglia grabbed a loose rebound from Steven Janes shot and tapped it past Cullen to tie the game at 3.

The Spitfires had a great chance to get the go ahead goal after a questionable tripping call on Shane Prince had the home team fans up in arms.  The 67’s only allowed one shot on net and impressively created a couple of shorthanded chances themselves.  They were able to hang on to force overtime.

The 67’s may have gotten some luck back the other way. During the huge scramble in front of the net Dalton Smith grabbed the puck scored the eventual overtime winner with the goaltender down without his helmet.  The back referee called it a goal right away but for extra measures, it went to a lengthy review.  In the end, it was a good goal and the 67’s started of their weekend on a high note.

Click here to see the game sheet.





Three Stars as selected by the Team1200





Hardest working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Ryan Van Stralen

Next Game:
The Ottawa 67’s face the Peterborough Petes tomorrow night at 7:05pm at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. The Windsor Spitfires continue their road trip taking on the Belleville Bulls tomorrow night at 7:05pm at the Yardmen Arena.

News & Notes:  Sean Monahan picked up an assist to keep his 3 game scoring streak alive … Brett Gustavsen and Tyler Graovac are still nursing a cold … Shayne Campbell has been cleared to work out after recovering from surgery … Ryan MacLean was added to the 67’s lineup and looks to be travelling with the team this weekend … John Cullen was visibly upset and tried to approach the referees after the final call.  He tweeted, “I didn't know I was playing in the 1940's tonight where goalies don't wear helmets. Games on the line & the ref decides to sit on his whistle”.  What Cullen forgot to mention was that the rest of rule states “…play shall only be stopped if there is no immediate or impending scoring opportunity.”  It’s a tough loss.

Random Thoughts from Behind the Lens:

• Got to give the 67's credit for playing (albeit inconsistently) for the entire game. Another come from behind victory. This one they really had to grind out.
  
• The 67's were emotionally flat in the first period. Even Dalton Smith's decisive tilt with Ty Bilcke didn't spark much emotion. It took them a while to get their game-day mojo going.
  
• After the Smith-Bilcke tilt there was some confusion with gear. As he was sorting himself out, Dalton was short an elbow pad. Neither bench had it and finally Windsor's Czinder (who was in the Windsor sin-bin) found an extra elbow pad and tossed it across (over the timekeepers) to Dalton. I wonder why more gear doesn't end up in the wrong spot after some of these tilts. Helmets and gloves are pretty obvious I guess but other gear isn't (clear mouth guards for example).
  
• In the second period, they started getting their game going and were doing everything but scoring.
  
• Man the Windsor bench bosses are vocal - especially Assistant Coach D.J. Smith. You could see some of his kids continually looking at the bench for instructions.
  
• The World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton and Calgary is coming and countries are starting to work on their rosters. Tyler Toffoli and Cody Ceci have been invited to the Canadian selection camp which starts on December 10th. It looks like Michal Cajkovsky will be playing for Slovakia. Shane Prince looks like a lock on Team USA which will be announced on Monday. And finally, the Czech Republic has come to its senses and ended the extortion his former team was attempting with Petr Mrazek. He has been cleared to play for his country. Good luck to everyone.
  
• Some folks didn't toss their teddy bears at the appointed time but instead tossed them during (and at the end of) the game. A few more teddy's going to kids charities. 
• Click here to see SportsNet's video recap of the game.  

Pictures from the game:

Some of the many teddy bears that were tossed on the ice for the first Ottawa goal of the game.   Dalton Smith's tilt with Ty Bilcke. No contest - Smith gets the call   Ryan McLean was called up to replace missing bodies. I suspect he will stay until the end of the World Junior's.   Rookie David Perklin battling in the Windsor zone.   Nick Foglia with the tying goal.   The controversial end to the game.   Click here to see more pictures.