After a disappointing game 4 loss at home, the Ottawa 67’s
found themselves in a hole looking at a 3-1 series deficit. A deficit they were able to overcome in round
2, but this time it was against a team that was relatively healthy and could
roll a full four lines no problem.
It was not the start Ottawa wanted. With Dalton Smith in the box for boarding, Freddie
Hamilton set up Ryan Strome in the high slot and wired it past Petr Mrazek at
the 2:02 mark of the first period to end his 6 game goalless drought.
Ottawa would respond with just over one minute later on the
powerplay. Mark Visentin made a huge
save off a Mike Cajkovsky point shot, but let out a big rebound. Sean Monahan was right in front and
redirected the rebound into the back of the net.
The fans at the Gatorade Garden City Complex were treated to
a nearly 20 minute delay well before the halfway mark of the game with a
malfunctioning penalty box door. Perhaps
the IceDogs may have caught a break, as the 67’s were starting to get back into
the game with a sense of urgency. Play resumed
for the 14 minute mark and Mrazek came up big stopping 17 of 19 shots fired his
way in the first period as Niagara dominated the last half of the period. Freddie Hamilton added a late goal after the
67’s got caught flatfooted creating a clean breakaway and Hamilton slid the
puck through the fivehole on Mrazek.
The 67’s would come out for the second period until they ran
into some penalty trouble. Just as the
powerplay expired, Alex Friesen would give the IceDogs a two-goal lead after
tipping in a Dougie Hamilton shot from the short side. Mrazek and Visentin were solid the rest of
the period.
A powerplay midway through the third period would give the
67’s some life. Tyler Toffoli fed Jake
Cardwell who was all alone out front and made no mistake to tap it into a wide
open net.
The 67’s caught another break as Freddie Hamilton took a bad
penalty in the last two minutes. The 67’s
fired everything they could at Visentin, but despite two extra attackers and
the scrambles out front – the buzzer horned signalling the end of the game. The
end of the series and the end of junior hockey careers for Marc Zanetti, Daniel
Broussard and Mike Cazzola.
The 67’s fell 3-2 to the Ice Dogs in regulation and fall 4 games
to 1 in the series. The Ice Dogs advance
to the OHL Finals vs the London Knights for the first time in their club
history.
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