Round Two: Barrie Ties Series with 3-2 Double OT Win

by Alex Quevillon
It took just under 90 minutes of hockey to find a winner on Sunday, but with 9:53 gone in the second Overtime, Colts Captain Colin Behenna beat Petr Mrazek from far out to send Barrie home with a series split in Ottawa, in what ended up being the second-longest game in 67’s history. (The longest? MEMORIAL CUP (2005) GAME 2 – Ottawa vs Kelowna – Ottawa Wins in 2OT (3-2) )


Behenna’s goal was a heartbreaker as, for the second game in a row, Ottawa threw everything they had at Mathias Niederberger, matching their team name with 67 shots on the afternoon, with the Barrie netminder stopping 65 of them. Mrazek made 39 saves in the loss.

Unlike last game, neither team’s powerplay could muster anything. Similar to last game, however, Barrie came out firing in the first period, equalling their first-period total from the first game with 12 shots in the opening frame. And for the second game in a row, Mark Scheifele got Barrie on the board, the only goal in the first.

Scheifele then set up Ivan Telegin for a shorthanded marker to stretch the lead to 2-0, which is how it stayed until the third period.

Jake Cardwell buried a rebound six minutes into the third after a collision in the corner left Barrie defenceman Alex Yuill favouring his leg and unable to get back into the play. Shortly thereafter, Tyler Toffoli tied Saginaw’s Brandon Saad and Kitchener’s Tobias Rieder for the league lead in playoff goals, tying the game with his eighth of the post-season.

The first overtime period solved nothing, thanks in large part to the two goaltenders. Niederberger in particular had an amazing afternoon. While the majority of the extra frame was spent in the Barrie end, the 67’s just couldn’t put the game away. Behenna finished the game off the rush with a long slapshot that eluded Mrazek.

These two teams head to Barrie for games three and four, where these two teams split the season series. Ottawa has to have a better road effort than the ones put forward in games three and four of the last series to stay in this.

Game sheet can be found here.




Three Stars as Selected by the TEAM1200 (1st Star: Mathias Niederberger did not take a turn - presumably too pooped)




Hardest Working 67's: Mike Cazzola

Some pictures from the game:

 Some of the traffic Neiderberger had to deal with. His team did a good job of clearing rebounds out of the way.

 Cody Ceci breaking up a scoring chance by Telegin.

 Ottawa's third round draft pick Andrew Abou-Assaly interviewed by Chris Messina at the first intermission.

Click here to see more pictures.