A big test for the Ottawa 67’s as they host Connor McDavid and the top team in the CHL, the Erie Otters tonight at 7pm. The Otters are one of the hottest teams in the OHL winning 10 of their last 11 games earning themselves top birth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings as well as first in the OHL.
The Otters are now on a 5-game win streak after defeating the Peterborough Petes 6-1 last night. Fresh off his OHL Player of the Week award, Dane Fox tallied 3 goals and an assist. On fire, Fox has 13 goals and 20 points in his last 6 games.
Along with Player of the Week, Fox was also awarded the OHL Player of the Month. Fox recorded at least 1 point in 12 of the 13 games and had multiple points in 9 games duing the month of November. He was recognized as one of the game’s three stars eight times during this time as well.
Fox isn’t the only one with hardware this month. Otters’ goaltender Devin Williams was named the OHL Goaltender of the Month after posting a perfect 9-0-0-0 record including two shutout victories while earning a goals-against-average of 1.95 and save percentage of .925.
For the second consecutive month, Travis Konecny was named the OHL Rookie of the Month. He led all rookies in scoring in last month with 16 points in 11 games. Konecny picked up a point in 8 of 11 games including five multi-point games in the month of November.
Konecny was held off the scoresheet in Ottawa’s 4-3 loss to the Sudbury Wolves. Philippe Trudeau was solid stopping 44 of 48 shots in a losing effort. Read the game review here: http://ottawa67s.blogspot.ca/2013/12/trudeau-worn-out-thrown-to-wolves-in-4.html. Making some small strides, the 67’s are 3-1-0-1 in their last 5 games and will look to get back on a winning track while kicking off a 6 game homestand.
This is the second of two meetings between the two clubs this season. In the midst of the 67’s first road trip of the season, the 67’s fell 6-2 to the Otters back on October 19th. Connor Brown of the Otters had 4 points in the win. Read the game review here: http://ottawa67s.blogspot.ca/2013/10/stunicka-with-pair-of-goals-in-6-2-loss.html
The Otters have not always been so dominate, infact, their success this season has come as a surprise to many. The Otters finished 10th in the Western Conference last season and just 9 points above the 67’s for second last in the league. The two teams split the season series last year with subsequent blowouts at home. The Otters beat the 67’s 6-2 in Erie while the 67’s beat the Otters 8-1 in Ottawa.
A lot of their success can be looked from Connor McDavid. Arguably the best player in junior hockey, McDavid is off to another strong start along with the rest of his team. The Erie Otters boast 3 of the league’s top 5 scorers: Dane Fox and Connor Brown lead the league with 58 points while Connor McDavid sits close by in 5th with 47 points.
The Otters have two capable goaltenders that share the games creating a great goaltending tandem and giving the coach options. Oscar Dansk and Devin Williams are ranked 3rd and 4th respectively with the top OHL goaltenders. Both goaltenders have very similar records. Both have 12 wins and 3 shutouts. Dansk holds a 2.39 GAA & 0.910 SAV% while Williams holds a 2.44 GAA & 0.909 SAV%. Dansk was awarded the Goaltender of the Month in October and Williams was awarded the same title for November
To learn more indepth about the newest addition and key returnees, check out the Erie Otters 20 in 20: www.ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-20-in-20-erie-otters from earlier this season.
NOTES:
OHL Rookie of the Month: Travis Konecny
OHL Player of the Month: Dane Fox
OHL Player of the Week: Dane Fox
OHL Goaltender of the Month: Devin Williams
World Junior Championship preliminary rosters: Connor McDavid (Canada), Adam Pelech (Canada), Oscar Dansk (Sweden), André Burakovsky (Sweden)
2013-14 Regular Season Record
Ottawa 67's: 10-14-1-2 (GF: 93 / GA: 115)
Erie Otters: 24-4-1-0 (GF: 138 / GA: 70)
Leading Scorers
Ottawa 67’s
Travis Konecny – 10 goals, 29 points in 27 games
Ryan Van Stralen – 12 goals, 28 points in 27 games
Dante Salituro – 8 goals, 26 points in 27 games
Erie Otters
Dane Fox – 34 goals, 58 points in 29 games
Connor Brown – 19 goals, 58 points in 29 games
Connor McDavid – 11 goals, 47 points in 28 games
Players To Watch
Ottawa 67's
Travis Konecny – 1st overall pick in OHL in 2013, NHL draft eligible 2015
Joseph Blandisi – drafted 6th round by Colorado in 2013
Jacob Middleton – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Jacob Middleton – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Alex Lintuniemi – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Erie Otters
Erie Otters
Connor McDavid – 1st overall pick in OHL in 2012, NHL draft eligible 2015
Connor Brown – drafted 6th round by Toronto in 2012
Andre Burakovsky – drafted 1st round by Washington in 2013
Adam Pelech – drafted 3rd round by New York (Islanders) in 2012
Oscar Dansk – drafted 2nd round by Columbus in 2012
Darren Raddysh – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Devin Williams – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Overagers
Ottawa 67’s: Ryan Van Stralen, Philippe Trudeau
Erie Otters: Dane Fox, Michael Curtis, Spencer Abraham
Leadership Squad
Ottawa 67’s: Taylor Fielding (A), Ryan Van Stralen (A), Joesph Blandisi (A)
Erie Otters: Connor Brown (C), Adam Pelec (A), Troy Donnay (A), Michael Curtis (A)
Potential Scratches
Ottawa 67's: Mike Vlajkov, Taylor Davis (also scratched last two games: Troy Henley, Trevor Dulong, Connor Graham)
Erie Otters: ?
*follow us on twitter (@msconduct or @A_Quevillon) for game day scratches
Erie Otters: ?
*follow us on twitter (@msconduct or @A_Quevillon) for game day scratches
Erie Otters
Who's Gone?
Anthony Cortellessa – n/a
Stephen Harper – recently traded to the Belleville Bulls
J.P. Labardo – graduated from the OHL, playing with the Fort Wayne Komets
Connor Crisp – traded to the Sudbury Wolves
Luke Cairns – recently traded to the Saginaw Spirit
Jimmy McDowell – traded to the Sarnia Sting
Artem Kuleshov – n/a
Jack Kuzmyk – n/a
Who's New?
Brendan Gaunce – recently acquired from the Belleville Bulls
Dylan Strome – 1st round pick 2013 OHL Priority Selection
Quentin Maksimovich – 6th round pick 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Michael Curtis – recently acquired from the Belleville Bulls
Andre Burakovsky – 1st round pick 2013 CHL Import Draft
Cory Genovese – acquired from the Erie Otters
Travis Dermott – 9th round pick 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Ottawa Connections
Unknown
So Far This Season…
2012-13 Head-To-Head Stats
Record: 1-0-0-0 for Niagara
Combined score: 6-2 for Niagara
Combined score: 6-2 for Niagara
Past game reviews:
Oct 19/13 6-2 67’s loss (http://ottawa67s.blogspot.ca/2013/10/stunicka-with-pair-of-goals-in-6-2-loss.html )
Top scorers
Ottawa 67's
Sam Studnicka – 2 goals, 0 assists in 1 game
Dante Salituro – 0 goals, 2 assists in 1 game
Dante Salituro – 0 goals, 2 assists in 1 game
Ryan Van Stralen – 0 goals, 2 assists in 1 game
Erie Otters
Connor Brown – 0 goals, 4 assists in 1 game
Travis Dermott – 0 goals, 3 assists in 1 game
Dane Fox – 2 goals, 0 assists in 1 game
UPDATE:
PROJECTED LINES
67's
Bell - Studnicka - Fielding
Van Stralen - Blandisi - Konecny
Hill - Salituro - Gustavsen
Abou-Assaly - Brown - Urbanic
Lintuniemi - Guy
Duchesne - Middleton
Sloboda - Henley
Otters
Fox - Gaunce - Brown
Curtis - McDavid - Burakovsky
Evans - Strome - Betz
Murphy - Pettit - Hodgson
Pelech - Raddysh
Genovese - Abraham
Dermott - Donnay
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