For the second straight game, the Ottawa 67’s nearly made
a comeback in the third period; but for the second straight game, they failed
to do so and another must-win game for the 67’s fell through the cracks.
After going down 3-0 early in the third period, the 67’s rallied
back scoring three goals in the final 10:33 minutes of the game. But it wasn’t enough as Damien Bourne scored the eventual game winner with just under 7
minutes left.
It was a scoreless through the first 39 minutes of the
game. Philippe Trudeau stood tall and faced 27 shots before giving up a
Jesse Barwell powerplay goal to open the scoring. Just 14 seconds later, Josh Burnside scored his 9th goal of the season to give the Steelheads
a late 2-0 lead going into the third period.
 |
| From earlier this season. |
“We are working so hard this entire game. We've been
battling and chipping away. it's great to get the first one you know because
then we have all the momentum going into this third period, scoring two goals
in the last two minutes of [the second period] it's just good and we hope to
carry it out,” said Damien Bourne who was on the ice for Mississauga’s second
goal.
Sam Babintsev made
it 3-0 Steelheads 4 minutes into the third period off a nice passing play from Austin Gerhart and, exceptional status
defenseman, Sean Day.
The 67’s were able to maintain more consistent pressure
for the first time in the game. Erik Bradford got the 67’s on the board
to start the comeback. Travis Konecny scored
his first of the game beating Spencer
Martin cleanly and displaying his terrific shot to cut the lead to 1. But 19 seconds later, Damien Bourne scored to
regain the Steelheads’ 2 goal lead.
Not showing any quit, the 67’s continued to press and
gain more puck possession. Converting
off a 5-on-3 powerplay, Konency tallied his second of the game to get the 67’s
back within one with just under 3 minutes to go. Building off of the momentum, the 67’s held
control of the puck for the remainder of the game. The Steelheads were able to hold on to their
lead and win 4-3 in regulation.
“We’re both looking for playoff spots. We're treating
this like a playoff game and we knew we were both going to come out hard and
we're going to battle until the end,” Travis Konecny told Rogers TV in the
first intermission.
After a rough start to the game, Konecny was the best
player on the ice in the third period.
He finished the game with two goals and an assist and was a +1.
“I'd have to give all the credit to the guys in the room.
I couldn't have done it without those guys showing me the ropes and helping me
out so far. It's been a good transition for me and I'm looking forward to the
last 23 games,” said the always humble Konecny.
The loss is a very tough one for the 67’s who currently
sit outside of the playoff picture. The Mississauga
Steelheads widen their gap on the 67’s to 6 points but Ottawa has three games
in hand. Also impacting the 67’s tonight
were the Niagara IceDogs who pulled out a 4-3 win over the powerhouse Erie
Otters. The IceDogs also sit 6 points
ahead of the 67’s where the 67’s have one game in hand. Ultimately leaving tomorrow night’s game
against Niagara as a must win. A big opportunity
to gain some ground as the Steelheads are inactive for the rest of weekend.
Game summary can be found here.
NOTES:
- Erik Bradford picked up another two points in tonight’s loss. He now was 6 goals and 15 points in his 8 games so far with Ottawa. Bradford has picked up a point 7 of 8 games and picked up multiple points in 6 of 8 games since the trade.
- Both Jonathan Duchesne and Brendan Bell fought in tonight’s game. Duchesne, whose fight appeared to be staged, now has 6 fighting majors on the season. Brendan Bell earned his 7th fighting major after frustrations boiled over late in the game.
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