The Ottawa 67’s host the sliding Kingston Frontenacs tonight before embarking on another 3-game roadtrip. With only 8 home games remaining, the 67’s will look to make the most of their home ice advantage.
Sitting 9th in the Eastern Conference with only a 2 point lead on the Belleville Bulls (who are also in action tonight), every game down the stretch is crucial. The 67’s only earned 2 of a possible 6 points this past weekend, all against inter-divisional opponents. Liam Herbst earned his first start at home, but it didn’t go as well as he’d hoped. He’ll likely get his next chance on the roadtrip coming up.
Kingston currently holds on to 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with North Bay and Barrie following closely behind. They come into tonight’s game in the midst of a 5-game losing streak – their longest losing streak of the season. In these past 5 games, the Frontenacs have allowed 29 goals; an average of 5.8 goals a game (Matt Mahalak let in 26 of the goals while Peressini let in 3).
Lost in these stats is the absence of top ranked prospect Sam Bennett. He has been sidelined with a lower body injury for the past 4 games. It is the same injury that kept him from participating in the CHL Top Prospects game this past week. The Frontenacs are 1-4-0-0 without Bennett in the lineup; the 4 losses included in thier 5-game losing streak. The Frontenacs expect Bennett to return to the lineup next week.
The 67’s will have to take advantage of the struggling Frontenacs. Added to these other stats, the Frontenacs are a much better home team and are just over .500 on the road (10-10-1-1). Though he has been the team’s top performer against the 67’s (11 points in 5 games), the team boasts much more talent than just Sam Bennett. NHL draft picks D Mikko Vainonen (Nashville) & LWer Henri Ikonen (Tampa Bay) have been huge additions to the lineup. Ikonen has been very noticeable so far in the season series vs the 67’s. Also drafted are G Matt Mahalak (Carolina) & C Ryan Kujawinski (New Jersey). D Roland McKeown is expected to be drafted in the 1st round while RWer Spencer Watson and LWerRyan Verbeek are expected to go in the later rounds.
Some good news for the Frontenacs, it has been reported that Ryan Verbeek is expected to play in Ottawa after missing eight games with a broken thumb.
2013-14 Regular Season Record
Ottawa 67's: 15-24-1-3 (GF: 150 / GA: 193), 9th in Eastern Conference
Kingston Frontenacs: 24-17-2-2 (GF: 198 / GA: 173), 3rd in Eastern Conference
Leading Scorers
Ottawa 67’s
Ryan Van Stralen – 21 goals, 44 points in 44 games
Travis Konecny – 13 goals, 43 points in 39 games
Dante Salituro – 15 goals, 38 points in 45 games
Kingston Frontenacs
Sam Bennett – 26 goals, 66 points in 40 games
Spencer Watson – 23 goals, 45 points in 42 games
Henri Ikonen – 33 goals, 45 points in 33 games
Players To Watch
Ottawa 67's
Jacob Middleton – NHL draft eligible 2014, 87th on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings
Alex Lintuniemi – NHL draft eligible 2014
Travis Konecny – 1st overall pick in OHL, NHL draft eligible 2015
Erik Bradford – 10 points in 5 games since being acquired from Barrie
Kingston Frontenacs
Matt Mahalak – drafted in the 6th round by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2011
Mikko Vainonen – drafted in the 4th round by the Nashville Predators in 2012
Henri Ikonen – drafted in the 6th round by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2013
Ryan Kujawinski – drafted in the 3rd round by the New Jersey Devils in 2013
Samuel Bennett – NHL draft eligible 2014, 1st on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings
Roland McKeown – NHL draft eligible 2014, 15th on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings
Spencer Watson – NHL draft eligible 2014, 43rd on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings
Ryan Verbeek – NHL draft eligible 2014, 147th on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings
Overagers
Ottawa 67’s: Ryan Van Stralen, Philippe Trudeau
Kingston Frontenacs: Darcy Greenaway, Michael Moffat, Matt Mahalak
Leadership Squad
Ottawa 67’s: Taylor Fielding (A), Ryan Van Stralen (A), Joesph Blandisi (A)
Kingston Frontenacs: Michael Moffat (C),
Potential Scratches
Ottawa 67's: Mike Vlajkov, Taylor Davis
Kingston Frontenacs: Sam Bennett, Nichol, Watson
*follow us on twitter (@msconduct or @A_Quevillon) for game day scratches
Kingston Frontenacs
Who's Gone?
Marc Beckstead – cleared waivers, now playing for Gatineau in the QMJHL
Cody Alcock – graduated from the OHL, now playing for Lakehead in the OUAA
Jean Dupuy – traded to Sault Ste. Marie in OHL
Luke Hietkamp – graduated from the OHL, now playing for Wilfrid Laurier in the OUAA
Ryan Hanes – graduated from the OHL, now playing for Waterloo in the OUAA
Ryan Hutchinson – sent home, personal issues
Colin Furlong – cut from team
Mike Morrison – graduated from the OHL, now playing for Waterloo in the OUAA
Sam Povorozniouk – traded to the Windsor Spitfires
Billy Jenkins – traded to the Niagara IceDogs
Dylan DiPerna – traded to the Kitchener Rangers
Jean Dupuy – traded to the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds
John Bowen – went through waivers, played two games with Victoriaville in the QMJHL, no longer active
Who's New?
Lawson Crouse – drafted by Kingston in the 1st round, 5th overall in 2013
Conor McGlynn – drafted by Kingston in the 6th round, 110th overall in 2011
Corey Pawley – aqcuired from the London Knights
John Bowen – aqcuired from the Windsor Spitfires
Loren Ulett – signed as a free agent this season, played with Trenton in the OJHL last season
Matthew Watson – drafted by Kingston in the 5th round, 98th overall in 2012
Matt Mahalak – aqcuired from the Windsor Spitfires
Robert Polesello – drafted by Kingston in the 5th round, 98th overall in 2010
Ryan Hutchinson – drafted by Kingston in the 4th round, 70th overall in 2011
Mack Lemmon – acquired from the Niagara IceDogs
Ryan Verbeek – acquired from the Windsor Spitfires
Evan McEneny – acquired from the Kitchener Rangers
Ottawa Connections
Samuel Schutt – Previously played for the Ottawa Valley Titans in the OEMHL
Warren Steele – Previously played for the Smith Falls Bears in the CCHL
So Far This Season…
2013-14 Head-To-Head Stats
Record: 5-0-0-0 for Kingston (0-4-0-1 for Ottawa)
Combined score: 31-15 for Kingston
Past game preview:
Oct 29/13 Kingston Frontenacs @ Ottawa 67's
Dec 20/13 Kingston Frontenacs @ Ottawa 67's
Past game reviews:
Oct 4/13 7-4 67's loss in Kingston
Oct 29/13 2-1 67's loss in Ottawa
Nov 17/13 8-0 67's loss in Kingston
Dec 20/13 8-5 67's loss in Ottawa
Jan 1/14 6-5 67's shootout loss in Kingston
Top scorers
Ottawa 67's
*Joseph Blandisi – 4 goals, 3 assists in 5 games
Dante Salituro – 3 goals, 3 assists in 5 games
Ryan Van Stralen – 4 goals, 1 assist in 5 games
Brett Gustavsen – 2 goals, 2 assists in 4 games
Kingston Frontenacs
Sam Bennett – 5 goals, 11 assists in 5 games
Spencer Watson – 5 goals, 3 assists in 5 games
Roland McKeown – 3 goals, 5 assists in 4 games
Henri Ikonen – 1 goal, 7 assists in 3 games
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