Salituro and Lazarev lead 67's to 4-1 win over Flint

Injuries and a tough schedule didn’t get in the way of the 67’s drive to win Sunday afternoon, when they beat the Flint Firebirds 4-1 at home.

It was the third game in two-and-a-half days for Ottawa, including a 5-2 win in Peterborough Saturday night

“Tough playing three in two-and-a-half days. (Lazarev) kinda kept us in in the first until we got our legs under us, and then it was a pretty good effort after that,” said 67’s head coach Jeff Brown after Sunday’s game.

Ottawa goaltender Leo Lazarev made 30 saves in the game, earning him second star.

Flint’s Luke Kirwan managed to get the puck past Lazarev 5:56 into the third with the help of Zach Grzelewski, but it wasn’t enough for the Firebirds to stage a comeback.

First star was awarded to Dante Salituro who scored two powerplay goals, late in the first and early in the second, giving the 67’s a 2-0 lead.

Both goals (number 24 and 25 on the season for Salituro) were assisted by Nathan Todd and Evan de Haan. Todd’s performance ensured him third star of the game.

Ben Fanjoy and Nevin Guy both scored within the first four minutes of the third period, padding the 67’s lead to 4-0 before Flint’s only goal.

“I’m sure (Lazarev) wants that goal back,” said Brown.

“All the saves he made, and then the one from behind the net…” he added, smiling sympathetically.

“But listen, we had good goaltending this weekend and you can accomplish great things when you’ve got goalies who are solid in there,” he said, referring to the 67’s earning four of a possible six points over the weekend, despite a tough schedule and injuries keeping top performers out of the lineup.

The newest 67’s acquisition, Sasha Chmelevski, suffered a broken collarbone in Saturday night’s game against Peterborough. According to Brown, the 16-year-old is likely out for the remainder of the season.

“Hopefully he’ll heal up and be as good when he gets back as he was for the four or five games we had him because he was dynamite,” said Brown.

Ottawa’s next game will be at home at TD Place Arena on Friday, January 22 against the Oshawa generals. Puck drop at 7:00pm.