67's defeat Battalion 4-3 in overtime

Evan de Haan scored the game winning goal with 15.5 seconds left in the extra frame to lift the Ottawa 67’s to a 4-3 victory over the visiting North Bay Battalion on a rare Tuesday night game.

Unfortunately, only 1,648 fans were in attendance to enjoy the win. The game was originally scheduled in November, but was pushed back due to scheduling conflicts with an Ottawa Fury FC NASL playoff game.

The game turned out to be a more important than the one originally scheduled as they usually are at this time of year. Before the game, the 67’s were 3 points behind the North Bay Battalion for 4^th in the Eastern Conference. They got the win but because they couldn’t win in regulation, give up a point to their conference rival.

“It was a huge win for us. It’s one we didn't deserve, they outplayed us,” said 67’s head coach Jeff Brown. “But we found a way to win and good teams find ways to win sometimes and overcome adversity. So, that's the positive. That's what we take away from here.”

While his team will take the 2-points, it wasn’t all smiles for Jeff Brown tonight. The 67’s looked awful in the first two periods only mustering up a combined 9 shots on net. They showed the most life in the third period and extra frame, but still had inconsistencies.

“We just gave up 40 shots at home again. Our power play almost lost us the game again,” said Brown

While they only really gave up 35 shots on net, the quality of chances were high at many points in the game. Mike Amadio and Mathew Santos were all over the ice creating turnovers and blocking shooting lanes. They combined for 11 shots and those are only the ones that hit the net. Coach Brown notice that they had at least seven 2-on-1 breaks on the 67’s power play this evening.

Artur Tyanulin opened the scoring but Santos scored on a shorthanded break with none other than Mike Amadio a couple minutes later.

The Battalion took the lead twice in the second period with goals from Max Kislinger and Mountain native Zach Poirier and Nathan Todd for Ottawa. The 67’s found themselves down a goal going into the third period.

Ben Fanjoy, who has been working hard since the trade deadline, scored with just over 6 minutes left in the third to tie the game at 3. Then Evan de Haan scored one of the bigger goals in his career late in the overtime period to seal the win.

The 67’s are in town for 5 more games at home before departing back on the road. They will look to gain more ground on the Battalion while separating more ground from the two teams chasing them directly in the standings.

“We were fortunate to get a win but if you play like that, you might as will not even make the playoffs because you'll be out in four straight,” said Jeff Brown. “We have to be way better than that - not just a little bit - but we got to be way better. We got to get to work and put the workboots on.”

The 67’s host the Oshawa Generals Friday night.

Game summary here.