Ottawa 67s Fan Blog

Summer Camp

2008-07-15T21:09:00.003-04:00

Here's some more news about Ottawa 67s at their NHL development camps:

San Jose's camp started today. Find today's news release here. They didn't post their camp roster but Couture is there as should be McGinn, Demers, and perhaps Kaspar and Joslin.

Boston's camp was last week. Get the news here. Adam Courchaine was in camp.

No word on the Ducks camp (Bailey).

Here's to some happy campers. Hope this is a good warm-up for Logan for the WJHC camp that will start in Ottawa next week.

Alumni News and Other Noteworthy Tidbits

2008-07-12T16:43:00.002-04:00

Some movement of former Ottawa 67s around the NHL. As anyone who has been paying any attention should know by now, former Ottawa 67s Brian Campbell is now a Chicago Blackhawk.

Cory Locke, whose major junior hockey career hasn't yet translated into a steady NHL gig has been traded by the Montreal Canadians to the Minnesota Wild.

Speaking of the Wild, Tyler Cuma is (was?) at development camp. Here's a video clip. But it appears that he has suffered a bit of a set-back. Apparently he had to leave the ice early one day after getting a stick in the eye and then camp ended with a knee injury. Read the club's view on this here. With the World Junior Prospect Camp starting up here in Ottawa shortly, this has to be a major disappointment. It is highly probable that this will keep him off the ice - but you never know. Here's another article that appeared on NHL.com today.

Former Ottawa 67s Brendon Bell has been signed by the Ottawa Senators.

And finally, Zenon Konopka was signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Ottawa 67s and National Teams

2008-06-28T16:13:00.002-04:00

Tyler Cuma and Logan Couture have been invited to the National Junior Team Development Camp here in Ottawa. More here from Hockey Canada. The roster is here. The coach this year is Benoit Groulx of the Gatineau Olympiques. Read that announcement here.

And Michael Latta has been invited to the selection camp for the Men's Under-18 Team that will compete in the Ivan Hlinka tournament in . See the roster here. The press release is here.

Best of luck to all of you!! (and please stay healthy!!)

NHL Entry Draft

2008-06-28T15:33:00.006-04:00

Sorry it’s taken so long to get around to this update.

As you know by now, our Tyler Cuma was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft (23rd overall) here in Ottawa last Friday. We were at the event but the spousal-unit was dead bored by 9:30 and we left so I don’t have any pictures of him. We certainly didn't go the second day so we missed Julien Demers getting drafted by the San Jose Sharks (or Ottawa West as we call it now).

We got in the door just as Cuma was picked and it was really great to see. The Minnesota Wild have a lot of articles on their draft picks; here are the links for your reading pleasure. And here is a link to the San Jose site and their draft coverage.

As for my experience at the draft, it was a slow moving affair but it was interesting to watch. The 200 and 300 bowls were pretty much full which was great to see. Lots of fans wearing jerseys from across the NHL and CHL. Some Sting fans were right behind us and were proudly cheering for Stamkos.

The crown jewels of the NHL were there but I only got a picture of (and with) Stanley.

Glad I went but not sure I would travel to one; I think the total entertainment package on TV would be better as there is lots of “dead air time” in the arena as teams take their time to announce their picks or negotiate trades. If you do go to one, but sure the person you go with is as big a fan as you or incredibly patient.

Here are some pictures from the draft:

The Stage

The TSN Crew

Two hockey icons: Yzerman and Bowman

If you ignore them maybe they will go away...

Burke and Sutter cooking up the deal.

The Great One reacting to his reception from the fans.

What it's all about!!

2008-2009 Schedule Announced

2008-06-14T14:52:00.003-04:00

From the OHL Site:

Created: Jun 13, 2008
The Ontario Hockey League today announced the schedule of games for the 2008-09 season.

The 2008-09 season kicks off on Wednesday September 17 in Saginaw where the Spirit
will host the London Knights. The 680 game regular season concludes 179 days later
on March 15.

The Kitchener Rangers begin defence of their title at home against the Plymouth Whalers on September 19. They meet the Belleville Bulls at home on October 17 in a rematch of last May's Rogers OHL Championship Series, which the Rangers won in seven games.

The 2009 OHL Playoffs will open on March 19 and the 2009 OHL Champions, along with the champions from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League, will join the Rimouski Oceanic in the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Rimouski, PQ from May 15-24.

The Ontario Hockey League continues the tradition of being primarily a weekend league in order to accommodate the student athlete with 89% of games scheduled between Thursday and Sunday. Friday is the busiest night during the season with 216 games scheduled.

Day - No. of Games (Percentage)

Monday - 12 (1.8%)
Tuesday - 11 (1.6%)
Wednesday - 53 (7.8%)
Thursday - 93 (13.7%)
Friday - 216 (31.7%)
Saturday - 170 (25.0%)
Sunday - 125 (18.4%)

Total - 680

Here are the Ottawa 67s Games (I may have committed fat finger errors while formatting):

Fri. Sep. 19	Ottawa	at	Brampton	7:30
Sat Sep. 20	Ottawa	at	Niagara	7:00
Fri. Sep. 26	Belleville	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat Sep. 27	Ottawa	at	Belleville	7:15
Sun. Sep. 28	Ottawa	at	Oshawa	6:05
Fri. Oct. 3	Peterborough	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Oct. 5	Guelph	at	Ottawa	2:00
Wed. Oct. 8	Ottawa	at	Kingston	7:00
Fri. Oct. 10	Belleville	at	Ottawa	7:30
Mon. Oct. 13	Ottawa	at	Belleville	2:00
Fri. Oct. 17	Windsor	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Oct. 19	S.S.Marie	at	Ottawa	2:00
Fri. Oct. 24	Sarnia	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat Oct. 25	Ottawa	at	Barrie	7:30
Sun. Oct. 26	Ottawa	at	Mississauga	2:00
Thu. Oct. 30	Ottawa	at	Peterborough	7:00
Fri. Oct. 31	Mississauga	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Nov. 2	Owen Sound	at	Ottawa	2:00
Thu. Nov. 6	Ottawa	at	Windsor	7:05
Fri. Nov. 7	Ottawa	at	Saginaw	7:11
Sat Nov. 8	Ottawa	at	Plymouth	7:05
Fri. Nov. 14	Belleville	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat Nov. 15	Ottawa	at	Belleville	7:15
Sun. Nov. 16	Ottawa	at	Brampton	2:00
Fri. Nov. 21	Brampton	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Nov. 23	Ottawa	at	Oshawa	2:05
Fri. Nov. 28	Oshawa	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat. Nov. 29	Kingston	at	Ottawa	2:00
Sun. Nov. 30	Ottawa	at	Kingston	2:00
Fri. Dec. 5	Barrie	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Dec. 7	Kingston	at	Ottawa	2:00
Fri. Dec. 12	Oshawa	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat. Dec. 13	Ottawa	at	Sudbury	7:00
Sun. Dec. 14	Ottawa	at	S.S.Marie	2:00
Fri. Dec. 19	Peterborough	at	Ottawa	7:30
Tue. Dec. 30	Ottawa	at	Kingston	7:00
Fri. Jan. 2	Ottawa	at	Kitchener	7:30
Sat. Jan. 3	Ottawa	at	Sarnia	7:30
Sun. Jan. 4	Ottawa	at	London	2:00
Fri. Jan. 9	Niagara	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat Jan. 10	Mississauga	at	Ottawa	2:00
Sun. Jan. 11	Plymouth	at	Ottawa	2:00
Fri. Jan. 16	Saginaw	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat Jan. 17	Ottawa	at	Peterborough	7:00
Sun. Jan. 18	Ottawa	at	Mississauga	2:00
Wed. Jan. 21	Ottawa	at	Belleville	7:15
Fri. Jan. 23	Oshawa	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Jan. 25	Erie	at	Ottawa	2:00
Wed. Jan. 28	Ottawa	at	Kingston	7:00
Fri. Jan. 30	Belleville	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Feb. 1	London	at	Ottawa	2:00
Fri. Feb. 6	Brampton	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat Feb. 7	Ottawa	at	Oshawa	2:05
Sun. Feb. 8	Kingston	at	Ottawa	2:00
Fri. Feb. 13	Peterborough	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sat Feb. 14	Ottawa	at	Barrie	7:30
Sun. Feb. 15	Ottawa	at	Owen Sound	2:00
Thu. Feb. 19	Ottawa	at	Peterborough	7:00
Fri. Feb. 20	Kitchener	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Feb. 22	Niagara	at	Ottawa	2:00
Fri. Feb. 27	Ottawa	at	Guelph	7:30
Sat Feb. 28	Ottawa	at	Erie	7:00
Sun. Mar. 1	Ottawa	at	Niagara	2:00
Thu. Mar. 5	Ottawa	at	Peterborough	7:00
Fri. Mar. 6	Barrie	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Mar. 8	Sudbury	at	Ottawa	2:00
Fri. Mar. 13	Peterborough	at	Ottawa	7:30
Sun. Mar. 15	Kingston	at	Ottawa	2:00

Memorial Cup - Wrap-Up

2008-05-28T20:26:00.012-04:00

Well, I wasn’t able to blog as much as I had hoped to. Not having easy access to the internet was the major issue. The fact that the spousal unit wanted to play golf rather than watch me work away at some internet hotspot complicated it a bit too (not that I blame him – he was a really good sport about the times that I did take to update).

By now everyone knows the results, the highlights, the mishaps so there’s no point in going over all of that at this late date. So I will wrap-up with some Random Thoughts about the whole event.

Chatted with a lot of really friendly people: Frank and his daughters (I forget their names), Spiderman (aka Walter), Rob Faulds from TSN, Jorg from Vaughn sports, Mr. Jig from The Noof, Admiral the dog and his handler, our usher, the guy who wore the Penguins jersey, linesman 61, the Team Host for the Spokane Chiefs, McGinn fan and others I can’t remember. Did not run into a single unpleasant person at the Aud.
Well, maybe one unpleasant person – the security guy who said I couldn’t take pictures with my camera gear. I guess he was doing his job. The CHL only wanted accredited photographers taking pictures. The two photographer positions in front of us were unused for the rest of the game I was busted at (Tuesday?) until the final. Sorry to the Spokane fans who were hoping to see more pictures of their team.
It was interesting to watch a bunch of hockey where I really wasn’t emotionally committed to the outcome. One on the one hand, it was less nerve-wracking. On the other hand, it was hard to get all worked up and I realize that that’s a big part of what I like about watching hockey (which is largely why it’s easy to be distracted during the SCF right now – I don’t really care who wins).
It was LOUD in the Aud for the semi-final and the final.
Mike Murphy was lights-out during the round robin game against Kitchener. Our host, Larry, thought it was a bad move on the part of the Bulls to play him in that game. He thought it was highly unlikely that Murphy would be able to repeat that performance in the semi-final. He was right.
About that semi-final….after about the 8th goal, several of us noticed Beleskey and Pepe chatting as they skated to their respective benches. Pepe gave Beleskey a tap with his stick in a “man I know this must suck” kind of gesture.
in the “what goes around maybe comes around” category…after their 9-0 blowout over the Bulls, we wondered if Kitchener had used up all their goals. Apparently so.
Spokane was good. Calm, purposeful, committed to the system. Tokarski wasn’t half bad either in the third period.
As I mentioned earlier, for a region that can organize Oktoberfest, they really didn’t put much together for the fans. We were chatting with a fellow for whom this is his 5th Memorial Cup and in his estimation this was the worst from a non-game perspective.
- To get parking, you had to be there at least an hour and a half before the game.
- The Molson Haus was in a downstairs arena area and for the pre-game we were “entertained” by watching some radio personality do his radio show which basically involved introducing songs. Even the videos were just some Molson ads on a loop. Nothing at all to get the fans engaged.
- The entire food selection: hotdogs, hamburgers and pizza. There isn’t anywhere near the Aud to go eat.
- We weren’t allowed in the arena until an hour before puck drop. The outdoor area for beer and food didn’t have any tables so you had to hold your beer with one hand and try to eat your hotdog/hamburger with the other hand and somehow hang onto to the bag of chips that came with the “meal”.
- the Stanley Cup arrived one day but none of the announcements said where it was. No real advance notice that it was coming (well, one day’s notice).
- I had a chance to chat briefly with one of the Rimouski officials there to observe and learn for their Memorial Cup next year. I mentioned (in my best government French) that they need to plan many more fan-involvements before each game. This standing around was kinda boring.
Well worth the time and money invested. Not sure I would do this every year but this worked out well for us. Got to do some golfing too which made it a really good vacation. The Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge region is beautiful and really easy to get around.
volunteers make a big difference. For the readers in the National Capital Region, if you have not already done so, you should consider volunteering for the 2009 WJHC in Ottawa. I’m already signed up.

So that wraps up the 2007-2008 Major Junior hockey season. The Memorial Cup stays out west for another year as teams, fans and players turn their thoughts to next year.

The final final event for me will be the NHL Entry draft on June 20th here in Ottawa. The tickets are ordered and I’m good to go to at least the first round.
Until then….Cheers!

Memorial Cup - Game 4

2008-05-20T14:56:00.000-04:00

Belleville 6

Gatineau 3

Well, it sure seems like this is not Gatineau’s year. This was a tough game for them. Both teams started with the hits but it seemed that Belleville had the edge early. On his first shift out, Gatineau’s Labrie seemed to reinjure his knee but was soon back out there skating.

As a portent of things to come, Gatineau got into early penalty trouble and gave Belleville a 5-on-3 for 1:32 which was followed by a 5-on-4. Gatineau was defending really well but just as the penalties expired Jan Murzak deflected a shot by PK Subban to put Belleville on the board first on their 11th shot of the game.

But the groaner of the game came on Gatineau’s first power play kill when Mior felt it necessary to come out of his crease to play the puck. He mishandled it and Shawn Matthias was there to take it and score the short handed goal and put Belleville up by 2. It happened right in front of me and I was too shocked at what I was seeing to take a picture. Claude Giroux skated up to Mior and it looked like he was reassuring his goalie.

But les Olympiques were not about to go quietly into the night. Hugo Laporte got a wrist shot through from the point to make it a 2 – 1 game. And before the period was over they tied it up on a pretty 2-on-1 play Michael Stiniziani took a nice feed from Darryl Smith and beat Murphy short side.

Both teams traded goals in the second period (Cory Tanaka - another shortie - for Belleville and Claude Giroux for Gatineau) and it seemed like the could still go either way. And it stayed that way until just under seven minutes left in the game when it all fell apart for Gatineau. Three unanswered goals in under 5 minutes including a power play goal just put it away. It actually was sad to see.

The three stars of the game: Claude Giroux (3), Nigel Williams (Belleville – 2) and Shawn Matthias (Belleville – first star).

Random Thoughts:

Interesting how you can “sense” the karma of a team. Gatineau is just not giving off the vibes of world-beaters. They certainly are playing heard, with heart, are skilled and fast and everything else you would expect from a team that is representing their league but they do not have the je ne sais quoi to bring it all together. They will be home by tomorrow night.
Belleville certainly didn’t make it easy for themselves with all the off-setting penalties. That was just stupid.
Belleville’s stretch passes were crazy-good. I am so glad that the red line has been taken out of play for passes.
First time I’ve seen a goal called for interference. Murphy deliberately got in Claude Giroux’s way.
”Spiderman” from the previous game dropped by to take some pictures. He is a long time fan of the rangers (45 years – bleeds blue and white) and is getting back into photography now that the kids are getting into university. It was great chatting with him during the game and taking pictures.
Each of the tickets features an OHL player from great Memorial Cup games. The tickets for this game featured Brian Campbell from the 1999 Memorial Cup.
Akim Aliu came out of the tunnel and was escorted to a seat. He doesn’t look as big as he does on skates. He could lose the Don King look. I heard on the radio that Steve Downie is expected to show up in support of his team mate Claude Giroux.
First golf game of the season. Played at the beautiful Glencairn in the Halton Hills. My game stunk but the walk was good.

More pictures (remember that you can click on any picture in the blog to see a larger image)

Memorial Cup Jersey Watch

2008-05-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

Decided to keep a list of all the jerseys we have seen during the tournament. So far:

**CHL**
Kitchener Rangers	Belleville Bulls	Gatineau Olympiques
Spokane Chiefs	Ottawa 67s	Plymouth Whalers
Peterborough Petes	Calgary Hitmen	Kamloops Blazers
Sudbury Wolves	Brampton Battalion	St. John Fog Devil
Acadia-Bathurst Titans	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles	Oshawa Generals
Soo Greyhounds	London Knights

**NHL**
Detroit Red Wings	Boston Bruins	Edmonton Oilers
New York Rangers	Pittsburgh Penguins	Philadelphia Flyers
Vancouver Canuks	Toronto Maple Leafs	Chicago Blackhawks
Dallas Stars

**Other**
Tretiak (in Russian)	Binghampton Senators	Team Canada (various versions)

Will keep updating as we see them.

Memorial Cup - Game 3

2008-05-19T11:33:00.000-04:00

Kitchener 1

Spokane 2

Spokane was returning to the ice after their overtime win against Belleville the day before. The arena was loud with the large number of Ranger fans making lots of noise but the small Chiefs contingent held their own quite nicely.

Unlike the first two games of the tournament, this one was not going to be a high-scoring affair. Both teams started fast but Kitchener came out stronger and drew first blood with a short-handed goal less than 5 minutes into the game. Matt Halischuk intercepted a pass at the blue line, skated in hard and beat Tokarski 5-hole. And they had at least a couple of other scoring chances on the penalty kill. It looked like the Chiefs were unsettled for a bit but they soon recovered.

Kitchener had a couple more penalties to kill before the period was over but they were also very good at limiting the scoring chances; there may have been a total of three shots on goal for all the man-advantages.

After the third penalty kill, Kitchener was putting some serious pressure on the Chiefs generating many oohs and ahhs with close calls and near misses. This was at the other end of the rink so we weren’t in all the ooh’ing and ahh’ing.

But it was Justin Falk who got the even-up goal with just over 4 minutes to play beating Unice top shelf. And that’s how the opening frame ended.

Both teams started the second period much slower than the first period. But that didn’t last long and just over 5 minutes into the game Drayson Bowman scored his fourth of the tournament and what would eventually stand up as the game winning goal. Kitchener tried hard to get even again and at the end of the period they had the power play and another penalty was called just as the period ended. So they opened the third period with a 45 second 5-on-3 to be followed up with a 5-on-4 for about 1:30. You would think that they might get the tying goal with al this time but…nope…they didn’t even get one shot on net for all that time.

The third period was more of the same with both teams playing hard and this is where we thought that the game before might take its toll on Spokane but that was not the case. Their legs seemed as strong at the finish as they did from the start. With just under a minute left and in possession of the puck, the Rangers pulled Unice for the extra attacker. Spokane gained possession and almost sealed it but as the time ran out the Chiefs won 2 – 1.

Random Thoughts:

Meet Admiral. He’s in training but I’m not sure whether he is being trained to assist a visually impaired person or simply a personal aide. In any event, he is usually a regular in the Ranger’s dressing room but this time he came down to the ice to supervise the warm-up. More than one player noticed him and tapped the glass.
Very different game from last night – a different Spokane altogether. More hitting (although I think the Chiefs bounced off the Rangers more than the other way around). But they did a great job considering that they played just 24 hours previously while Kitchener was resting.
Was chatting with one of the off-duty referees and he was saying that the ice was in pretty bad shape. It seemed so from all the non-induced tumbles that players were taking yesterday and today. I think that that’s what caused Duco to take a tumble early in the game.
Speaking of refereeing, it seemed that the non-calls were pretty equally distributed (although some Rangers fans would disagree). Both teams were pretty engaged in various acts of holding, interference and the odd late hit. But the refs let them play through it and decide the outcome of the game.
Had a chance to briefly chat with Jason Akeson’s dad during the warm-up. Jason is Jeremy Akeson’s (former Ottawa 67s) cousin. (We are in a very good spot – right near the tunnel to the area behind the Kitchener bench so get a lot of folks coming and going from back there. Everyone is up for a chat.)
Chatted with a fellow from Mississauga for whom this is his fifth Memorial Cup. He’s already making plans for the Rimouski event – accommodations being his biggest concern.
We have McGinn fan, they have Spiderman. We chatted about Michael Latta – he’s a big fan.
Something I missed reporting from the first game. Again saw some young men who looked like they weren’t your average hockey fans. The escort said that they were this year’s draft picks. They were getting an early taste of the objective. Seems like a good idea.
For the opening videos from the Spokane – Belleville game, they kept showing clips of goals scored against the 67s. Like that was the only team they scored against all year. harrumph!

More pictures (remember that you can click on any picture in the blog to see a larger image)

Memorial Cup - Game 2

2008-05-18T14:18:00.002-04:00

	Belleville 4 vs Spokane 5 (OT)

Yesterday’s game featured the only team in the tournament that we have not seen before – the Spokane Chiefs. They are supported by a small but energetic crowd of family/fans.

The game started with some thundering hits by both teams and we thought we were in for a really physical game but neither team kept it up. It was as if each wanted to set a tone or send a message that they could hit if necessary. There were still some good hits but just not constant. Which is fine by me.

As with the Kitchener Rangers on Friday, the Spokane Chiefs got the early lead. Goals from Drayson Bowman, Mitch Wahl and again Drayson Bowman had the Chiefs up by 3 by the end of the first. Belleville was plain ol’ flat through that period and gave the puck up way too many times. At least one of the turnovers resulted in a goal (the second one I think).

The Chiefs fans have a score “song”. A little Italian (?!) ditty is played (you’d know it if you heard it) and at the key punctuation points the fans all yell “Chiefs!!”.

Up to this point, all the goals were at the OTHER end of the rink so we really didn’t see them (the disadvantage of being so close to the ice). So when the second period started, we all said “just watch, Belleville will turn it on and start scoring – at the OTHER end of the ice”. And sure enough – that’s what happened. This time it was Bryan Cameron scoring early in the period (on Belleville’s 5th shot of the game), Shawn Matthias scoring in the middle of the frame on the first powerplay of the game, and Cory Tanaka scoring in the final minute to make it a game! The Chiefs fans were noticeably quieter. The Belleville fans were not as organized (nor concentrated by location) in their cheering but they were there.

Belleville finally took the lead on Cory Tanaka’s second goal of the game before the halfway mark of the frame. By now Belleville was playing better and getting more shots through although they were still badly outshot overall. It looked like they might hold off the Chiefs….but Drayson Bowman got his hat trick when he tied it up during a scramble in front of the net with just under 3 minutes remaining.

Both teams played the last three minutes hard, trying for that game winning goal in regulation but time ran out. After 60 minutes it was tied at 4 with SOGs: 50 – 25 for Spokane.

Belleville came out strong in the overtime period, keeping the pressure on and getting 7 shots through before it all ended. But it was Spokane’s Levko Koper who was the right guy in the right spot to put it into an empty side when he took a nice cross-crease feed from Justin McRae at 4:46 of the OT period.

This was one of the two goals that we actually saw at our end of the ice. Final shots on goal were 54 – 32 for Spokane.

Random Thoughts:

A good game but not as entertaining as the Gatineau – Ranger game. Neither of the teams seemed to contest the ice in front of the net very much (at least from what we saw at our end of the rink) and, while both teams were skilled, it seemed a little sloppier to me overall.
Was standing behind some young men in the tunnel waiting for a break in play. They were in suits and so were obviously not just fans. They were the Spokane Chiefs scratches for the game (I asked). They looked like they were the rookies – not even a whisper of playoff beard. They were very polite (said “thank you” in unison when I wished them good luck).
Neither of these teams play a “dirty” game – only 5 penalties called all game. I know you can’t count on the refs to call all of the shenanigans but there really wasn’t much to call that we could see.
Spokane has the quick turn-around as they play a rested Kitchener Rangers today. This should be an interesting game.
Getting our money’s worth – two come-from-behind efforts to tie the games and go into overtime. 11 goals in the first game, 9 in this one. High shot-counts by both winning teams. Some spectacular saves by all goalies (although I don’t think Unice was as tested as Mior).
Ran into McGinn-Fan at the game. Had a quick chat before the game.
Had dinner at Kelsey’s (wait time was too long at Moose Wisnewski’s – but we’ll get there before the week is done). We didn’t wear our jerseys into the restaurant but some fans did. There was a table with fans wearing Wolves, Bulls, Rangers, Fyers, Fog Devils jerseys and a couple wearing Chiefs jerseys stopped on their way out for a friendly chat.
Did I mention how friendly everyone is? Not that I expected a brawl or anything – it’s just really nice to see everyone starting up conversations all over the place.
Found a free hot-spot. Buh-bye Starbucks and bell hot-spot and hello Williams Coffee Pub (but the connection is sooo slow - guess you get what you pay for).

More pictures (remember that you can click on any picture in the blog to see a larger image)

Memorial Cup - Game 1

2008-05-17T11:42:00.003-04:00

	Gatineau 5 - Kitchener 6 (OT)

The Memorial Cup opened with the host and OHL Champions playing the Gatineau Olympiques. Our “seats” are actually reserved standing room positions behind the first row of seats at ice level. This is a great spot to be if you like the close-up and personal view of the game – especially the part where they smear each other into the glass. We are right in front of Section 7, which for this game is the end that Gatineau attacked twice.

I don’t have access to internet at the B&B so I’m enjoying a cup of tea at Starbucks as I get this update updated. So it will be quick too as the spousal unit is impatiently waiting.

It looked like a rout in the making when Kitchener went up 3 – zip really quickly but those sneaky Olympiques made it a game when they got two back in the first period on only 7 shots. But you could see that Kitchener really was the better team overall as they continued to take the game more to Gatineau than the other way around.

It was fast, hard-hitting with casualties along the way and a fight too. The ‘Piques kept pressing and sure enough they tied it up late in the third period to make it really interesting. For some reason, Gatineau lost all the momentum they ended the game with. The Rangers on the other hand came out firing on all cylinders and almost ended the game on a number of shots.

The refs were letting the players play but it ended on a powerplay when Gatineau was called for too many men on the ice. It’s a cheesy way to lose an important game (only second to a puck going over the glass) but Kitchener really deserved to win the game. But they may be worried about Unice as he let in 5 goals on only 28 shots (the fourth goal being a real softie). Mior saw 53 shots.

Random Thoughts:

certainly a lot of Ranger fans as expected but also a fair sprinkling of fan from other clubs. Lots of out of town jerseys. I’m wearing a 67s third jersey from 2005 and several folks have commented on what a nice jersey it is.
everyone is really friendly – lots of casual conversations.
for a region that can organize Oktoberfest, they certainly have missed the boat here. The parking is notoriously bad here and with many folks, me included, picking up their ticket packages at the box office, there were a lot of people here reasonably early. If you wanted a pre-game beer and something to eat, you had to pay $5.00 to go underground to another rink on the premises. Otherwise you had to line up and wait for access to the arena to open (not before an hour before the game). I was starving when I got to my “spot” which was another adventure in itself – the ushers really didn’t know where the reserved standing room was.
here's the game sheet

Gotta run now. Here are some pictures.


	Now that's a playoff beard!

Road Trip! Off to the Memorial Cup!

2008-05-15T18:02:00.000-04:00

Well, we are taking to the road to Kitchener to partake in the Memorial Cup and play a little golf (that's was the deal to get the spousal unit to agree to the trip). We will be staying at the Fordleigh Farm B&B in the Cambridge area which we discovered during our golf and wine tour vacation last summer. Larry is a Kitchener Ranger season ticket holder and a serious Detroit Red Wing fan, including a Steve Yzerman shrine in his house. Guess Larry will have the bragging rights this year as both my teams are out of the playoffs.

I'll be wearing my Ottawa 67s jerseys but cheering for the Gatineau Olympiques - gotta cheer for the hockey country representative.

I hope to post a few updates from "down south" to share my experiences with you. It will all depend on getting an internet connection.

If you're watching on TV, look for the Battochio third jersy from 2005 (black). That will likely be me. Looking foward to seeing some great hockey.

Draft Day

2008-05-03T09:31:00.016-04:00

First Round: Ottawa 67s picking 7th (7th overall) select:

Tyler Toffoli from the Junior Canadians
RW 5.11 175
GP:83, G:68, A:106, Points:174, PIMS: 72
Lead his team in points this year

Scouting Report (from the OHL Prospects Guide):
Toffoli is a skilled forward that regularly plays both center and the wing. He possess quickness and keeps his feet moving all the time. He has great hockey sense and feel for the game. Toffoli has excellent puck skills, displays very soft hands and has a great touch when moving the puck. He has the ability to make plays at top speed. When in possession of the puck Toffoli displays a ton of composure and confidence, especially in the offensive zone.

Second Round: Ottawa 67s picking 3rd (23rd overall) select:

Derek Hartwick from the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs
LD 6.00 160
GP:66, G:9, A:34, Points:43, PIMS: -

A late-birth player that still needs to grow into his frame (looking at his numbers). No report in the prospect guide.

from the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs site

Second Round: Ottawa 67s picking 7th (27th overall) select: Pieter Schinkelshoek from the London Junio Knights
RC 6.00 185
GP:47, G:25, A:32, Points:57, PIMS:53

Scouting Report (from the OHL Prospects Guide): Schinkelshoek is a physically strong center that is a very offensively minded and productive player. He possesses good size and a fair amount of skill. He skates quite well displaying speed and quickness while being very tough to knock off stride. He has shown the ability to take control of the puck, skate hard off the wing and plow through traffic and defenders and get a shot on net. His speed and strength make him pretty tough to handle.

Third Round: Ottawa 67s picking 18th (59th overall) select: Ryan Hanes from the Ottawa Senators
LD 6.00 185
GP:53, G:7, A:24, Points:31, PIMS:76

A teaser from the Scouting News: Ryan Hanes, a 1992 born defenseman who played this past season with the Ottawa Senators minor midget hockey team, has every reason to look into his hockey future with optimism. See Hanes’ stock is on the rise! The youngster could be a major sleeper pick in this year’s OHL draft …

Fourth Round: Ottawa 67s picking 4th (65th overall) select: Dalton Smith from Oshawa
LW 6.01 170
GP:62, G:22, A:38, Points:60, PIMS:192

no scouting reports that I can find.

Here's what the Ottawa Sun had to say about the draft.

And here's what the Ottawa Citizen had to say.

Here's the entire list:

**The Ottawa 67s 2008 OHL Priority Draft**
Rnd	No.	Player	Pos.	Ht	Wt
1	7	Tyler Tollofli	RW	5.11	175
2	3	Derek Hartwick	LD	6.01	165
2	7	Pieter Schinkelshoek	RC	6.00	185
3	18	Ryan Hanes	LD	6.00	195
4	4	Dalton Smith	LW	6.01	170
7	20	Michael Hawkrigg	LC	5.08	175
9	7	Chris Williams	RD	6.02	195
10	7	Christopher Lane	RD	6.01	170
12	7	Dylan Hutton	LW	5.11	150
13	7	Joe Jackson	LD	6.01	185
14	7	James Watson	RD	5.11	170
15	4	Elliot Burton	LW	6.01	190

Ducks Sign Beleskey, Bailey and De Gray to Contracts

2008-05-02T18:11:00.001-04:00

The Ducks announced today that they have signed left wing Matt Beleskey, right wing Jason Bailey and defenseman John de Gray to three-year, entry-level contracts. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

This was reported a week or so ago in the Ottawa Sun but there hadn't been any official announcement.

Congratulations Jason!

Getting Ready for the OHL Priority Draft

2008-05-02T12:14:00.003-04:00

Teams are able to make trades up until 3:00 this afternoon in preparation for the Priority Draft tomorrow. According to the OHL site, the Ottawa67s have been in involved in a couple of trades this week.

On Wednesday Oshawa traded their 4th round pick in 2011 for Ottawa's 4th round pick this year. Until this trade, Oshawa only had 3 picks in the first 8 rounds. Now they have a 4th pick (a 4th round pick). Ottawa still has the 4th in the 4th round.

Then yesterday Ottawa traded their 2008 6th round pick to Windsor getting the Kitchener 7th round pick and Owen Sound 8th round picks for this year that Windsor held. This gives Windsor the 7th pick in the 6th round where they didn't previously have a pick. I would think there is more to this trade as now Ottawa does not have a 6th round pick at all and is left with a very late pick (20th) in the 7th round (but gains an early pick in the oh-so-critical 8th round - picking 3rd).

I made a mistake in my earlier accounting for Ottawa's picks this year. Ottawa picks 7th in the first round, 3rd and 7th in the second (I missed the 3rd pick), and until the trade with Oshawa, Ottawa had the 4th and 7th pick in the 4th round.

Could be more moves before the day is done.

Cheers!

OHL Priority Draft Webcast

2008-04-30T12:00:00.002-04:00

The Ontario Hockey League is taking the next step in providing coverage of the 2008 OHL Priority Selection.The first three rounds of this year's event, which will take place this Saturday beginning at 9:00 a.m., will be covered via video Webcast available exclusively at www.ontariohockeyleague.com.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

OHL Priority Selection

2008-04-29T21:06:00.003-04:00

The OHL Priority Selection (aka The Draft) happens this Saturday starting at 9:00. The Ottawa 67s order of go is as follows (unless there are some trades on draft day):

Round 1 - 7th
Round 2 - 3rd
Round 3 - 18th
Round 4 - 4th
Round 5 - no pick
Round 6 - 7th
Round 7 - no pick
Round 8 - no pick
Round 9 - 7th
Round 10 - 7th
Round 11 - no pick
Rounds 12 through 14 - 7th
Round 15 - 4th

Check out the information on the Ontario Hockey League site for the media guide and prospects magazine. I haven't had a chance to go over any of this information, and quite frankly would not know anything about these players. Let's just hope that Killer choses well in the first 4 rounds. It would be nice to get some additional solid talent for the team.

Would be happy to hear from anyone out there who has info on these prospects.

Cheers!

Adam Courchaine Makes His Professional Debut

2008-04-07T07:06:00.005-04:00

P-BRUINS DEFEAT MONARCHS 3-2

Will Face Manchester in Atlantic Division Semifinals

Providence, RI - The Providence Bruins defeated the Manchester Monarchs 3-2 in a shootout Sunday afternoon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The P-Bruins got their goals in regulation from Jordan Knackstedt, and Pascal Pelletier and in the shootout from Knackstedt and Nate Thompson. The 53-16-3-4 Regular Season Eastern Conference Champion P-Bruins are back in action Wednesday against the Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center at 7:05 p.m. Following all of today's American Hockey League action, the P-Bruins now know they will face the Monarchs in the Atlantic Division Semifinals of the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Here's the rest of the article.

Here's the game sheet.

Congrats Adam! It's on to the playoffs for you.

Tyler Cuma Named to Men's U18 National Team

2008-04-02T20:59:00.004-04:00

HOCKEY CANADA ANNOUNCES ROSTER FOR 2008 IIHF WORLD UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIP

CALGARY, AB – Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced on Tuesday the 22 players who will make up Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2008 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, April 13th to 23rd in Kazan, Russia.

Click here for the rest of the press release.

Click here if you just want to see the roster.

Congratulations Tyler. Have a great tournament!!

Adam Courchaine Signs ATO

2008-03-31T14:49:00.003-04:00

Goaltender Joins Providence from OHL's Ottawa

Providence, RI - The Providence Bruins, member of the American Hockey League, announced today that they have signed goaltender Adam Courchaine to an Amateur Tryout Agreement from the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League. With the move, the P-Bruins now have 21 players on their roster, including 11 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders.

See the rest of the press release here.

He was on the roster for the game against Jamie McGinn and the Worcester Sharks yesterday.

Good Luck Adam.

Another Year in the Books

2008-03-30T18:49:00.016-04:00

Well, this wraps up another season of the Ottawa 67s and my second year as a blogger.

There were three signed NHL prospects on the roster this year: Jamie McGinn and Logan Couture with the San Jose Sharks and Adam Courchaine with the Boston Bruins, and two unsigned prospects: Radim Ostrcil (Boston) and Jason Bailey (Anahheim).

By all accounts Killer had drafted reasonably well (draft held Saturday May 5th), picking 6th. The complete list is (Round. Overall draft pick, OHL Team Player Name Team Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate):

1 6 Ottawa 67's Michael Latta Waterloo Wolves RC 5.11 180 5/25/1991
2 26 Ottawa 67's Ryan Martindale Whitby Wildcats LC 6.01 170 10/27/1991
3 46 Ottawa 67's Chris Perugini Mississauga IceDogs G 5.09 125 2/6/1991
4 66 Ottawa 67's Johnathan Carnevale Central Ontario Wolves RW 5.10 165 6/21/1991
5 100 Ottawa 67's Marc Anthony Zanetti Toronto Marlboros LD 5.11 180 5/20/1991
6 106 Ottawa 67's Cam McLean Niagara Falls RW 6.00 165 2/13/1991
7 126 Ottawa 67's Paul Phillips Chicago Chill Midget LD 5.11 175 7/16/1991
8 146 Ottawa 67's Blake Barbieri Mississauga IceDogs RD 6.00 170 3/3/1991
No 9th round pick
10 186 Ottawa 67's Riley Sonnenburg Cambridge Hawks LW 6.01 170 1/1/1991
11 206 Ottawa 67's Brian Birkhoff Wexford Raiders LD 6.00 180 5/27/1991
12 226 Ottawa 67's Dustin Walsh Quinte Red Devils LW 5.10 140 3/20/1991
12 228 Ottawa 67's Ben Sexton Kanata Blazers RC 5.10 165 6/6/1991
13 246 Ottawa 67's Jonathan Demme Brampton Battalion AA LD 6.01 175 3/11/1991
14 266 Ottawa 67's Joseph Quattrocchi Kanata Blazers G 6.00 165 4/30/1991
15 286 Ottawa 67's GianPaul Delle Donne Guelph RW 5.11 160 2/11/1991

The first four draftees reported, stayed and contributed in a year when rookies played more than they normally would have. We also had a chance to see Marc Zanetti for a few games during the flurry of tournaments that had a few regulars out of the lineup.

The import draft was held on June 28, 2007 and Killer’s picks were (Overall, Team, Time of Pick, Player, DOB, Pos, Last Team/Country, Height, Weight, NHL Draft):

17, Ottawa 67's , 12:10, Radim Ostrcil, Jan.15.1989, D, HC Vsetin/Czech, 6.00, 194, '07, 169th
38, Ottawa 67's (from Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), 3:40, Martin Paryzek, March.23.1989, D, HC Ceska Budejovice/Czech, 6.01, 185, 2008

Again, both players reported, stayed and contributed.

Other player changes during the year:

Aaron Alophonso was traded to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the off-season for a 3rd round draft pick in the 2008 OHL priority selection and the 38th pick in the European draft.
Tye McGinn, younger brother of Jamie, was acquired in a deal for future consideration with Owen Sound. He was drafted by Owen Sound in the 9th round, 168th overall, 2006 OHL Priority Selection.
D-Keith Wynn was acquired from the Windsor Spitfires (for future consideration) as an overager. He didn’t last too long – not sure whether he quite or was fired. He just slipped off the radar without (or because of) making much of an impact.
Overager D-Zach McCullough was acquired from the Sudbury Wolves for a 3rd round draft pick in the 2008 OHL entry draft.

The season started with high hopes and expectations given that Jamie and Logan were back together, signed by their NHL teams and for all intents and purposes healthy and ready for a stand-out season. Some solid veterans were returning and the crop of rookies was promising.

But, it wouldn’t quite turn out that way. The first sign of trouble was rookie goal tender Adam Courchaine coming down with mono during the summer. By all reports it wasn’t a serious bout but it was a sign of things to come. Then Radim Ostrcil suffered a broken wrist at camp with the Boston Bruins. It delayed his start with the 67s. The OHL doesn’t produce a list of player games lost due to illness or injury but here’s a partial list of the major games lost:

Jason Bailey only played 34 games of the regularly scheduled 68 games. Reasons for his absence: mono (17 games), broken face (nose and orbital bone), hip flexor and sports hernia. He needs to go under the knife for the hernia.
Logan Couture and Jamie McGinn missed 17 games each due to concussions and back / shoulder issues respectively.
Matt Lahey only played 22 games before being permanently side-lined with a shoulder injury that requires surgery.
Jon Carnevale was just about to play in the 2008 World Under 17 Hockey Challenge as a member of Team Ontario when he was diagnosed with mono.
Tyler Cuma had to sit out the Prospects Game as he had bronchitis.

In fact, there wasn’t a single player who made it through the entire year without missing a game due to illness or injury.

But it wasn’t all bad news. The Ottawa 67s had good representation on a number of national / provincial teams:

Tyler Cuma was named to the Under 18 team to defend Canada's title at the eight-country Ivan Hlinka Memorial in Piestany, Slovakia, and Hodonin, Czech Republic.
Tyler Cuma was also named to the OHL Top Prospects team. When he couldn’t make it due to illness, Julien Demers went.
Martin Paryzek was a member of the Czech National Team in the 2008 World Junior Hockey Championship tournament.
Michael Latta and Ryan Martindale were named to the Ontario squad in the 2008 World Under 17 Hockey Challenge

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Chris Perugini starting in net in Barrie against his brother Andrew and coming away with the win.
Michael Latta playing in Kitchener in front of friends and family and leading the team to a win with two goals and was named the game’s first star.
The 67s beating the loaded-for-Memorial-Cup Kitchener Rangers twice.
The rookies playing much more than expected and stepping up - sometimes outplaying the veterans.
4 shut-out wins
season sweep of the Barrie Colts
24 1-goal games
highest scorers on the team, Jamie McGinn and Logan Couture, ranked 56th and 57th respectively in the league.
6 shut-out losses (2 in a row)
third season in a row of below .500 hockey
4-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs

Final Thoughts

ya – a tough year to be a fan especially with all the hope we started with. The discussion boards were filled with the usual armchair advice regarding coaching, drafting and trading. But I still had more entertainment value from my 67s tickets than my Senators tickets.
By my reckoning Ottawa should be picking 6th or 7th in the draft again so they should have a good chance for quality picks. Let’s hope Killer will start drafting and trading for bigger lads who can also move the puck.
I don’t want to get my hopes up too early but it appears that the the 67s could have a solid core of players for next year (and the year after that).
Jamie McGinn has already reported to the Worcester Sharks. He registered his first assist in their Saturday night game (a loss – the Sharks are in tough just to make the playoffs).
Logan has not been called up, most likely to take the time to get 100% better for next year. Hopefully that will include some serious training for him to get stronger on his feet. It seemed that every other picture I have of him he’s down on the ice. BTW – belated happy birthday to Logan (March 28th).
Another belated vsechno nejlepsi to Martin Paryzek (March 23rd) (I hope that means happy birthday in Czech – I looked it up on the web.)
Zach McCullough, Matthieu Methot and Jason Bailey have now completed their major junior hockey careers. No word on what their plans are. Good luck guys.
Possible overagers for next year: Thomas Kiriakou (Kilrea has already made it clear that he would love to have Thomas back. I would bet he gets the “C” if he returns), Matt Lahey (I wouldn’t bet on it with his history of injuries), Sean Ryan (on the bubble I would think) and Jamie McGinn (hard to call – depends on how it goes in Worcester).
Special thanks to Walt for his faithful production of his game sheets which he shared with the regulars in our section. He puts a lot of time and effort into these informative documents and it’s greatly appreciated.
We have our tickets to the Memorial Cup in Kitchener. A chance to combine golf and hockey. It should be fun. I’m thinking that I may attempt to work in some time to blog from there (but may get sidelined by other fun stuff).
The NHL Draft is in Ottawa this year and I plan to attend the first round. Hopefully we will see Tyler Cuma go early and get pleasantly surprised with good results for the other eligible 67s players.
Thanks to photographers Mike, Robert and Jean who were generous with their time and advice - it is much appreciated.
And finally thanks to you for taking the time to read my musings and take a look at my pictures. Hopefully we will all be here again next season.

Cheers Everyone!

Over and Out: Oshawa 4 - Ottawa 1

2008-03-27T23:39:00.031-04:00

It’s Friday night in the nation’s capital and instead of sitting in the Ottawa Civic Centre or watching the game on TV, here I am writing the last game summary of the season. Suddenly it’s over and if it’s shocking for me and other fans, I can’t imagine what it’s like for the team. By this time next week they will be back in their own homes and for some finishing the school year in another school.

All the old clichés were trotted out for the game….it’s do or die time, gotta play desperate, there’s no tomorrow, blah blah blah.

Killer didn’t change the line-ups for the game:

Forwards
JMcGinn, Couture, Bailey
Methot, Kiriakou, Latta
Zamec. Lindsay, Nesbitt
TMcGinn, Martindale, Carnevale

Defensive Pairs
Paryzek, Cuma
Demers, Ryan
McCullough, Ostrcil

Adam Courchaine started in net.

Cowie and Valiquette sat out again.

Once again Ottawa started the game strong and carried the play and quickly racked up the shots on Neuvirth. They were physical, they had jump and had puck possession…but no goals. Thomas Kiriakou was tripped up on an early scoring chance and during the ensuing powerplay they put 4 shots on Neuvirth…but no goal.

And on their first shot on goal John Tavares put the Generals ahead just five minutes into the game when he put a good move around the Ottawa defender and hit the good side of the blocker-side post. Patrick Asselin and James DeLory got the assists. And that ended any hope of Ottawa starting with a lead.

Right after the goal, Zamec was called for hooking but it was Ottawa that had the better scoring chances but again the shots went right into the crest of Neuvirth. Oshawa didn’t get any shots through to Courchaine so that should have been a boost for the 67s.

But man oh man the hockey gods were against the 67s as the next goal was a heartbreaker. Two minutes after the first goal Tyler Cuma put the goal in his own net when he tried to skate in front of Courchaine and ended up surprising him with the puck. Dale Mitchell was credited with the goal. Probably the easiest one he scored all season. And before the night was over, he would wreak havoc on Cuma again…keep reading for that one.

Cuma didn’t really recover after that for the rest of the period and neither did the team. Martindale took a penalty and Ottawa was discombobulated during the ensuing PK. Oshawa took advantage with their third straight goal when Ryan McGinnis was given a golden rebound off an Ottawa shin pad and he scored. Brett McLean and Michael Del Zotto got the assists (although if it was a rebound off an Ottawa player should they have been given the assists??? hmmm).

And that was the end of the game (and the season) for Adam Courchaine – he was pulled before 10 minutes had expired in the game having given up 3 goals on 5 shots. Chris Perugini took over. I should note that Ottawa had 10 shots on goal at this point. But no goals.

Ottawa had another powerplay opportunity but I think they were still reeling from the quick turn of events and they were really unable to get much going.

With a 3 – 0 lead and confidence that Ottawa’s powerplay wasn’t all that effective, Oshawa started hitting again. To some observers (the spousal unit in particular) many, if not most, of the hits were late’ish. In the esteemed opinion of said spousal-unit, late hits have replaced much of the hooking and grabbing that used to take place. Kilrea does not seem to advocate such strategies judging by the style of the 67s play.

As the period wound down, Ottawa was on the PK and had a short-handed opportunity with Cuma bringing the puck up the ice. You could see that he was trying to run out the clock but in the process of doing that he completely missed that Bailey was open for a scoring chance. Oshawa got control of the puck and sent it down ice. The linesman didn’t signal for icing so Cuma and Dale Mitchell skated hard after it. Dale cross-checked Cuma and he went down hard. And he stayed down. Patafie went out to ice, the team doctor came on the ice and eventually Tyler got up to his feet and left the ice with the assistance of Paryzek and Couture (a role to be reversed later in the game). As he left the ice, he was not putting weight on his right leg. Not a good period for Tyler Cuma. Dale Mitchell was assessed a 5-minute penalty and a game misconduct. He actually looked contrite as he left the ice.

That what doesn’t kill you only serves to make your stronger – right? By that reckoning the 67s should have been in fine form in the second period especially starting the period wiht a man-advantage for over 4 minutes.

Not quite.

The 67s just didn’t manage to show the same PP skill as they had earlier in the series. Actually, it was the Generals who had the better scoring chances including a breakaway by Baker that was stopped by a great pad save by Chris Perugini. Killing this PP had to have been a big lift for Oshawa.

Tyler Cuma returned to the bench at about the halfway mark of the period and was taking a shift shortly after that.

The only goal of the period came with less than 5 minutes left when Logan Couture finally scored Ottawa’s (and eventually only) even-strength goal of the series when he tipped in the point shot from Julien Demers. Jamie McGinn got the other assist. At last – now down just down two goals.

Chris Perugini made some great saves early in the third period to keep the 67s in the game.

Killer rode his top line as much as possible for the third period – what did he have to lose. Well, Logan Couture for one. No one seemed to see what happened but Logan ended up prone on the ice near the Ottawa bench. No word on the nature of the injury but from all descriptions it appears that he may have had his bell rung….again. He made it to the bench for a bit but he eventually left the bench for the locker room. What a time that kid has had in Ottawa with various injuries over the course of his tenure.

Somehow with all that happened up to this point the remaining 67s could not generate enough emotion to play angry. Bailey excluded of course. He laid a perfectly clean open-ice hit on Cowick and Cowick decided to hang on Bailey’s leg…and the scrap was on. Despite playing injured and in pain, Bailey was not about to go down with bullets in his gun. It was short and intense and Bailey carried the day. Cowick knew he was hit and owned. Easy to take however given that the Gens won the game.

The killing blow came with less than two minutes to play in a goal-mouth scramble where Cory Nagy was able to force the puck past Chris Perugini who had kept Ottawa in the game since taking over. Tavares and Regan got the assists.

Ottawa never had a chance in the dying minute of the game to pull Perugini for the extra attacker. And the series ended with a sweep with Oshawa taking the 4th game 4 – 1. Final shots were 32 – 34 for Oshawa.

Hardest Working Ottawa 67s as Selected by the Team1200: Chris Perugini (1 goal on 31 shots)

Random Thoughts

The Brian Kilrea award was presented to Jason Bailey and Matthieu by Max Keeping.

I cannot imagine the frustration of playing hard, controlling the puck and just having everything go against you. If they didn’t have bad luck they wouldn’t have had any luck at all. That the first goal didn’t completely let the air out of them after controlling the play for the whole time up to that point is a credit to their determination in my opinion. That the team didn’t completely fold up their tent and go home after the first period is amazing too.
Jason Bailey played on guts and adrenalin. According to team trainer Brian Patafie, if it were September Jason would have been under the knife with an expected return no sooner than January. You certainly cannot criticize him for lack of commitment. This year he has had mono, a broken nose, a broken orbital bone and the sports hernia. Among all his injuries, the sports hernia is clearly the most painful. Hurts when trying to stride hard, hurts to shoot, hurts giving and taking hits. Just plain hurts. Was that a smile or a grimace when he took his turn in recognition for being selected the second star of the game?
Chris Perugini made some really good saves to keep the score closer than it might have been including stoning Cowick at the beginning of the third period on a turnover in their own zone during an Ottawa 67s line change.
The Ottawa 67s could not have bought a goal in the game. Absolutely no bounces their way. Clearly someone committed some enormous crime against humanity in their previous life to have this fate visited upon them and the entire team.
I was expecting to see more anger and desperation, especially after the hit on Cuma and on Couture and knowing how hurt Bailey was playing. Maybe I don’t know how to recognize it.
To give the Oshawa Generals credit, they were graceful winners in their opponent’s rink.
I hope to write a wrap-up blog by next weekend.

**The Game's Three Stars as Selected by the Team1200**
1st Star	2nd Star	3rd Star
John Tavares	Jason Bailey	Patrick Asselin

More pictures – click on any picture in the blog to see a larger image