No Bull - Ottawa Wins 5 - 1

The Ottawa 67's more than made up for their lackluster play in Belleville on Wednesday with a strong game here to completely dominate the Belleville Bulls.

Shayne Campbell was solid between the pipes, making 30 saves on 31 shots - the only goal against coming on a PP (and he nearly had that one too).

Click here for the game sheet.


The story was Tyler Toffoli bookending the scoring with the first and last goals of the game as he inches his way to his personal goal of 50 goals this season. He sits atop of the league for goals scored with 48. He is second in scoring with 92 points, 2 points behind Jason Akeson of the Kitchener Rangers.

It started just over 4 minutes into the game as the top line was repeated frustrating the Bulls' attempts to control the puck and clear the zone. Tyler Toffoli picked off a Belleville pass, stepped into the slot and slapped it past Teichmann for the unassisted goal.

Less than three minutes later, the top line once again made the Bulls pay for sloppy play in their own end. Shane Prince started it, picking the pocket of Belleville rookie Joe Underwood at the point and starting a tic-tac-toe play with Tyler Toffoli and Ryan Martindale before finishing it off with a tap-in past Teichmann to put Ottawa up by 2. That goal stood as the eventual GWG, his 6th of the season.

Thomas Nesbitt gave Ottawa a 3-goal lead with a PPG early in the second by tapping in the puck as it sat behind Teichmann near the goal line. Ryan Martindale and Shane Prince with the assists.

But the Bulls got that one back with a PPG of their own just a couple of minutes later when Luke Judson one-timed a cross-crease pass past Campbell. They had a couple of chances to get within 1 on a later PP but Campbell and his team mates had other plans and kept Belleville off the board.

Ben Dubois restored the 3-goal lead picked up a deflected shot from Julian Luciani and put it into the wide-open net. Dalton Smith with the second assist.

Tyler Toffoli's 48th goal of the season came less than 5 minutes into the third period when Ryan Martindale's shot deflected in off him. Julian Luciani with the other assist. Julian has played well against his former team.

Neither team gave up but it was clear that Ottawa was going to skate away with this win giving Ottawa the win in 6 of the 7 games these two teams have played, only losing the first game of the season.

They travel to Brampton for a Sunday afternoon game and then to Kingston for another afternoon game on Family Day. Ottawa has won 2 of the three games against Brampton this year.



Three Stars as selected by the Team1200Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200:Julian Luciani

Random Thoughts:

• Solid solid team game for 60 minutes. Great to see. Hope we see more of this.
  
• Good to see Shayne Campbell with a this strong home win. He gave out some juicy rebounds early but his team played well in front of him, clearing the puck away and he got better control as the game went on.
  
• Ottawa rookies Taylor Fielding and Ryan Shipley don't hesitate to drop the gloves. Both engaged in some fisticuffs. Fielding hurt his hand and left the game while Shipley got bloodied. Neither player with a clear decision on their tilts.
  
• All four lines played well and had great scoring chances. Teichmann kept the score from being much worse.
  
• Sean Monahan didn't get any points in this game but he has quietly moved up the rookie scoring ranks with 14 points in the previous 10 games.
  
• Belated happy 19th birthday to Petr Mrazek.
  
• Milestone game for Nesbitt and Gibbons on Wednesday in Belleville: Nesbitt with his 201st point and Gibbons with his 101st point in their OHL careers.
  

More Pictures: Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Ottawa Digs for 4-3 Win Over Erie

It wasn't a masterpiece but the Ottawa 67's overcame a sluggish first period to take the win against Erie on Friday night at the Rona Centre and extend their winning streak to 5 games. The loss ended Erie's streak at 2.

Click here for the game sheet.

After missing 18 games with post-concussion symptoms Jon Carnevale returned to the ice with all cylinders firing, bringing energy, delivering big hits, and scoring 2G and 1A including a big goal in this game to get his team on the board.

Playing their first game of their East Division swing through the league, the Erie Otters played a strong road game. They had the early jump on the 67's, out-shot them 14 - 4 in the first got on the board early when Brett Thompson put a rebound over Mrazek's shoulder.

The 67's managed to sort out some of their sloppy, disorganized play and get going in the second period, getting more pucks on net but more importantly tying the game. In a hard-nosed drive to the net Jon Carnevale slipped the puck 5-hole to finally tie the game. Adam Sedlak assisted.

Both teams got down to scoring business in the third with Erie making good on a 43-second 5-on-3 advantage with Lindsay first in the box for high-sticking followed up by Zanetti for delay of game (puck over the glass). Szydlowski one-timed a great pass from Varone to put the Otters back on top. Ottawa successfully defended the remainder of the Zanetti penalty.

Erie played Ottawa close, doing a good job of taking time and space away but Shane Prince can be hard to contain which he demonstrated ably with a great wrap-around goal that beat big Sadikov to tie it up again. Tyler Graovac assisted.

But before the goal announcement was finished, Cazzola was sprung on a break-away and beat Mrazek glove-side to re-gain the lead for the third time.

To this point, there had only been two penalties handed out in the game and both were to Ottawa at the beginning of the third. Erie finally had their turn to defend and Tyler Toffoli tipped it in from in front of the crease. Ryan Martindale and Cody Ceci with the assists.

Then Dalton Smith surprised Radikov with a one-timer from the face-off dot that beat him short-side and finally give Ottawa the lead. The resurgent Jon Carnevale had the only assist on that critical GWG.

The 67's went on to protect their one-goal lead for the remaining three and a half minutes to deliver their 20th win on home ice in front of 5760 fans.

They immediately hit the road for their game in Barrie tonight and an important match-up against Mississauga on Sunday. Once again, they play the best team in the conference as a third-in-two-and-a-half-day game.

But first they need to focus their game in Barrie who was shellacked 7 - 0 by Niagara on Friday. They won't be in a good mood and despite their record (and that score), they can present tough opposition. The last time the Ottawa 67's looked past their opponents in anticipation of the Mississauga game, the Oshawa Generals stormed back from a 3-goal deficit in the third to beat the 67's 6 - 5. No team can be taken lightly and with Oshawa's loss on Friday, Ottawa now has a 6-point lead on them with tonight's game in hand. These 2 points are critical.

As for Sunday's game, the Majors were dealt a rare defeat on Friday, on home ice to boot, on a buzzer-beating PPG by Plymouth. Following the comments on twitter, many are calling out the officiating in that game. Mississauga has today off to prepare for the 67's on Sunday. They will be rested and in no mood for another loss at all, much less on home ice.

All in all a key road trip for the 67's.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Dalton Smith
Random Thoughts:

• Congratulations to Ryan Shipley who was named the East Division OHL Academic Player of the Month for January.
  
• The Ottawa 67's drew back into the CHL Mastercard Top 10 rankings. Results will do that. Well done team!
  
• A match-up between the two least penalized teams in the league and true to form only three penalties called, including one that was over the glass.
  
• With such potent scoring power, the 67's have played more often with the lead than from behind (if memory serves me correctly). It was good to see them overcome their early sludge and dig hard for the win.
  
• Nice to see point contributions from across the roster - makes the team more dangerous.
  
• Happy birthday to Julian Luciani. His gift to the team - drawing the hooking penalty that resulted in the final tying goal. Well done.
  
• I love the tradition of singing the national anthems before games and I really enjoy it when the club brings young choirs in. A very young lad (maybe 6 years old?) sitting in the first row lustily accompanied the Holy Redeemer Catholic School choir. Fabulous!

More Pictures: Child cancer survivor Ziad delivers the game puck. The University of Ottawa medical students held their Shave for the Cure night at the game. Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Zzzzz'ing through a 67's 4 - 0 Win over London

In what can be charitably described as a less-than-exciting game, the Ottawa 67's broke through the mind-numbing trapping of the London Knights to give Mrazek his third home shut-out of the season.

Click here for the game sheet.
Give the Knights full marks for keeping the 67's at bay for the better part of this game. The Knights were down to icing only three lines in this 3rd-in-three road game. Illness swept through the team starting on Friday and by today they had listed 8 players as scratches. Throw in some bus issues along the way just to mix it up and you have all the reasons you need to play as defensively as possible for as long as possible.

So, the London strategy was to trap right from the get-go. Ottawa had a tough time breaking through it, Stretch passes were interrupted or went for icing, the neutral zone was impenetrable and London did a good job of keeping play in their offensive zone for decent stretches.

The shots that did get through, big Bobkov managed stop just by being big although he was also positionally pretty good in many cases. He did his part to keep this game close for a long time.

The first goal of the game didn't come until just under 8 minutes left in the second. Julian Luciani scored his 3rd goal of the season when his shot from the point made it past Bobkov on a deflection off his own player, Tinordi.

At this point the SOGs were 18 - 8 for Ottawa and London had just two in the period so far. But they started getting their chances and Mrazek had to make a few good saves to preserve the tenuous lead.

By the third period, the wear and tear on London was taking its toll and the 67's were able to keep them skating and from setting up the trap. And the scoring chances and goals followed.

Before the halfway mark of the third, Jon Carnevale was credited with a goal that Tinordi actually put in his own net. But that was because this hard working line was creating havoc in front of the net. Dalton Smith and Tyler Graovac were credited with the assists. It was good to see this line finally show up on the scoreboard given all their hard work.

Then it was Marc Zanetti's shot from the point that beat a screened Bobkov to put the 67's up by three with just under 6 minutes left in the game.

With Sedlak in the penalty box for slashing and just over 5 minutes to go, down 3 - 0, Dale Hunter pulled Bobkov for the extra attacker. Two Ottawa skaters each managed to get control of the puck at about their goal line and send down the ice towards the empty net and twice the puck went just wide - in just about the same spot. Taking matters into his own hands (or stick I guess) Petr Mrazek managed to get ahold of the puck and he too tried to score the EN, but his went way wider. The PP ended with London getting only one shot on goal.

The RST line rounded out the scoring with Ryan Martindale's shot from the slot to put the 67's up 4 - 0 with about a minute and a half left. Shane Prince and Tyler Toffoli with the assists.

So all that was left was for the 67's to preserve the shut-out for Mrazek which they did easily.

With their two wins this weekend the 67's officially clinched the playoffs and maintain their 4-point divisional lead on the Oshawa Generals who also won their games this weekend. And they are even in games-played against their closest rivals.

Ottawa ranks second in the league in GF at 214 in 50 games (Owen Sound Attack has 222 in 52 games) and third in the league in GA with 150 (behind Niagara with 142 in 50 games and Mississauga with just 121 in 49 games). And Ottawa remains the least penalized team in the league.

Next Friday, Ottawa hosts the Erie Otters before starting a tough road schedule.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Dalton Smith

Random Thoughts:

• Wish the OHL published game stats like face-offs, hits, etc. It would be interesting to know Monahan's face-off stats.
  
• I happened to catch the tail-end of last Monday's practice where they held a drill/competition for nailing empty-netters from the front of one of the goals. Two players (who shall remain nameless) kept missing over and over again. A meaningless drill at the end of a practice? Gauging from today's results, not at all. Keep practicing boys.
  
• Was chatting with a NJD scout during the second intermission and even he thought it was a pretty boring game. NJD!
  
• We should be receiving this year's "Through Our Lenses" this week. Be sure to get your copy of this limited edition either at the Booster Club table at home games or by contacting me at through the email address bruggbllitz@hotmail.com. This high-quality keepsake is $35 (plus shipping where necessary).
  
  

More Pictures: Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Ottawa Tops Petes 6 - 2

The RST line was reunited with the return of Shane Prince and they were back in business putting together 7 points including a rare but beautiful 3-on-0 tic-tack-toe play that Shane Prince finished with a top shelf goal.

Click here for the game sheet.

In the 8th and final regular season match-up between these divisional rivals, it was pretty much all Ottawa....most of the time. The team still struggles to put in a full 60-minute game but they survived it this time.

With 42 saves on 48 shots, and many of them good scoring chances, Peterborough goalie Andrew D'Agostini did his best to keep his team in the game but the Pete's were reward him with a better result.

Ottawa started with a jump and early pressure resulting in Ryan Martindale getting the only goal of the first period and giving the 67's the lead that they would not relinquish. Tyler Toffoli with the assist.

Early in the second period, Ryan Martindale notched his 29th goal of the season on the PP to give Ottawa the 2 - 0 lead.

But the prettiest goal of the game (it will likely be on YouTube sometime soon) came as the Peterborough Petes were doing a pretty good job of thwarting the 67's attempts to clear the zone. Then one of the Pete's defenders (Kalle Ekelund?) blew a tire trying to stop the puck at the blue line and it went right to Tyler Toffoli who broke out with Ryan Martindale and Shane Prince on a 3-on-0 rush. Toffoli fed it to Martindale who tipped it back to Prince who promptly snapped it top shelf on a literally defenseless D'Agonstino. That was also the GWG which is a nice way for Shane to return.

As has been a habit with this team, they once again lost their sense of urgency and got sloppy in their own end and left Matt Puempel alone in the slot to break Mrazek's chances for the shutout.

Thomas Nesbitt got it back before the period ended on a great cross-crease pass from Sean Monahan. Cody Lindsay with the second assist.

Ottawa started the third period with 39 seconds remaining in Sedlak's tripping penalty in the second and Austin Watson made it a two-goal game 26 seconds in.

The 67's continued to look a little flat in the early going in the third but with goals from Tyler Toffoli and Cody Lindsay the game was over for Peterborough.

So the regular season games between these divisional rivals are done with Ottawa winning 7 of the 8 games.

Ottawa now prepares to host the London Knights on Sunday.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Cody Lindsay Random Thoughts:

• Cody Lindsay's outstanding results from last weekend (back-to-back hat trick games) was acknowledged with being named the OHL and CHL player of the week. Congratulations Cody!
  
• As expected, Sean Monahan continued to centre Lindsay and Nesbitt. Dalton Smith played with Graovac and Foglia creating a tough checking line. Ottawa now has three solid lines with Dubois and Carnevale waiting for the return of Janes and Fontana to round out a 4th line.
  
• Peterborough was able to keep Ottawa's PP pretty much in check, allowing only 1 goal in 6 PPs.
  
• Had a rare chance to take photos from between the benches. It's always interesting to hear the friendly chatter that goes on.
  
• And speaking of friendly, there was some chippiness going on. A few scrums and pushing. Peterborough's Geoff Bezruchko and Marc Zanetti went at it and once the tilt was done and the linesmen had them down, Bezruchko wouldn't cease and desist. He was shown the gate for his efforts.
  
• A well-attended game where Ottawa's first responders, (Police, Paramedic and Fire) were honoured.

More Pictures: Click here to see more pictures from the game.

A Natural Hat-Trick For Lindsay in 67's 3 - 2 Win

Who is this guy and what have they done with Cody Lindsay?

One year to the day since he scored his first hat trick, Cody Lindsay scored a natural today making it two hat trick-games in a row. Good thing he was on fire because the Kingston Frontenacs scored two goals in the last 6 minutes to make a game of it so his third goal stood as the GWG.

Click here for the game sheet.

This was the second game in less than 24 hours for both teams in a rare Saturday matinee in Ottawa. Kingston rode into town off a 1-goal loss to Peterborough on Friday, not only wanting to rebound with a win but likely remembering the 9 - 0 loss when these two teams last met on December 29th.

Kingston started with a jump, getting the early shots on Mrazek and keeping Ottawa from organizing any sustained possession for the first 6 or 7 minutes of the game. But it was the recent hot stick of Cody Lindsay who picked up where he left off yesterday, literally, with a tap-in past Grubauer off the left post. Linemates Sean Monahan and Thomas Nesbitt with the assists.

Kingston put on the pressure to tie it up, leading with SOGs but with Jeff Braithwaite in the penalty box for hauling down Tyler Toffoli, Cody Lindsay buried Cody Ceci's rebound to make it 2 - 0 Ottawa. Sean Monahan assisted on that one too.

And with just over three minutes left in the game, Cody Lindsay made it a natural hat-trick thanks to his linemate Thomas Nesbitt who waited patiently to dish the puck off for a beautiful snap by Lindsay past Grubauer.

The 67's managed to spend the bulk of the third period in the Kingston end, controlling the puck and frustrating any attempts of the Fronts to get organized. But this is a fast game and a couple of good bounces resulted in goals from Brown and Cajkovsky and a new game for the last three minutes and change.

With Grubauer pulled for the extra attacker, Kingston had a couple of chances to tie it up but the 67's prevailed for the important win.

So, the Ottawa 67's get 4 important wins for the weekend. No game tomorrow as they start preparing Peterborough and London next weekend.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200 (Michael Cajkovsky did not take a turn)

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Sean Monahan Random Thoughts:

• Good to see the boys pick it up after their less than stellar play against Barrie.
  
• Rookie Sean Monahan is playing really well between Nesbitt and Lindsay. Four points on Friday and two today, working hard, drawing attention and making room for his linemates. That line has been very productive in the last two games. Dalton may have his work cut out for himself when Prince returns.
  
• Might as well put Lindsay's name on the left side of the crease. I think he must have scored 4 or 5 of his 6 goals this weekend from that spot.
  
• How fast fortunes change. With about 8 minutes left in the game, the Kingston bench was dead and the guys on the ice couldn't get organized. Couple of bounces go their way, two goals scored and the bench was up on their feet and back in the game.
  
• Some bumps and bruises to heal in the week ahead. Ben Dubois was hurt in a collision, Taylor Fielding got his nose bloodied in his scrap with Alex Gudbranson, Julian Luciani took a puck off the leg and Travis Gibbons was skating something off. All players finished the game but are likely looking forward to some time to heal a bit.

More Pictures: Click here to see more pictures from the game.

A Toque-Trick for Lindsay For the Win

Timing is everything and three goals at home on a toque-giveaway night was good timing for Cody as many fans celebrated his accomplishment by throwing their Home Depot toques on the ice.

The Barrie Colts fought back from a 3-goals deficit to make it a 1-goal game for a while but the 67's prevailed for a 7 - 4 win.

Click here for the game sheet.

With Shane Prince out of the line-up (shoulder) and Jon Carnevale returning, the lines looked a bit different. Dalton Smith moved up to the top line and Sean Monahan centred Lindsday and Nesbitt.

Dalton Smith got his team on the board first with a goal just 39 seconds into the game with his drive to the net and a nice tip of a pass from Ryan Martindale. But it was Cody Lindsay who restored the Ottawa lead in the first period and went on to give his team a couple of insurance goals in the third period resulting from hard work and good timing.

After Norm Ezekiel tied up the game going top shelf on Shayne Campbell, Cody Lindsay gave Ottawa the lead as he popped in a loose puck from a goal-mouth scramble.

Up 3 - 1 going into the second period on Ryan Martindale's 27th goal of the season and having out shot Barrie 20 - 8 in the first frame, the Ottawa 67's let Barrie carry the play for the first half of the period. For a good portion of the period, neither team created any scoring chances with a lot of the play taking place between the blue lines it seemed.

Sean Monahan got the scoring started with an unassisted bullet from the hashmarks that beat Clint Windsor top shelf to make it 4 - 1. But with a goal late in the period from Trent Hawk and another early in the third from Steven Beyers, the 67'w were toying with another late-game melt-down.

With last Sunday's collapse hopefully still in burning in their guts, the 67's started to play again and take over the game. Tyler Toffoli gave Ottawa some breathing room on their only PPG of the game as he snapped it past Windsor from the slot.

Ottawa went up 6 - 3 when Sean Monahan drove the net in a slick move on the defender. Nesbitt picked up the rebound, fed it to Lindsay who popped it in for his second goal.

Barrie's top scorer Colin Brehenna got his team back within two with 4 minutes to play but Cody's wrap-around goal for the toquie put it out of reach.

So after giving the fans, the coaches and themselves another scare, the 67's beat the last place team in the league 7 - 4.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Dalton Smith

Random Thoughts:

• Shayne Campbell was in net for only his 7th start of the season and perhaps only his second or third start at home.
  
• The Barrie Colts made Ottawa work for this win. Any team can beat any other team on any given night. With Oshawa just 4 points behind and for the Divisional lead and 1 game in hand, Ottawa cannot afford to take any shift off, much less take any team lightly.
  
• Good to see points spread around the roster a bit: goals from Smith, Lindsay, Martindale and Toffoli; assists from Toffoli (2), Martindale (2), Monahan (3), Zanetti, Gibbons and Nesbitt.
  
• Ottawa went 1/5 on the PP against the weakest PK in the league.
  
• Thomas Nesbitt and Dalton Smith teamed up on a crucial penalty kill in the third as they kept the puck in Barrie's zone for a long stretch, running down the time.

More Pictures: Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Guelph Storms Back for 4 - 3 Win Over Ottawa

That, or some version of it, will headline a number of summaries of this game. 2 goals in the final 30 seconds of the game gave Guelph the tie and then the win with just over 10 seconds left.

Click here for the game sheet.
The Guelph Storm played their third game in three and were coming off a 5 - 2 loss in Belleville last night. But they came to play and play they did. The first period was an even affair with both teams getting a goal and getting 13 shots on goal.

Cody Lindsay started the scoring with his 19th goal of the year in a goal-mouth scramble that got the puck past Garret Sparks. Thomas Nesbitt with the assist. But just 1:15 later, Richard Panik tied it up. It too was a goal-mouth scramble.

The Guelph Storm play a very aggressive penalty kill that limited Ottawa's shots on goal but with an 11-second 5-on-3 power play Marc Anthony Zanetti gave his team the lead with 4 seconds left. Cody Lindsay with the assist. But Ottawa was unable to score on the remaining PP.

Thomas Nesbitt gave Ottawa a two goal lead early in the third (assists to Cody Lindsay and Cody Ceci but it was a series of penalties in the middle of the third period got Ottawa off their game entirely. Guelph captain Taylor Beck got his team within one with 13 seconds left on a 5-on-3. Ottawa withstood the rest of the man-disadvantages but also stayed on their heels.

They were unable to play for puck possession and Guelph maintained momentum. With Sparks pulled for the extra attacker, Taylor Beck tied the game with 31 seconds to play.

The Ottawa 67's were unable to manage their nerves for 31 seconds and a chance at overtime. Cody McNaughton popped the puck 5-hole on Mrazek with 10 seconds left and secured a great come-back win for his team.


Three Stars as selected by the Team1200 (Lindsay did not take a turn - understandably)

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Travis Gibbons

Random Thoughts:

• Shane Prince left the game in the second period with what is reported as an upper body injury Timeline: 1 - 2 weeks (so far). Dalton Smith moved up to the first line.
  
• Wonder if the boys are believing their own press a little too much. Losing a game like this, against a team that was playing their third game on the weekend .... well, there aren't any excuses for it. In his post-game interview with Jon Abbott Thomas Nesbitt was pretty straight-up about this not being acceptable. A full 60 minutes every game will be necessary if this team as aspirations of going deep in the playoffs.
  
• Certainly teams are going to target the top line but to my eye, they just were not clicking today. RST hasn't been so taxing lately.
  
• Meanwhile, while they were getting ice-time, the 4th line of D-rookies Shipley and Fielding centred by Foglia were putting a lot of energy into their time. Foglia moved up to the third line once Prince was out of the game. I like him on the first PK unit - he reminds me of Kiriakou.
  
• On the upside, secondary scoring accounted for all the goals today and 5 of 6 the goals this weekend. Cody Lindsay had a great game with a goal and two assists. His breakaway on the PK drew a penalty when Richard Panik cross-checked him in frustration.
  
• Adversity like this can bring focus to a team. Better to hit this challenge now while there is time to correct it. They are at home for the next 5 games (18 days) and can work on what they need to work on without the distraction of traveling. They'll be OK.

More Pictures: OHL Rule Book: 54.2 Minor Penalty - A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player or goalkeeper who holds an opponent by using his hands, arms or legs. A player or goalkeeper is permitted to use his arm in a strength move, by blocking his opponent, provided he has body position and is not using his hands in a holding manner, when doing so. Click here to see more pictures from the game.

67's in Great Spirits With 3 - 0 Win Over Saginaw

The 67's exorcised whatever spirits possessed them last weekend and Petr Mrazek got his third shut-out as the Ottawa 67's blanked Western Conference leading Saginaw 3 - 0.

And this time, it wasn't the top line doing all the scoring.

Click here for the game sheet.

Coming off a weekend where he had a total of 18 goals scored against him, Petr Mrazek was focused and on top of his game as he made 36 saves in his 3rd shut-out in front of the home-town fans.

He was also helped by the rest of his team playing a solid, 60-minute game where they played strong at both ends of the ice.

Saginaw started the game fast, carrying the play to Ottawa for the first half of the first period, aided by a couple of power plays but Ottawa held the league-leading power play to a total of two shots during the man-advantages.

Tyler Toffoli resumed his scoring ways with a bullet off the face-off that beat Mavric Parks blocker side. Of course Ryan Martindale got the second assist for his impressive face-off win to get the puck to Tyler.

Ottawa played with fire a bit, giving the Spirit 7 power plays in the game, including a 5-on-3 for 1:18 in the first period after Tyler's goal but the 67's kept the Spirit to the outside and Mrazek deftly dealt with the two shots that got through - kicking them out to the boards. His rebound control was strong all game.

Before the period ended, Sean Monahan scored his 7th goal for the season on another strong face-off effort in the Saginaw zone. Dalton Smith picked up the puck and fed it to Sean who beat Mavric Parks blocker side with a quick wrister from the hash marks.

Tyler Graovac gave Ottawa the 3-goal lead in the second period when he tipped a Ben Dubois pass past Mavric Parks. Sean Monahan with the second assist.

Saginaw picked up the pace in the third but was unable to solve Mrazek or the rest of the 67's team who kept skating hard and looking for the next goal (no doubt the the loss in Oshawa still fresh in their minds).

It was a solid, 60-minute effort by the entire team resulting in well-deserved win against a very good team and back into the winning column.

They have today to prepare for their Sunday game against the Guelph Storm. Former 67's Michael Latta was a one-man wrecking crew with 3 goals in a 6 - 4 win when these two teams met in November.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Cody Ceci

Random Thoughts:

• Things to work on: the PP. As the 67's held off all 7 of Saginaw's PPs, the Spirit were equal to the task in keeping Ottawa from scoring on any of their 7 power plays, including a 5-on-3 for 1:49 in the third where Ottawa only had 1 shot on goal. In fact, I believe that Ottawa had more scoring chances short-handed than they did with the man (men) advantage.
  
• Petr Mrazek is sporting a new paint-job on his brain-bucket. He finally received it for the game in Mississauga last Sunday. It didn't do much for him then but he sure was happy with it in this game as his kissed it when it was all over.
  
• Jon Carnevale, Cosimo Fontana and Steven Janes were still scratched (injuries) but the 67's still iced a full complement with Shipley and Fielding playing as forwards centred by Foglia. Jon has started skating again (non-contact) so he's on his way back to the line-up.
  
• Shipley is a scrappy fellow. He's had a couple of tilts this year including one in this game with rookie Terry Trafford. Decision to Ship.
  
• There were more scouts in the media room than I recall ever seeing. It was a chance for scouts based in eastern Canada and the US to see the Saginaw Spirit.

More Pictures: Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Game Set Up - Saginaw

The Western Conference leading Saginaw Spirit roll into town after their 6-1 win in Peterborough to take on the 67's who are coming off their first 3-game losing weekend of the season.

With losses to Windsor at home and Oshawa and Mississauga on the road last weekend, the Ottawa 67's were dropped from the CHL Mastercard 10 top teams in the country. They also may be without the services of Travis Gibbons who was injured on a very questionable hit in Oshawa that not only went without a penalty, it appears that the league did not subsequently review it. So much for taking dangerous head hits out of the game.

The game in Mississauga on Sunday also saw the end of Tyler Toffoli's scoring streak.

So the boys have a lot to play for tonight. Hopefully Ryan Martindale will be sufficiently recovered from the flu earlier this week. If not, the already short bench will have some serious work cut out for them.

Shane Prince was added to the CHL/NHL Prospects game at the ACC in Toronto on Wednesday and scored the only goal for Team Cherry. Post game reviews indicate that his performance improved his standing in eyes of scouts.

Ottawa 67's	Head to Head	Saginaw Spirit
28-14-1-1 - 58 points	Record	31-9-3-1 - 66 points
2nd Eastern	Conference - Rank	1st Western
188	GF	168
138	GA	121
5-5-0-0	P10	8-2-0-0
24.4% (2nd)	PP% (rank)	25.3% (1st)
82.2% (4th)	PK% (rank)	85.3% (1st)

Top Guns

Ottawa 67's	Saginaw Spirit
Toffoli (41-38-79)	Shalla (36-17-53)
Prince (21-55-76)	Szwarz (19-26-45)
Martindale (26-34-60)	Trocheck (19-25-44)
Nesbitt (22-21-43)	Saad (23-20-43)
Lindsay (18-19-37)	Telegin (10-24-34)

Good Effort Effort but Ottawa Loses 6 - 3 to Windsor

The Ottawa 67's started their hardest three-in-three weekend of the year so far on a losing note with their 6 - 3 loss to the Windsor Spitfires at the Rona Centre. The 67's played better than the score suggests but they were unable to get pucks behind a sometimes very floppy/sloppy Jake Campbell and Petr Mrazek had an characteristically bad game. It was a good game to watch even in the loss.

Click here for the game sheet.

With the trade deadline having come and gone last Monday, we now see the teams that are set for the rest of the season.

The 67's stayed pat having added what they believe were the necessary pieces well before the deadline. The Windsor Spitfires however, did not stand pat at all. In fact, once it was clear that there weren't any takers for the Ellis - Kassian pair, Windsor decided to go for it and acquired D Adrian Robertson from Peterborough, F Jake Carrick from Sault Ste. Marie, F Taylor Carnevale from Barrie and F Jeff Brown from Oshawa. So Windsor is pretty loaded with talent heading down the back stretch (the also have three medalists from the WJHC2011 tournament).

The 67's started the game a little in awe of their opponents - giving them a lot of space. The Spitfires easily kept Ottawa from generating any effective offense. Alexander Khokhlachev opened the scoring for Windsor on their 4th SOG just 4 minutes into the game. It took Ottawa almost 11 minutes to get their first SOG but they slowly started picking up their game and carrying the play to Windsor. Tyler Toffoli tied it up with 29 seconds left in the first period with a wrist shot from the faceoff circle. Shane Prince got the first assist for his heads-up pass from behind the net.

Tyler Toffoli gave the 67's their only lead of the game on the power play when he one-timed a pass from Travis Gibbons and fired it upstairs on Jake Campbell.

But two quick goals (20 seconds apart) restored Windsor's lead and another one before the period ended would be all the scoring that they needed to take the game.

Ryan Martindale pulled the team within 1 by finally capitalizing on another misadventure by Jake Campbell with an easy shot into an open cage. Tyler Toffoli with the only assist.

The 67's continued to play hard and kept up with Windsor with shots but they did not not create a lot of great scoring chances nor did they take advantage of the ones they had. Goals from newly minted Spitfire Jake Carrick and tough guy Zac Kassian sealed the deal for Windsor but to their credit, the 67's played hard right to the final buzzer.

The 67's are on the road for a game tonight against divisional rival Oshawa (who lost in Kingston on Friday) and a game on Sunday against the conference leading Mississauga St. Mike's Majors who also made moves at the trade deadline. This weekend will be a good measuring stick for the team.

3rd Star - Tyler Toffoli (Windsor players Jeff Brown and Jake Carrick did not take a turn for the many Windsor fans present)

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200
Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Dalton Smith

Random Thoughts:

• The 67's are still unable to ice 4 lines with Jon Carnevale, Steven Janes and Cosimo Fontana still out due to injuries. Jon should be skating soon and Steven's schedule has him ready by the playoffs (hopefully) but there is no timetable for Cosimo. Remy Giftopolous was quietly sent down after the holiday break. Fielding is playing as a forward and Shipley is the 7th D.
  
• The Windsor coach bellowing instructions from the bench reminded me of the minor coaches yelling at their young charges at the Bell Capital Cup.
  
• The 67's were able to convert on one of their 3 power plays and were able to hold Windsor off on both of their chances.
  
• If the team has aspirations of going deep in the playoffs, they will have to get some secondary scoring going. A one-line team will not do it.
  
• The Ottawa 67's lost long-time fan Walt King on Wednesday. Until this season, Walt was a familiar face to the fans in section 21. He prepared and shared his great game sheets and was always up for a long chat. I particularly remember Walt for his encouragement for the blog and my photography. He always had a kind word and it was appreciated. My condolences to his daughter and co-67's fan Elizabeth, and the family and friends of Walt.

More Pictures: Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Toffoli Counter-Attack Results in Ottawa 6 - 4 Win Over Owen Sound

A 10 minute time-out for unsportsmanlike conduct late in the first gave Tyler Toffoli a ring-side seat as his team struggled to gain control over the 3rd-in-three visiting Owen Sound Attack. It also served as the motivation when he returned to the ice to spark his team to comeback from a 2-goal deficit and go on to beat Owen Sound 6 - 4.

Click here for the game sheet.

You would have been hard pressed to believe that the Owen Sound Attack were playing their third game in three days. They skated hard, fore-checked relentlessly and generally made it very hard for the 67's to get much going in the first period. The Attack went into the first intermission with a two goal lead on goals from Joey Hishon (with 4:21 left) and Liam Heelis just as the first period ended.

The second period saw 5 goals from both teams starting with Tyler Toffoli getting the first two to tie up the game with less than 4 minutes left to play. Cameron Brace capitalized on a Shane Prince turn over in the Ottawa zone and beat Mrazek to give Owen Sound the lead again with 1:32 left in the period. It would have been reasonable for most folks to think that this would be how the period ended.

Not the 67's however.

33 seconds after Brace's goal, Thomas Nesbitt had the game tied again and with 12 seconds left, Shane Prince made up for the turn-over goal by giving Ottawa the lead once again. He was so pumped by his goal, he wiped out on his way to the glove-tap with Mrazek. The 67's went into the second intermission with a one-goal lead having come back from a 2-goal and a 1-goal deficit during the period.

The Attack were still going strong to start the third and Ottawa was still having some troubles clearing their zone and maintaining control at times. But it was Ottawa that controlled the scoring. Adam Sedlak scored his second of the season (and Ottawa's second PP of the game) when his shot rung off the post and into the net. It stood up as the game winning goal.

Then Tyler Toffoli notched his hat trick, his third of the season, to give Ottawa a 6-3 lead. Jessie Blacker gave Owen Sound one final goal, a PPG that beat Mrazek with 18 seconds left.

So the Ottawa 67's end the weekend with a 3-game sweep and with Tyler Toffoli continuing his point streak. They now prepare for next weekend where they host the Windsor Spitfires, who have been busy leading up to the tomorrow's trade deadline.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Ryan Martindale
Random Thoughts:

• The Owen Sound Attack penalty kill was the strongest I've seen in a while. On at least two occasions the Attack had the better scoring chances while Ottawa had the man advantage. Ottawa finally got it figured out and scored a couple of PPGs.
  
• Finally saw some hats hit the ice for the hat trick. Nice to see fans paying attention and upholding the tradition.
  
• While Petr Mrazek's home-ice shut-out was ended, Tyler Toffoli continued his league-leading point streak - now up to 23 games. In that time he has scored 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 points. Tyler and Shane Prince stand 1 - 2 in the league for scoring with 75 and 74 points respectively in 41 games. Jeremy Akeson of the Kitchener Rangers is in third place with 68 points and 3 games in hand.
  
• Ottawa was still without the services of Carnevale, Fontana and Janes (all out with injuries) and Ottawa iced 11 forwards again with Fielding being the 11th forward. As the game went on, Byrnes worked with three lines, promoting Foglia to play with Monahan and Graovac.
  
• Assists came from Prince (3), Martindale (3), Gibbons (2), Ceci (2), Smith and Toffoli. The top line accounted for 11 of the 18 points credited to 67's players.
• With the trade deadline looming (January 10th) it will be interesting to see if Ottawa makes any moves. They could use another forward.

More Pictures: Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Another Home Ice Shut Out for the 67's: 6-0 Over Peterborough

After a few close games between these two teams that included a last second game-winning buzzer-beater by Thomas Nesbitt, the Ottawa 67's broke out the goals for a decisive shut-out win in the second half of this home and home series with the Peterborough Petes. Ottawa won 4-3 in Peterborough on Thursday in a game where Ottawa had to fight back twice from one-goal deficits.

Click here for the game sheet.

Just over 6 minutes into the second period Thomas Nesbitt finally got one past Bryce O'Hagan who had made some big saves on the previous 21 shots from the 67's. Ben Dubois and Shane Prince assisted on the PPG which would stand as the game winning goal. Nice start for new-comer Ben Dubois.

And less than a minute later, Dalton Smith, who we haven't heard from too much lately, scored a SHG on rebound from Marc Anthony Zanetti to put Ottawa up by two.

At this point, Ottawa took over the game as the Peteborough Petes started feeling the effects of two games in two days and playing with a very short bench (only 16 skaters). Before the second frame was done, Ben Dubois scored his first goal as a 67's and Tyler Toffoli kept his point streak alive with his 35th goal of the season to make it a 4 - 0 game.

Tyler Graovac scored his 7th goal of the season during Peterborough's 5 penalty of the game when he wristed it over O'Hagan's shoulder.

The top line wrapped it up at the mid-way point of the third when Ryan Martindale's backhand from the top of the crease got through O'Hagan and dribbled over the goal line for Martindale's 24th of the year. Linemates Prince and Toffoli with the assists.

The fans in Section 6 (I think) received their Subway sub cards for Ottawa scoring 6 goals and the 67's went on to help Mrazek get his second shut out (both coming in the last two Ottawa home games). Mrazek has gone a full 120 minutes without having a goal scored on him at the Rona Centre.

The team now prepares for the return match against Ben Dubois's former team, the Owen Sound Attack. When these teams met on New Year's Day, the Attack came from behind to beat the 67's. The 67's will be looking to correct that outcome on Sunday.

Hope we see you at the game.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Tyler Toffoli who was also named the OHL player of the month for December
Random Thoughts:

• Tyler Toffoli kept his league leading scoring 22-game streak going with his goal and assist. Tyler has scored 49 points (24G - 25A). Shane Prince is right behind him with a streak of 18 games where he notched 12G and 25 A although his streak was broken in Peterborough on Thursday.
  
• Tyler Toffoli and Petr Mrazek were named as OHL top performers for the month of December. Click here for the OHL announcement.
  
• With Jon Carnevale, Steven Janes and Cosimo Fontana still out with injuries, Ottawa iced 11 forwards. Martindale, Toffoli and Prince shared double-shift duties to form a line with Foglia and Fielding. I can't recall the last time the 67's have had a healthy scratch. Can't be anyone complaining about not getting chances to play. Rookies saw more ice time in different situations in the third period.
  
• Toffoli had a couple of break-aways and Cody Lindsay had one too. No goals on any of them.
  
• You may have missed it but the Ottawa 67's helmets are sporting white chin straps in a nod to old-style hockey. The players are pretty pumped about this uniform upgrade.
  
• Not sure if there were problems with the ice. Lots of players losing their footing and fumbling with the puck.
  

More Pictures: Sean Monahan was the leading scorer for the Gold Medal Team Ontario in the U-17 tournament Petr Mrazek was named the Vaughn OHL Goalie for the month of December Amazing goal-mouth save by O'Hagan in the first period Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Breaking Down the Rest of The Regular Season

After tonight's game against the Peterborough Petes, the Ottawa 67's have 29 games left in the 68 regular-game season.

Going into tonight's game, the 67's are second in the conference with a record of 25-11-1-1 for 52 points, 7 behind the OHL leading Mississauga St. Mike's Majors (who have 2 games in hand), and 2 points ahead of the Niagara IceDogs (who have one game in hand).

Of the remaining 29 games, 12 are on the road with February being the hardest road-game month with 8 road games. They get a break in March with 6 home games including the last four games.

19 games are within the conference, 16 of which are are against conference rivals who are currently in playoff positions including 3 against Mississauga. All 10 games against Western Conference teams are against teams that are currently in playoff positions including 2 against the Western Conference leading Saginaw Spirit.

What does all this mean? Well, every point counts but certainly points against conference rivals are critical in that they are effectively 4-point games. With only 4 points separating Ottawa, Niagara and Oshawa (currently sitting in positions 2, 3 and 4 respectively) and Oshawa and Niagara having games in hand (2 and 1 respectively), Ottawa cannot afford to take any games off if they want to hang on to second spot in the Conference. They play Niagara once and Oshawa twice.

With losses in the their last game of 2010 and the first game of 2011 Ottawa will need to re-group and get back to what made them successful in the first half of the season. Other teams in the conference are gaining strength (Peterborough in particular) and are battling for playoff positions. Ottawa will have to improve their defensive play and not rely on Mrazek to bail them out as much as they did in the first half.

As the trade deadline looms, it will be interesting to see if Kilrea and Byrne make any roster changes. Welcome to the interesting part of the season.

Mrazek Finally Gets His Shut-Out: Ottawa 9 - Kingston 0

This game was over 4 minutes in when Tyler Toffoli scored the first of his 5 goals starting with a natural hat trick within about 10 minutes in the first period. Also scoring for Ottawa: Nesbitt (2), Ryan Shipley and Marc-Anthony Zanetti. Assisting in the rout: Martindale, Gibbons (2), Prince (2), Graovac, Foglia (2), Ceci (2), Linsday (2) and Smith. Whew!

Click here for the game sheet.

This is a work night so I don't have time to process all the pictures and write a decent post. Suffice it to say that this was not Kingston's finest effort where as Ottawa was on their game.

Three Stars as selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as selected by the Team1200: Marc Anthony Zanetti Random Thoughts:

• Kingston kept up with the shots on goal and several of them were good scoring chances that Mrazek thwarted. But as the game was winding down, he almost undid the looming shut-out on his own by mis-handling the puck and nearly putting it in his own net.
  
• Both teams were short a number of players. Missing for Ottawa: Carnevale (concussion), Hanes (surgery), Monahan (U-17), Sedlak (WJHC), Fontana (concussion). For Kingston: Grubauer (WJHC), E. Gudbranson (WJHC) A. Gudbranson (U-17), Gaulton, Werek.
  
• Ryan Spooner went MIA during the game (second period?). Not sure why.
  
• The Ottawa rookies saw lots of ice-time in the third as the top line sat and watched most of the frame.
  

Click here to see more pictures from the game.

Great Interview of Shane Prince

A great interview of Shane Prince by Ross Bitley of the Hockey Examiner.

Well worth the read.

Game Set Up - Kingston

Welcome back to the second half of the 2010 - 2011 season. The Ottawa 67's return to Ottawa today to prepare for Wednesday's home game against divisional rival Kingston Frontenacs.

The Ottawa 67's will be without the services of Adam Sedlak who is playing on the Czech National Team for the World Junior Hockey Championship (WJHC) in Buffalo and Sean Monahan who is playing for Team Ontario in the U-17 tournament taking place in Winnipeg.

Adding to the 67's lineup will be Ben Dubois who was claimed on waivers from Owen Sound just before the Christmas break. The 19 year old Belle River native has played 110 games in the OHL (46 for Windsor and 64 for Owen Sound) amassing 3 goals, 4 assists and clocking 114 PIMs during that time. From the Owen Sound press release

"As an organization we wish to thank Ben for his service. He was a good teammate and a quality citizen while in Owen Sound and we wish him nothing but the best.”, stated Attack General Manager Dale DeGray.

The acquisition of goaltender Michael Zador yesterday mean the Attack had 26 players on their active roster and needed to cut down numbers.

Some commentary from The NOOF. One has to wonder if he is a short-term (or longer) replacement for Jon Carnevale who missed a number of games before the break with a concussion.

Kingston will be missing both Gudbransons (Eric with Team Canada at the WJHC and Alex with Team Ontario at the U-17) and Philipp Grubauer who is playing on the German National Team at the WJHC.

The crazy weather in Europe and on the east coast of North America wrecked havoc on the travel plans of many. Wonder if Petr Mrazek got home in time to enjoy the holidays with his family before scrambling to get back to Ottawa.

Hope to see you at the game on Wednesday!

Ottawa 67's	Head to Head	Kingston Frontenacs
24-9-1-1 - 50 points	Record	17-12-2-2 - 38 points
2nd Eastern	Conference - Rank	5th Eastern
145	GF	118
101	GA	121
8-0-1-1	P10	3-5-1-1
20.4 (10th)	PP% (rank)	19.9 (12th)
85.9 (1st)	PK% (rank)	80.8 (9th)

Top Guns

Ottawa 67's	Kingston Frontenacs
Prince (19-39-58)	Moon (20-24-44)
Toffoli (29-27-56)	Spooner (19-17-36)
Martindale (19-28-47)	Werek (15-15-30)
Nesbitt (17-16-33)	Fine (9-19-28)
Lindsay (14-15-29)	Doherty (6-19-25)