Ottawa 67s Fan Report: Janes Helps Power 67's Past Frontenacs, Ending Losing Streak

On the strength of a five-point night from Steven Janes, the Ottawa 67’s were able to put an end to their eight-game losing skid, defeating the Kingston Frontenacs 5-3 on Tuesday night.
Janes had a pair of goals, including an empty netter, and assisted on goals by Sean Monahan, Remy Giftopoulos and Mike Vlajkov respectively, as he moved into fourth on the team in scoring.

"He blocked shots, he got pucks out, he got pucks in, so a real strong night for him," said Chris Byrne of Janes' effort tonight. "We had some great plays and some great individual performances but there were a couple of sloppy plays that we'd like to take out of our game."

Ottawa was also the beneficiary of two disallowed goals for the Frontenacs. Cody Alcock had a goal called back for knocking the puck in with what appeared to be his glove, while Samuel Schutt had one called back as he knocked over Clint Windsor as the puck crossed the line.

Schutt’s goal, if allowed, would have brought Kingston to within one goal with the score 3-1 at the time. Instead, Ottawa headed to a powerplay and eventually a 5-on-3, where Janes had his first tally of the night to give the home side a commanding 4-1 lead.

Marc Beckstead got one goal back for Kingston before Janes added an empty netter. Darcy Greenaway scored with 15 seconds left to make the game look better on the scoreboard for the visitors.

Monahan’s goal came 24 seconds into the game, while Vlajkov and Giftopolous’ goals put Ottawa ahead 3-1. Spencer Watson had originally tied the game at one with his fifth goal against the 67’s this season.

The game ended on a violent note with a gathering behind the home net in the final five seconds. Michal Cajkovsky beat up on Greenaway, an act that was condemned by both head coaches.

“It’s really tough for their 6’5 guy (Cajkovsky) to grab our 5’9 guy and do that,” Kingston head coach Todd Gill said sarcastically. Byrne added that the incident was “completely uneccesary,” and that he and the staff have talked to the overage defenceman about this type of late-game behaviour.

Windsor made 35 saves to register his first win as a 67. Mike Morrison was pulled after allowing three goals on 17 shots for Kingston, while Colin Furlong made 10 stops on 11 shots to finish the night.

The game sheet can be found here.

Assorted Notes:

Ottawa didn't only snap their own losing streak, they knocked off a Frontenacs team that had won five straight. The 67's are now four points out of a playoff spot and eight points behind seventh-place Kingston.
While also outshooting Ottawa, Kingston had several chances that were blocked, went wide or hit the post. The 67's did a fairly good job keeping them to the perimeter, however.
Monahan was all over the ice and creating space everytime he had the puck it seemed. To go along with his early goal, he had an assist for the eleventh consecutive game. Not a bad way to celebrate his topping the list of OHL draft-eligibles for Central Scouting's first 2013 NHL Draft list.
Connor Brown, Remy Giftopoulos and Andrew Abou-Assaly were back together tonight and made up Ottawa's most dominant unit up front, cycling the puck perfectly 5-on-5 and getting noticably stronger on the forecheck. Look for them to be Ottawa's new second/third line when Tyler Graovac comes back.
Kevin Groulx, who has been playing Jr. B in Stittsville this season, was called up to the 67's for this game and didn't look out of place. He played on a line with converted defencemen Sean Callaghan and Nevin Guy, as Jonathan Duchesne moved back to defence.

Three Stars as Selected by the Team1200

Hardest Working 67's as Selected by the Team1200: Clint Windsor

Random Thoughts from Behind the Lens:

It wasn't as strong as on Sunday but this time the bounces went the 67's way. They took the lead and kept it for the win. They played really well in front of Clint, especially during the 4-minute PP where Kingston was held to 3 shots on goal. Everything in front of Clint was cleaned up and sent away.
The 67s' also showed that when they put their minds to it, they can control the puck and the play.
Ottawa only had 2 powerplays and they were stacked on each other - Ottawa having a 5-on-3 late in the game. They scored on the 5-on-3 and maintained their ranking as the best PP in the league.
Good to see Clint get his first win as a 67's and on home ice and get recognized as the hardest working 67's.

Some pictures from the game: