Steelheads Edge 67's, Ex-Major Kuptsov, In Shootout

Ex-Mississauga forward Sergey Kuptsov had a goal and an assist against his old team, but it wasn’t enough as the Steelheads defeated the Ottawa 67’s 5-4 in the shootout on Sunday afternoon.

Kuptsov, drafted 16th overall by the then Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors in the 2011 CHL import draft, opened the scoring 48 seconds in on a perfect pass from Sean Monahan and was a +4 on the afternoon.  He also set up Dante Salituro’s first second-period goal which, at the time, put Ottawa ahead 2-1.

Stu Percy and Kristoff Kontos beat Jacob Blair blocker-side in the shootout, while Brett Gustavsen was stopped on his attempt and Joseph Blandisi missed the net.  Blair stopped 32 of 36 shots in regulation, while Spencer Martin made 38 stops before the shootout to help preserve the win.

Ottawa’s powerplay went 0-for-5, including a 4-on-3 chance to start overtime, while Mississauga converted on two of their four man advantages.

Salituro lead the way for the 67’s, restoring Ottawa’s lead after Alex Cord tied the game at one, and tying the game in the second after Steelhead goals from Josh Burnside and Dylan DeMelo in the middle frame. 

Trevor Carrick opened the third period scoring with a powerplay marker, putting Mississauga ahead 4-3, but Ottawa tied the game again 27 seconds later.  Salituro tried to notch the hattrick, batting the puck out of mid-air, but it was Blandisi who would pick up the rebound and score his eighth of the year.

The 67’s will now return home and begin a seven-game homestand on Friday when they host the Sarnia Sting.
Assorted Notes:

• Ottawa’s young offence is still doing a great job producing goals.  Breaking down Mississauga’s defence the way they did on the first goal is no easy task for any team.  Their best chances came off the rush, otherwise the visitors may have run away with the game.
• The OHL website still says Walsh got the assist on the second goal, but the in-game announcer corrected it to Kuptsov.  He was impressive in the first period, but was dropped from Monahan’s line towards the end of the game.
• If Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey expanded to OHL hockey, Salituro would be a fantasy player’s dream with his point production and penalty minutes.  Salituro moves into sixth in rookie scoring with his two-goal performance, and has more PIMs than any of the other top ten.