Blandisi Delivers Another Late Winning Goal

Although he’s only appeared in third period action twice so far this season, Joseph Blandisi has game winning markers in both of them, scoring in the final ten minutes on Sunday to give the 67’s a 3-2 win over Niagara.

Preview: Niagara IceDogs @ Ottawa 67's - Sept 29/13

Another young team rolls into the Canadian Tire Centre today to take on the Ottawa 67’s in a matinee showdown.  The Niagara IceDogs boast a lineup of 10 rookies who have only 3 games of OHL experience. They are missing 4 of their top 5 scores from last season’s squad who accounted for 115 goals and 296 points.

Missing players include Ryan Strome, Brett Richie and Steven Shipley who are all in the respective NHL farm systems.  Also missing for a portion of the last year up until now is Boston Bruins blueliner Dougie Hamilton who was a staple on the IceDogs powerplay.

Trudeau Stands Tall, Allows Late Game-Winner in 4-2 Loss

Philippe Trudeau made 35 stops in his OHL debut, but narrowly missed making a desperation save on Plymouth rookie Victor Cruz Rydberg with 1:34 left in the third period, as the 67’s dropped their second in a row, 4-2 on Friday night.

Trudeau Set To Make First OHL Start Tonight With Ottawa

Overage goaltender Philippe Trudeau will make his debut with the 67’s tonight after being claimed by the team on Monday. 

Preview: Plymouth Whalers @ Ottawa 67's - Sept 27/13

The Ottawa 67’s will look to regroup after a sloppy and undisciplined game against the North Bay Battalion last Sunday afternoon.  Coach Chris Byrne & defenseman Jonthan Duschesne will make their season debut after serving a two game suspension from an incident in the pre-season.  Joseph Blandisi will miss tonights's game after being tossed for a slewfoot on Sunday.

67's Can't Contain Goodrow, New North Bay Squad

For the first time since November of 2000, the Ottawa 67’s dropped a contest to a team from North Bay, falling 4-3 to the recently relocated North Bay Battalion on Sunday afternoon.

North Bay Battalion @ Ottawa 67's: Pre-game review

North Bay Battalion make their first visit to the Canadian Tire Centre since being relocated from Brampton in the off-season. 

It has been over 10 years since North Bay has had an OHL franchise. Despite many efforts to save the club, the "then" North Bay Cennentials packed things up and moved to Michigan for the 2002-03 season - they are now playing as the Saginaw Spirit. 

67's Duplicate 2011-12, Defeating Bulls in Home Opener

For the second time in three years, the Ottawa 67’s are 1-0-0 after defeating the Belleville Bulls in their home opener, storming back to score three goals in the third period to take 5-4 decision at the Canadian Tire Centre on Friday night.

 

Ready for the season to start.  

A Brand New Season: 67's/Bulls preview

The Ottawa 67’s are coming off a very tough season where the team saw their playoff hopes disappear for the first time in 17 years.  As one of the youngest teams in the league, the 67’s are up for another big test.  Despite the youth, the 67’s have 18 returning players to their lineup (19 if Sean Monahan returns). Due to the dynamics of last year’s squad, a lot of these young players were called upon in key situations fast tracking their experience.

Ottawa 67’s Key Dates in the 2013-14 Season

On the eve of the Ottawa 67’s season opener, let’s take a look at some key dates for the team during this upcoming season.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Home game vs Belleville Bulls (Home opener)

The 67’s open up their 2013-2014 OHL regular season by hosting the division rival Belleville Bulls.  Last season the 67’s fell 1-7-0-0 against the Bulls, but there is a bit of new look for both clubs this year.

The 2013-14 Alternate Captains Named

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Alternate Captains for the 2013-14 season:

Season Ticket Pickup NIght - One Step Closer to the Start of the Season!

The Ottawa 67's annual season ticket package pickup was held last night and there was a good turnout for the meal and introduction of this season's team. 











A.J. Jakube from the Team1200 and the game-day voice of the Ottawa 67's was the evening's emcee and introduced the 2013-2014 edition of team and management.

67’s double up 4-2 on Bulls

SMITH FALLS – Mike Vlajkov had a goal and an assist to lead the Ottawa 67’s to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Belleville Bulls.  It was their final game of the pre-season and they ended with a convincing record of 3-1-0. 

(Photo Credit: Sophie Desrosiers @SophDesrosiers)

Windsor Stands Tall in Another 4-1 Win Over Gatineau

Clint Windsor made 32 saves on Saturday, many of which spectacular saves or off of shots from point blank range, to earn his first win of the pre-season, a 4-1 67's win over the Gatineau Olympiques.

Abou-Assaly leads 67's to a 4-1 win over Gatineau (pre-season)

ROCKLAND – It wasn’t pretty, but the Ottawa 67’s skated to a 4-1 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques to earn their first win of the pre-season.  Andrew Abou-Assaly had a pair of goals and Jacob Blair stopped 40 shots to secure the victory.

Several key names were missing in the line-up such as Joseph Blandisi, Sean Monahan, Martin Reway and Emile Porier.  They are all away at their respective NHL camps.  The young players on both teams received plenty of ice time to try and prove that they belong in the OHL.

Between youth and the start of a news season, both teams understandably came out flat in the first period.  There weren’t many chances and the neutral zone was often clogged up.  The first good scoring chance of the game didn’t come until the 13:30 mark of the 1^st period where Blair came up with a big pad save.  It wasn’t until midway through the first that the first goal was recorded as  Jacob Middleton capitalized on a 2-man advantage.  He sent a hard shot from the point through traffic and in behind a screened Robert Steeves in the Gatineau net to draw first blood.

The Olympiques started to take control late in the first period after an unsuccessful man advantage.  They dominated much of the puck possession from then on until the remainder of the game.  Shots were 11-3 after the first period of play.

Olympiques defensemen continued to pressure the 67’s forwards and managed to give the 67’s a hard time entering their zone.  Despite not having the puck a lot, the 67’s continued to buzz around the net.  They would be rewarded with the second goal of the night from Tyler Hill who picked up a pass from Travis Konecny and fired the puck past Steeves short-side on a delayed powerplay.  This counted as a short-handed goal as the 67’s started to run into some penalty trouble.

Marc-Olivier Brouillard finally got a puck past Jacob Blair with the Olympiques’ 20^th shot of the night.  Brouillard with a great effort and banked in his own rebound to get his team on the board. 

The 67’s would respond as Andrew Abou-Assaly streaked down the slot and shot the puck five hole.  Steeves got a piece of it, but not enough and just trickled in.

Shots were 29-9 for Gatineau after two periods but the 67’s still lead 3-1.

The third period was a slightly better one for the 67’s with a couple more scoring chances both ways.  However, it didn’t start off that way.  The 67’s didn’t register a shot until 6:38 into the first period.  The first shot ended up being the 67’s 4^th goal and Abou-Assaly’s 2^nd of the night.  Abou-Assaly had a breakaway just out of the penalty box and wristed a clean shot through the five hole of Steeves.

The 67’s had the chance to do more damage, but the Olympiques were able to kill off – the almost full – two-man advantage.  

The game ended and the 67’s were outshot 41-14 but a 4-1 Ottawa win.  Next game is tomorrow night where this time the Olympiques host the 67’s at the Robert Guertin Arena. 

Notes:

• A couple fights on the night which all resulted in game misconducts from OHL ruling in pre-season.  Tomorrow’s game should be interesting as this game misconduct does not apply.
• Both teams were able to collapse down low and force each other to shoot from the perimeter.
• Konecny showed several flashes of brilliance, but was very inconsistent today. He is young, so this could improve with age and experience.  Great hands and hockey IQ already.
• Studnicka has a strong game. He used his body well to drive straight to the next resulting in a goal and several other chances tonight.
• Tyler Hill would be great to leave standing in front of the opposition net.  He has a big body and is very hard to move. The 67’s tried this out later in the game, it would be wise for them to continue.
• Jacob Blair played well enough to win, but wasn’t tested. 67’s limited shots to the perimeter and other shots were one-timers.  Blair reads the play well, gets into good positioning, but is still lacks rebound control.
• 67’s had trouble with zone entry.  Part of it is because the Olympiques defense played well.
• Marc-Olivier Brouillard has a resemblance to Patrick Kaleta:  Some decent skill but is an agitator, embellisher and has a mouth that he is not willing to back up.  Could hinder them in important games, but was able to successfully draw penalties for his team tonight.

Location:

CIH Academy Arena

Rockland, ON

Attendance:

1,157

Scoring Summary:

1st period
OTT- Jacob Middleton (Studnicka), PPG
GAT- n/a

2nd period
OTT- Tyler Hill (Travis Konecny, Jacob Middleton), SHG; Andrew Abou-Assaly (Dante Salituro, Alex Lintuniemi)
GAT- Marc-Olivier Brouillard (Alexandre Carrier, Jonathan Bourcier)

3rd period
OTT- Andrew Abou-Assaly (n/a)

Three stars:

1.       Ottawa – Andrew Abou-Assaly (2 goals)

2.       Ottawa – Jacob Blair (40 saves)

3.       Ottawa – Jacob Middleton (1 goal, 1 assist)

67's Drop Pre-Season Opener in Kemptville

The Ottawa 67's dropped their first 2013 pre-season game 4-1 to the Kingston Frontenacs on Tuesday night in Kemptville.  Travis Konecny had the lone goal in his first game with the Barberpoles and Clint Windsor had 46 stops in a losing effort.

Introducing the 2013-14 Ottawa 67's

When training camp opened this past Wednesday, head coach and general manager Chris Byrne went on record as saying that not every veteran was safe, and younger players could steal spots away from veterans.  Now that the dust has settled from camp, Ottawa will open the 2013-14 season with eight new faces.

2013 67's Training Camp; The Cuts

Training camp can be the greatest time in a young player's life, and this past week's 67's camp was no exception with a few kids and families getting the surprise of a lifetime when they were on the final roster, but it can also be the most painful.

Game Day Experience - Villach Austria

It was great catching up with Marc-Anthony Zanetti when his team played in near-by Villach Austria.  The game-day experience was interesting too.  My cousin Lydia and her spousal unit Hannis are very proud EC VSV fans and they had given us some insights previously.  But there's nothing like seeing it up-close.