GAME PREVIEW: 67’s @ Generals

Radio:  CFRA 580 (Ottawa)
TV:  Rogers 22 (Ottawa)

Records
•  Ottawa:  5-2-1-0 (2nd in Eastern divison, 3rd in Eastern conference)
•  Oshawa:  4-4-0-1 (3rd in Eastern divison, 6th in Eastern conference)

The Ottawa travel to Oshawa tonight to take on the Generals for the first of 6 meetings this season.  The 67’s won last season’s series with a record of 4-2-0-0.  Of the current 67’s, Tyler Toffoli lead the way with 4 goals and 6 points in 6 games.  Meanwhile, Christian Thomas lead the way for the Gens with 2 goals and 14 points in 6 games.

The Gens are not off to the start they wanted.  In their first 7 games, their record was 2-3-0-1, but since then the Gens have won their last two games including a shootout win against the Mississauga Majors handing them only their second loss of the season.  Good news arrived for the Gens as they received Andy Andreoff back from the Los Angeles Kings in time for last night’s game.  He will make his season debut at home tonight.

Alike the 67’s and many teams in the league, the Gens have missed a lot of players due to NHL camps, injuries and suspensions.  Currently, the Gens have three players sitting out with major suspensions including Scott Sabourin, Mark Petaccio and Kyle Hope who each will not see game ice until late October.

The 67’s will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing effort in last night’s 4-1 loss to the Brampton Battalion.

Leading scorers
•  Ottawa:  Sean Monahan – 6 goals, 15 points in 7 games (6th in league, tied)
•  Oshawa:  Boone Jenner – 5 goals, 9 points in 8 games (n/a)

67′s Lineup changes
•  Dalton Smith – suspended (back Oct 27)
•  Ryan Martindale – signed with Oilers, re-assigned to Stockton Thunder of the ECHL (undetermined)
•  Shayne Campbell – travelled with the team and will backup Petr Mrazek

Known Generals Lineup changes
•  Kyle Hope – suspended 10 games for a hit to the head/interference on Sarnia’s Julian Luciani (back Oct 30)
•  Scott Sabourin – suspended 12 games for hit from behind vs Kingston (back Oct 28)
•  Mark Petacio – suspended 10 games for a hit to the head on Belleville’s Simon Gronvaldt (back Oct 23)

Generals NHL Draft Picks
•  Nicklas Jensen – Vancouver Canucks (round 1, #29 overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
•  Boone Jenner – Columbus Blue Jackets (round 2, #37 overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
•  Lucas Lessio – Phoenix Coyotes (round 2, #56 overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
•  Andy Andreoff – Los Angeles Kings (round 3 #80 overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
•  Colin Suellentrop – Philadelphia Flyers (round 4, #116 overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
•  Christian Thomas – New York Rangers (round 2, #40 overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft
•  Scott Valentine – Anaheim Ducks (round 6, #166 overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft
•  Daniel Maggio – New York Rangers (round 6, #170 overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

Generals Draft Hopefuls
•  Scott Laughton – ranked 26th on Red Line Report’s top-70, 30th on Future Considerations top-60 list & 24th on International Scouting Services top-50 list

Ottawa Connections
•  Scott Sabourin – Orleans, ON: Brockville Braves & Kanata Stallions (CJHL)
•  Scott Valentine – Metcalfe, ON: Hawkesbury Hawks alumni (CJHL)
•  Dan Altshuller – Nepean, ON: Nepean Raiders (CJHL) alumni, top goalie prospects for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Brampton battles to a 4-1 win over 67’s

OTTAWA – It was a battle of the streaks at the J Benson Cartage Centre as the Ottawa 67’s fell 4-1 to the Brampton Battalion in front of a home crowd of 5,090.  The loss marked Ottawa’s first at home and extended Brampton’s road winning streak to a team record of 4 games.

The 67’s came out of the gate shaky and did not record a shot on net until the 10:30 mark of the first period – by that time Brampton had 10.  It didn’t help that the game had to be temporarily stopped 3 times in the first period due to excessive fog on the ice.  In an attempt to light a fire under their respective teams, Ryan Van Stralen and Zach Bell got into a small fight with Van Stralen taking down Bell in the end.  The 67’s started to get better as the period progressed and made the shot count more respectable, but one of their only scoring chances came in the final moments of the period.

Disappointed with the effort, both teams started off the second period with a fast-pace energy creating scoring chances at both ends of the ice.  No one would take the lead until Barclay Goodrow ripped a shot past Petr Mrazek beating him up high in the slot.

Brampton would take a 2 goal lead after Phil Lane caught a feed from Jamie Lewis and, newly acquired OA, Brett Mackie.  The 67’s had no answer for Keegan Wilson who stood on his head for the entire game.

It wasn’t until the third period when Sean Monahan scored his 7^th of the season and cut the Battalion lead in half.  He fired a bullet shot past Keegan Wilson and beat him high glove side.  The goal would extend Monahan’s league leading (tie) point streak to 8 games.

In his first game back from serving a two game suspension for slew-foorting, Ottawa native, Mitchell Porowski would respond for the Brampton Battalion after tapping in a rebound from rookie Patrik Machac’s original shot.

Coach Chris Byrne pulled the Mrazek in the final moments for the extra attacker, but Philip Lane would round out the scoring with an empty net goal.

The Ottawa 67’s are in Oshawa tomorrow night and will face the Generals for the first time this season.  Meanwhile, the Battalion will be in Belleville to face the Bulls for game 2 of their 3 game road trip.

NEWS AND NOTES:  Sean Monahan was awarded with the team’s Scholastic Player Award for the month of September … Brett Gustavsen left the game after being slashed on the wrist by Cameron Wind.  He returned later in the 3^rd period … Dan Blujus goal streak ends at 3 games.

THREE STAR SELECTION
1.  Keegan Wilson (BRA)
2.  Jamie Lewis (BRA)
3.  Sean Callaghan (OTT)

SCORING SUMMARY

First period
none

Second period
BRA Goodrow, (3) (Carrick, MacLeod), 6:34
BRA Lane, (2) (Lewis, Mackie), 9:53

Third period
OTT Monahan, (7) (Toffoli), 11:08
BRA Porowski, (2) (Machac, Tsogkas), 15:42
BRA Lane, (3) (McIvor, Machac), 19:44 (EN)

Powerplays
OTT – 0/1
BRA – 0/3

Goalies
OTT – Petr Mrazek (34 saves on 37 shots)
BRA – Keegan Wilson (33 saves on 34 shots)

AROUND THE ‘O
SAG 2, SAR 7
NIA 3, PLY 6
PBO 4, GUE 0
OS 3, KIT 5
ERIE 4, LDN 6
OSH 3, MISS 2 SO
BRAM 4, OTT 1
KGN 4, SSM 6
BAR 2, SBY 3

GAME REVIEW: Battalion @ 67’s

Radio:  Team 1200AM (Ottawa)
TV:  Rogers 22 (Ottawa), Rogers 10 (Brampton)

Records
•  Ottawa:  5-1-1-0 (2nd in Eastern divison, 3rd in Eastern conference)
•  Brampton:  4-2-0-0 (3rd in Central divison, 5th in Eastern conference)

The Brampton Battalion are in Ottawa tonight to take on the 67’s for the first of 4 meetings this season.  The 67’s won last season’s series with a record of 2-1-0-1, but both teams have some new faces and new roles on their respective roster.  The leading point getter for the 67’s was Thomas Nesbitt with 5 goals and 7 points in 4 games while Barclay Goodrow and Ian Watters had 1 goal and 3 points each in 4 games.  Thomas Nesbitt has since moved on from his OA season and Ian Watters is out 3 months after surgery on his wrist.

Some good news and bad news for Ottawa 67’s fans.  Bad news is that Ryan Martindale has signed a contact with the Edmonton Oilers and was recently re-assigned to the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL to get more icetime.  Good news is that Shane Prince returns to the lineup after being sidelined 6 games from a shoulder injury suffered in the hope opener against Belleville.

Ottawa 67’s are coming off a  4-1 redemption win over the Plymouth Whalers where OA winger Ben Dubois and Nicolas Foglia came up big.  Meanwhile the Brampton Battalion are coming of a big high after defeating the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors by a score of 5-1.  This marked Mississauga’s first loss of the season as they sit comfortably in first with a 8-1-0-0 record.  Dan Blujus lead the way with two goals.

Leading scorers
•  Ottawa:  Sean Monahan – 6 goals, 15 points in 7 games (6th in league, tied)
•  Brampton:  Dylan Blujus – 4 goals, 6 points in 6 games (n/a)

67’s Lineup changes
•  Dalton Smith – suspended (back Oct 27)
•  Ryan Martindale – signed with Oilers, re-assigned to Stockton Thunder of the ECHL (undetermined)
•  Shayne Campbell – lower body injury (day to day)
•  Shane Prince – returns to lineup after being sidelined with a shoulder injury in the home opener
•  David Perklin – returns to lineup after being sidelined with the flu bug
•  Karsten Pankurst – returns to lineup, called up to backup Petr Mrazek

Known Battalion Lineup changes
•  Mitchell Porowski – returns to lineup after his two game suspension for a slew-foot
•  Zach Bell – returns to lineup after be sidelined for six games
•  Adam Lloyd – sidelined with a head injury (day-to-day)
•  Connor Jarvis – sidelined with a high-ankle sprain (4-6 weeks)
•  Jordan Poirier – sidelined with a shoulder injury (1 week)
•  Ian Watters – sidelined after having surgery on wrist (3 months)

Battalion NHL Draft Picks
•  Sam Carrick – Toronto Maple Leafs (2010, Round 5, 144th overall)
•  Phil Lane – Phoenix Coyotes (2010, Round 2, 52nd overall)

Battalion Draft Hopefuls
•  Marcus McIvor – ranked 43 on Future Considerations top-60 list, ranked 35th on International Scouting Services top-50 list
•  Dylan Blujus – ranked 53rd on Future Considerations top-60 list

Ottawa Connections
•  Mitchell Porowski:  Ottawa, ON – Spent three seasons with the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL before signing with Brampton this year as a free agent in his OA season.  Former member of the Pembroke Lumber Kings & CJHL champion team in 2009-10.
•  Adam Lloyd:  Orleans, ON – Former member of the Gloucester Rangers (& former teammate of the 67’s own Remy Giftopolous)
•  Alex O’Neil:  Kemptville, ON – Former member of the Kemptville
•  Matej Machovsky:  invited to the Ottawa Senators rookie camp & competed in the NHL prospects tournament

Ben Dubois leads 67’s to 4-1 win

OTTAWA – Shorthanded, Ben Dubois scored at the 12:23 mark in the second period afer beating Matt Mahalak up high for the game winner.

The Plymouth Whalers came out of the game buzzing with a strong first shift.  The Whalers continued to out play Ottawa until the final minutes, but were unable to solve Petr Mrazek.

Rickard Rackell got the Whalers on the board 43 seconds into the second period after a nice setup by Sens draft pick Stefan Noesen.  Less than 30 seconds later, Tyler Toffoli evened things up after getting a hold of his own rebound.

With Mike Vlajkov in the box for hooking, Nicholas Foglia cut off a breakout pass from the Whalers.  He fed the puck to Ben Dubois in the slot and fired a high shot past Mahalak.

The second period turned a little rough after that.  Sean Monahan was hit into the boards from behind by Mitchell Heard.  With no call on the play, Monahan got up and squared off with Heard in a spirited affair.

Moments later, Marc Zanetti crushed Noesen into the boards away from the play.  The hit created an angry crowd ending up with Ryan Van Stralen man-handling Rackell and Tyler Graovac dropping the mitts with Beau Schmitz.

The Whalers nearly tied it up in the 3rd period when Stefan Noesen picked up a loose puck with several bodies around the net, but the goal was called off with referee Dave Gauthier losing sight of the puck and calling it dead.

Steven Janes and Foglia rounded out the scoring with empty net goals after the Whalers attempted to pull their goaltender for an extra attacker.

The win gave Ottawa their 4th straight win at home and improved their record to 5-1-1-0.  After a long roadtrip, the Whalers finish off fall to a record of 3-4-0-0.

The Brampton Battalion roll into Ottawa Friday night for the first meeting of the season.

Plymouth faces off against the Windsor Spitfires on Thursday and will host the Niagara Ice Dogs on Friday.

67’s spank Petes 5-1

OTTAWA – Despite being short manned, the Ottawa 67’s spanked the Peterborough Petes 5-1 last night at the J Benson Cartage Centre in front of a crowd of 4,661.

Missing from the 67’s lineup was Dalton Smith – serving game 4 of his 10 game suspension, Shane Prince – nursing a shoulder injury, Ryan Martindale – still at Oklahoma City training camp in the AHL along with rookies Mike Vlajkov and David Perklin who came down with the flu.

The depleted lineup did not stop the 67’s from coming out of the gates strong.  After giving up a 3-goal lead and succumb to the Windsor Spitfires last game, it was the perfect scenario.  With only 39 seconds in, Brett Gustavsen picked up a bouncing rebound off of Marc Zanetti’s original shot and fired it past Petes goaltender, Mike Morrison for the early lead.

Less than 2 minutes later, Ben Dubois fed the puck to Nick Foglia who was cutting right in front and picked up his first goal of the season to give Ottawa a quick 2-goal lead.  Immediately after, Mike Pelino called a timeout in attempts to settle down his troops.

Tyler Toffoli gave the 67’s a 3-goal lead with some nice initial work by Sean Monahan who fed the puck to Toffoli behind the net before the first period came to a close.

Gustavsen came close to making it 4-0 in the first but Mike Morrison came up with a big save after the small feisty winger came streaking in on a breakaway.  On the opposite end, Petr Mrazek continued to play strong not allowing any Petes to solve him.

Early in the third period the 67’s scored to quick goals under two minutes apart.  Toffoli picked up his second goal of the game after he ripped it short side off a crisp pass from Monahan.  Overage veteran Ben Dubois picked up his first goal of the season picking up another rebound off Morrison and knocking it past him for the 5-0 lead.

Only moments later, Andrew Yogan notched Petes only goal of the game and his first of the season from Derek Mathers and Jeremy Gottzmann spoiling Mrazek’s shutout bid.

5-1 final for the Ottawa 67’s.

The Ottawa 67’s will look for redemption when Sens prospect Stefan Noesen and the Plymouth Whalers roll into to town on Sunday afternoon at 2pm.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period
OTT – Gustavsen, (3) (Zanetti, Toffoli), 0:39
OTT – Foglia, (1) (Dubois, Fielding), 2:26
OTT – Toffoli, (3) (Monahan, Gustavsen), 18:46

Second period
none

Third period
OTT – Toffoli, (4) (Monahan), 4:56
OTT – Dubois, (1) (Cajkovsky, Foglia), 6:23
PBO – Yogan, (1) (Mathers, Gottzmann), 7:29

Powerplays
OTT – 0/0
PBO – 0/2

Goaltenders
OTT – Petr Mrazek (30 saves on 31 shots)
PBO -Mike Morrison (29 saves on 34 shots)

AROUND THE ‘O
OS 5 , ERIE 7
OSH 2, SAR 5
BRAM 4, GUE 3 – OT
PLY 3, KGN 1
SAG 1, KIT 4
WSR 5, LDN 2
SSM 1,  MISS 6
NIA 4, SBY 5 – SO

Game Preview: Petes @ 67’s

Radio:  580 CRFA (Ottawa), 100.5 KRUZ FM (Peterborough)
TV:  Rogers TV (Ottawa),  Cogeco (Peterborough)

Records
•  Ottawa:  3-1-1-0 (2nd in Eastern divison, 3rd in Eastern conference)
•  Peterborough:  4-0-1-1 (1st in Eastern divison, 2nd in Eastern conference)

Leading scorers
•  Ottawa:  Sean Monahan – 6 goals, 12 points in 5 games (3rd in league, tied)
•  Peterborough:  Alan Quine – 3 goals, 10 points in 6 games (7th in league, tied)

Lineup changes
•  Dalton Smith – suspended (back Oct 27)
•  Shane Price – shoulder injury (1 week)
•  Ryan Martindale – still in AHL with Oklahoma City (undetermined)
•  David Perklin – flu (day-to-day)
•  Mike Vlajkov – flu (day-to-day)

The Ottawa 67’s return to the nations capital after a grueling western roadtrip last weekend.  They managed to get an average 3 points of a possible 6, losing only once in regulation to the contending Plymouth Whalers. 

The other loss was in overtime with the 67’s squandering a 3 goal to lead the Windsor Spitfires after going up early in the first period.  The game was full of questionable penalties on both sides and just a game the 67’s will want to forget.

Sean Monahan continues to shine, leading the team in scoring with 4 goals and 7 points in 3 games.  Tyler Toffoli came close with 2 goals and 6 points in 3 games.  The 67’s also saw some flashes of brillance with Petr Mrazek, Shayne Campbell, Cody Ceci and Tyler Graovac.

The 67’s will be in tough tonight when they face the Peterborough Petes for their second home game of the season.  The Petes are off to a suprising start with a record of 3-0-1-1, including 2 wins and a loss this past weekend.  The Petes have balanced scoring so far with Ottawa Senators prospect Matt Puempel leading the charge this past weekend.  Puempel had 3 goals and 7 points in 3 games while Ottawa-native Alan Quine had 1 goal and 5 points in 3 games. 

The Petes are coming in off their second game in two nights.  Last night they took on the contending Plymouth Whalers and defeated them 3-0.  Andrew D’Agostini earned the shutout with 34 saves on the night.

Petes NHL Draft Picks
•  Alan Quine – Detroit Red Wings (2011, Round 3, 85th overall)
•  Matt Puempel – Ottawa Senators (2011, Round 1, 24th overall)
•  Austin Watson – Nashville Predators (2010, Round 1, 18th overall)
•  Andrew Yogan – New York Rangers (2010, Round 4, 100th overall)
•  Derek Mathers – Philadelphia Flyers (2011, Round 7, 206th overall
•  Peter Ceresnak – New York Rangers (2011, Round 6, 172nd overall)

Petes Draft Hopefuls
•  Slater Koekkoek (arguably ranked in Top 30)

Ottawa Connections
•  Matt Puempel – drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2011 NHL Entry Draft
•  Alan Quine – Ottawa native
•  Joey West – Orleans native
•  Slater Koekkoek – Mountain native

After falling in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Plymouth Whalers last night, the Ottawa 67’s came out with a quick hop in their strides.  Infact, the 67’s scored 7 answered goals to defeat the Saginaw Spirit 8-3.

Tyler Graovac got the 67’s on the board first.

GAME SUMMARY

First period
OTT – 4:21 – Tyler Graovac (Steven Janes, Michal Cajkovsky)
SAG – 6:05 – Jamie Oleksiak (Vincent Trocheck, John McFarland)  PP
SAG – 10:36 – Garrett Ross (Vadim Khlopotov, John McFarland)
OTT – 12:34 – Tyler Toffoli (Brett Gustavsen, Cody Ceci)
OTT – 13:38 – Brett Gustavsen (Sean Monahan, Tyler Toffoli)
OTT – 14:48 – Steven Janes (Tyler Graovac)

Second Period
OTT – 8:30 – Tyler Toffoli (Gustavsen, Sean Monahan)
OTT – 14:26 – Jake Cardwell (Steven Janes, Tyler Graovac)

Third period
OTT – 1:26 – Shane Monahan (Cody Ceci, Tyler Toffoli)  PP
OTT – 2:01 – Tyler Graovac (Ryan Van Stralen, Steven Janes)
SAG – 2:47 – John McFarland (Sam Povorozniouk)

AROUND THE OHL

OSH 7, ERIE 4
SBY 2, SAR 7
NIA 5, BELV 3
LDN 6, PLY 3
PBO 5, BAR 6  OT
GUE 5, OS 3
KIT 2, SSM 3

Monahan shines in 67’s 3-2 loss

The Ottawa 67’s travelled to Plymouth to take on the Whalers for their first regular season game.  Despite a strong showing, the 67’s did not end up with the result they wanted after allowing two unanswered Whalers goals resulting in a 3-2 loss.

Sean Monahan opened to scoring early in the first period after getting the puck past Scott Wedgewood with assists from Cody Ceci and Tyler Toffoli.

With Taylor Fielding off for elbowing, the Whalers would tie it up on the powerplay.  Mitchell Heard picked up his third of the season from Andy Bathgate and TJ Miller.  Shots were 13-12 for the 67’s at the end of one.

Sean Monahan picked up his second goal of the night with help from a deflection off a Whalers’ stick.  The goal was deemed as unassisted and put the 67’s up 2-1 to regain the lead.  Both goaltenders stood on their head stopping 11 shots a piece in the second.

The Whalers tied it up again with a Garrett Meurs goal off a great effort by Ottawa Senators prospect Stefan Noesen who made a perfect cross ice pass.  Six minutes JT Miller scored his first OHL goal to give the Whalers their first lead of the game and eventual game winner.  The Whalers were able to hang on and defeat the 67’s 3-2 for the 67’s first loss of the regular season.

The 67’s travel up the I-75 to face the Saginaw Spirit tomorrow night at 7:11pm.  You can catch the action on the Team1200 AM.

NEWS AND NOTES
Ottawa 67’s were without Ryan Martindale (assigned to AHL), Shane Prince (injured) and Dalton Smith (suspended).

GAME SUMMARY

First period
OTT – 3:05 – Sean Monahan (Cody Ceci, Tyler Toffoli)
PLY – 15:07 – Mitchell Heard (Andy Bathgate, TJ Miller)  PP

Second period
OTT – 4:59 – Sean Monahan (unassisted)

Third period
PLY – 4:38 – Garrett Meurs (Stefan Noesen, Dario Trutmann)
PLY – 11:45 – TJ Miller (Tom Wilson, Mitchell Heard)

Shots on Goal
OTT – 29
PLY – 28

Powerplays
OTT – 0 for 5
PLY– 1 for 6

Goaltenders
OTT – Petr Mrazek (25 saves on 28 shots)
PLY – Scott Wedgewood (27 saves on 29 shots)

AROUND THE OHL
Barrie Colts 2, Niagara IceDogs 4
Brampton Battalion 4, Sarnia Sting 3 – shootout
Kitchener Rangers 4, Saginaw Spirit 1
Erie Otters 2, Guelph Storm 10
Peterborough Petes 2, Kingston Frontenacs 1
Sudbury Wolve 2, London Knights 8
Owen Sound Attack 3, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 4
Belleville Bulls 2, Oshawa Generals 1
Windsor Spitfires 2, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds 6