Eastern Conference Round 1 Review, Round 2 Preview

ROUND 2: REVIEW

Kingston Frontenacs (1) vs Oshawa Generals (8

Prediction:  Kingston in 4.
Actual result:  Kingston in 5.

2011-12 Post Season Review: Ottawa 67’s

As the OHL season comes to a close for the 67’s, the fans and management can look back at many highs and lows during the season and playoffs.

On paper, the Ottawa 67’s were the team to beat in the East in the first half of the season after a great record of 10-3-1-0.  The team was playing well and the stars were emerging.  Tyler Toffoli and Shane Prince were both awarded with the OHL Player of the Week honours before early January.  By the end of the season, the team started to coast – and didn’t look so much as a team rather than a team of individuals.

Breakout seasons – Past

Off a great second half of the 2010-11 season, Shane Prince continued his stellar play into the 2011-12 regular season.  His skating has improved and his hockey IQ is still at the top of the pack in the OHL.  He ended with 43 goals and 90 points in 57 games good enough for Top 4 scorer in the OHL.

While Prince had another good season, the real breakout season belongs to Sean Monahan.  With the departure of Ryan Martindale, Monahan was given more ice time and put in more key situations.  At the age of 17, it speaks a lot of Chris Byrne’s trust and believes in Monahan’s play.  Near the end of the regular season, he fell into a bit of a slump.  He was playing well, but just could not finish.  Monahan still managed to finish with 33 goals and 78 points in 62 games, good for 16^th in the OHL for goal scorers.

Breakout seasons – Future

I predict a couple of breakout seasons for next year.  These following players have shown glimmers of hope behind the top line.  Remy Giftopolous will only shine with more ice time and 1 and a half season of experience under his belt.  Brett Gustavsen was one of the hardest working players over the course of the season.  His work ethic and speed will boost him to another level next year.  Tyler Graovac had a rough season and started to turn things around the end up until the playoffs where he elevated his play to a whole new level.  While I expected big things from him this season, I think next season will prove that Minnesota got a steal in the 2011 NHL Draft.

Disappointments

There were many positives during the regular season, but there were also some disappointments.  After playing so well in the first 5 months, the team had a tendency to coast during the remaining 1-2 months and into the playoffs.  By the last couple weeks, they saw a Niagara Ice Dogs team that was struggled at the start of the season easily over take the OHL Eastern Conference lead.  It was also then that the top line of Toffoli – Prince – Monahan were not producing like they were before.  Toffoli ended up losing the OHL scoring race by a measly two points.

67’s had a bit of luck in the playoffs.  In the first round, they faced a team they had no trouble beating during the regular season, in fact, they pretty much manhandled the Bulls.  But it was their first test and despite the series victory, they did not play the best they could.

Next round, the 67’s faced a depleted Barrie Colts team that they had trouble with all season.  The 67’s still did not play their best.  But give the 67’s credit for storming back from a 3-1 series deficit to advance to the conference finals in 7 games.  This series could easily have been either way.

The 67’s finally showed some life in Niagara in games 1 and 2, but Niagara was too strong in the end and was able to defeat the 67’s in 5 games.

This post-season was disappointing because this wasn’t the team that started the season.  The best players were no their best players and even Mrazek faltered at times.  The team was unable to give a full 60 minutes and the inconsistency eventually took a toll on them.  Toffoli was one of the players I felt would not show up, but in fact he proved me wrong and Prince seemed to have a lot of trouble.  Monahan started to come around, but was still far away from his regular form.  Tyler Graovac, Jake Cardwell, Cody Ceci and Steven Janes were the other players who seemed to elevate their game when their team really needed it.

With the possibility of several key players departing from the 67’s, it appears that the 67’s will be in a rebuild mode.  Unless Chris Byrne and the scouts are able to put the same touch on the team as Kilrea – to retool rather than rebuild.  It will be a busy and very interesting off-season.  The review of prospects will come at a later date.

Overagers: These three players will not return as they are not eligible.

• Mike Cazzola, Centre, shoots left
• Daniel Broussard, Defense, shoots right
• Marc Zanetti, Defense, shoots left

NHL Prospects: These players could make the jump to the NHL and some more likely their AHL affiliates.  There is still a chance that they could be back in the 2012-13 OHL regular season.

• Tyler Toffoli, LA Kings, 2010
• Shane Prince, Ottawa Senators, 2011
• Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings, 2010
• Dalton Smith, Columbus Blue Jackets, 2010
• John McFarland, Florida Panthers, 2010
• Cody Ceci, Eligible 2012, ranked top 10

With back-to-back 50 goal seasons and coming within 2 points of back-to-back scoring titles, there’s not much left for Tyler Toffoli to prove to the LA Kings in the OHL… except the experience of winning a J Ross Robertson Cup or Memorial Cup.  However, the Kings may prefer to see Toffoli with their AHL team in Manchester and play against men.

Shane Prince is in an interesting situation.  All signs point to him not returning, however, I feel he could benefit from returning for a final season in junior hockey.  With the Ottawa Senators right around the corner, the scouts are able to keep a close eye on his progress and are able to have frequent meetings with training staff and coaches.  On the flip side, the Binghamton Senators could use Prince right away with not much depth on RW with the club.

Petr Mrazek is almost a sure bet.  Mrazek has proven his worth in the regular season, playoffs and even on the world stage.  Mrazek is definitely ready to take the next step and with the Red Wings on a possible decline, he will fit right into their plans.  Mrazek will get a fair shot to make the big club next season, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him spend the majority of the season with Grand Rapids.  Note, if Mrazek returns to the 67’s he would be taking up both an overager spot and import spot.

After excelling with a top line pairing earlier in his career, Dalton Smith took a new role on the team.  While his scoring has gone down, Smith has developed in to a physical force and a solid power forward that can play at both ends of the ice.  With the re-tooling in Columbus, his services may be needed sooner rather than later.  Don’t expect to see Smith back in a 67’s uniform as he should be ranked pretty high on Columbus’ LW depth chart.

There is a chance that John McFarland could be back in a 67’s uniform.  There have been many questions about his lack of consistency.  While he didn’t have much of a journey with the Ottawa 67’s due to his injury, when he was here, the team played well.  Adding another centreman helped take pressure off the – talented but young – Sean Monahan.  The team played with confidence and together.  Once McFarland injured his shoulder, the pressure on the 67’s started to show.  McFarland’s injury may delay his chances with the Florida Panthers.

Cody Ceci is rated top 10 in the first round, which means he will likely be an early to mid-round pick when you take into account the goaltenders and European skaters.  The status of Ceci as a 67’s will be determined with the team that draft him.  Regardless of the team, Ceci will be given a chance at making the big club – the depth of that team will have a huge factor.  This will be something to discuss at a later date.

Eligible overagers next year:  These players are eligible to return for a final season in the OHL.  They all may return, but the 67’s can only keep three.  Note: The 67’s can carry four, but there is a deadline the OHL will set where the roster must be set.  The 67’s could use an additional overage player as trade bait.

• Tyler Toffoli
• Shane Prince
• John McFarland
• Ryan MacLean
• Dalton Smith
• Michal Cajkovsky
• Jake Cardwell
• Petr Mrazek
• Shayne Campbell

As it stands right now, taking into consideration of players moving on, Jake Cardwell and Shayne Campbell are pretty much a lock as overagers next season.  Michal Cajkovsky will likely not be back as he will take up an overager and import spot.  I believe there is a chance that McFarland or Prince will take the third spot.  Ryan MacLean could be the odd man out.

Possible Captains:  2011-12 captain Marc Zanetti will not return while alternate captains Dalton Smith and Tyler Toffoli will likely also graduate from the OHL.  Two players who have shown leadership are Jake Cardwell and Tyler Graovac.  I believe these are the two best candidates for this young team going forward.  Honorable mention to Brett Gustavsen, but I believe he is still one year away from getting this honour.

67’s eliminated after 3-2 regulation loss

After a disappointing game 4 loss at home, the Ottawa 67’s found themselves in a hole looking at a 3-1 series deficit.  A deficit they were able to overcome in round 2, but this time it was against a team that was relatively healthy and could roll a full four lines no problem.

It was not the start Ottawa wanted.  With Dalton Smith in the box for boarding, Freddie Hamilton set up Ryan Strome in the high slot and wired it past Petr Mrazek at the 2:02 mark of the first period to end his 6 game goalless drought.

Ottawa would respond with just over one minute later on the powerplay.  Mark Visentin made a huge save off a Mike Cajkovsky point shot, but let out a big rebound.  Sean Monahan was right in front and redirected the rebound into the back of the net.

The fans at the Gatorade Garden City Complex were treated to a nearly 20 minute delay well before the halfway mark of the game with a malfunctioning penalty box door.  Perhaps the IceDogs may have caught a break, as the 67’s were starting to get back into the game with a sense of urgency.  Play resumed for the 14 minute mark and Mrazek came up big stopping 17 of 19 shots fired his way in the first period as Niagara dominated the last half of the period.  Freddie Hamilton added a late goal after the 67’s got caught flatfooted creating a clean breakaway and Hamilton slid the puck through the fivehole on Mrazek.

The 67’s would come out for the second period until they ran into some penalty trouble.  Just as the powerplay expired, Alex Friesen would give the IceDogs a two-goal lead after tipping in a Dougie Hamilton shot from the short side.  Mrazek and Visentin were solid the rest of the period.

A powerplay midway through the third period would give the 67’s some life.  Tyler Toffoli fed Jake Cardwell who was all alone out front and made no mistake to tap it into a wide open net.

The 67’s caught another break as Freddie Hamilton took a bad penalty in the last two minutes.  The 67’s fired everything they could at Visentin, but despite two extra attackers and the scrambles out front – the buzzer horned signalling the end of the game. The end of the series and the end of junior hockey careers for Marc Zanetti, Daniel Broussard and Mike Cazzola.

The 67’s fell 3-2 to the Ice Dogs in regulation and fall 4 games to 1 in the series.  The Ice Dogs advance to the OHL Finals vs the London Knights for the first time in their club history.

Gustavsen scores winner in OT thriller

Brett Gustavsen scored the winning goal at the 2:09 mark in overtime to lead the Ottawa 67’s to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Barrie Colts.

The 67’s came strong out of the gate, dominating the play and outshooting the Colts 6-2 within the first 3 minutes.  However, it was the Colts that drew first blood.  Gregg Sutch muscled Jake Cardwell off the puck skated into opened ice and released a quick wrist shot that zoomed past Petr Mrazek and it to the net.

Continuing to put the physical pressure on the Colts, the 67’s attempted to wear down an already delpleted team.  Coach Chris Byrne commented, “Yeah, that was the idea.  We wanted to finish checks and did a great job of getting pucks low on their [defensemen].”

This resulted in the Colt’s losing forward Ivan Telegin after what seemed to be a harmless low hit from Steven Janes.  Telegin did not return and the Colts certainly missed him.

The play continued at both ends of the ice forcing both goaltenders to make some tough saves.  The 67’s wouldn’t tie it up until the halfway into the second period when Tyler Graovac found an opened Dalton Smith in the slot.  Smith made no mistake and tapped it past Mathias Niederberger.

Coach Byrne praised Smith after the game, “He’s played hard.  He plays the same way every night. It’s nice to see him get rewarded with that goal going to the net.”

Momentum switched and it was all Ottawa for the next twenty minutes.  That was until Josh MacDonald streaked in from the right side and beat Mrazek with long shot that tipped off Cardwell’s stick.  The Colts regained their 1-goal lead and sucked the atmosphere out of the J Benson Cartage Centre.

Just under 4 minutes later, Cody Ceci wired a bullet shot from the point.  The puck hit Steven Janes’ stick and deflected the puck over the pad of Niederberger.  This sparked new life into the 67’s and into the crowd.  Niederberger stood on his head making several key saves to keep his team in it.

The 67’s then got a break.  With 1:05 remaining in a tied game, the Colts were caught with too many men on the ice as Gregg Sutch was sent to serve it.  With 25 seconds left in the third period, Toffoli fed the puck into the slot where Monahan shot it past a screened Neiderberger.

It was all but over.

Something remarkable happened.  With 8.7 seconds left in the period and 16 seconds after the 67’s go-ahead goal, Mark Scheifele bats the puck out of mid-air and Mrazek had no chance.

“It was a tough break, you know.  We got the puck on a stick, it hit the glass in the air and came back up in front of the net.  It was a tough tough break you know,” Coach Byrne commented on the play.

It was now a tied game and headed for overtime.

Both teams came out firing, but it was the 67’s that were the last standing.  Just over two minutes into the extra frame, Brett Gustavsen shoots the puck on the sharp angle and the puck squeaked past Neiderberger for the win.

“There was a shift before too.  Everyone was going to the net, everyone was working hard. And that’s what happens you know, when you get momentum out there you’re going to score goals and that’s what we did,” said Gustavsen commenting on his big game winning goal.

What does Coach Byrne think of the rookie forward?

“There’s no quit to him.  Sometimes it’s to his own detriment, but most of the time it helps us a ton and he had a great first year here.  That’s for sure.”

The 67’s stormed back from a 3-1 series deficit and won the series in 7.  All credit to the 67’s as they slowly took the series game by game, one shift at a time and were rewarded by forcing a game 6 and later a game 7. It was a roller coaster of a series and this game summed it up.

“We got work to do, so we’ll get at it right now for sure … They’re a good team, so we’ll have to be ready for them on Friday night,” comments Coach Byrne regarding the win and facing the Niagara Ice Dogs in the Eastern Conference finals.

What you may have missed… Pre-game 5: Bulls @ 67’s

What you may have missed….

Suspension

After a spearing incident before game 2, Marc Zanetti’s OHL playoff fate was finally decided on Tuesday afternoon.  He was slapped with a 5 game suspension and won’t be available until game 7 if this current series goes that long.  Interesting to note, there was no video explanation for Zanetti’s suspension. I have attached a link to a video of the incident captured by from my phone.

Video here: http://www.twitvid.com/PD53R
Official word here: http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-disciplinary-action/119767

Game 3

It was 3-1 going into the third period and it appeared the 67’s would take a 3-0 stranglehold on the series; however, the Bulls had other plans. Michael Curtis, Jake Worrad and the Bulls clawed their way back to tie the game to force overtime.  With momentum now in the Bulls favour, it took all of 14 seconds into the extra frame to decide the fate of the game.  Off the faceoff, Adam Payerl chipped a puck past rookie d-man Sean Callaghan creating a two-on-one rush. Jordan Mayer fired the puck top-shelf past Petr Mrazek to give the Bulls the overtime win and life in the playoff series.  The 67’s would now lead 2-1.

Game Summary: http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/schedule/show/game/61437

Game 4

After a heart-breaking overtime loss, one would think the 67’s would come out firing.  Instead, they became quickly frustrated after a series of undisciplined plays causing them to be short-hand for nearly half of the period.  Two quick goals and it was 2-0 Bulls before the 4 minute mark.

After taking 4 more penalties (8 straight), the 67’s began to regrouped in the second period and Petr Mrazek helped keep them in the game stopping all 14 shots in the period.  But Malcolm Subban was the difference as the 67’s had several great chances including a flurry of scoring opportunities late in the period. They were unable to capitalize. The score remained 2-0.

Austen Brassard gave the Bulls a 3-0 lead after he scored half way into the third period.  However, it was all but over.  Something clicked and the 67’s stormed back scoring three goals in a span of 7:15 to tie the game and force overtime.

Brady Austin stole the 67’s thunder after he fired a wrist shot past Mrazek who was screened by Jake Cardwell.  The Bulls tie the series at 2 with game 5 heading back to Ottawa Friday night.

Game summary: http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/schedule/show/game/61447

Thoughts.

Coming into this series, most thought it would be a walk in the park.  However, analyzing the regular season more closely gives you some other thoughts.

–Home ice advantage. The atmosphere plays a huge part, but in this series the ice surface has played a bigger part.  On the Olympic-sized ice, the 67’s struggle with part of their game.  The 67’s outscored the Bulls 24-4 in Ottawa, but only 17-14 in Belleville.  During the regular season, all the games were close 1-goal games with the exception to one 2-goal game.  The ice surface encourages speed and reduces physical play which has led to many 67’s wins this season.

–Lack of discipline.  The 67’s were the third least penalized team during the regular season, but they are now at the middle of the pack.  Good news is that the 67’s penalty kill is top in the playoffs at 95.5% success rate, but the undisciplined play has more importantly affected the momentum shifts during the games.  Their getting away from their game plan and getting caught in Belleville’s.

–The 67’s best players have not their best players this series. Generally speaking, Tyler Toffoli has been the only veteran to step up.  Petr Mrazek has shown flashes of brilliance, but no one has come close to what they showed in the regular season.  Toffoli needs to continue his good play, but the likes of Shane Prince, Dalton Smith, Cody Ceci and Sean Monahan need to find a spark to get them going again.

–Mrazek mediocre.  While Mrazek’s season hasn’t been as flashy as last season or his time during the 2012 World Junior Championships, his game has not been up to par.  He has been making some outstanding saves, but he also has let in some weak ones that he wishes he could have back.  Defense has to improve, but Mrazek needs to be there as well.

Bulls seeing red as 67’s take a 2-0 series lead

The Ottawa 67’s faced off against the Belleville Bulls for the 12^th time this season in front of a home crowd of 8,958.  There was no love lost between these two teams tonight.  After several minutes of chirping at centre ice lots of pushing and shoving broke out during the pre-game warm ups.  It was quickly broken up by the officials and Marc Zanetti was assessed a 5-minute match penalty for spearing and thus thrown from the game before it even started.

This set the tone.

Fired up after last night’s overtime thriller and tonight’s pre-game incident, both teams came out of the gate flying.  The 67’s started to throw the body around more and made an impact on the pace of the game.

Brett Gustavsen made a great effort to get the 67’s on the board.  He recovered from a collision in the corner, skated straight to the net, grabbed a rebound from Remy Giftopolous’ shot and fired it past Malcolm Subban for the early 1-0 lead.

Three minutes later, the Bulls respond as Sean Callaghan couldn’t hold the puck in at the blueline causing to a two-on-one break the opposite way.  After a great first stop from Petr Mrazek, the puck flew into mid-air and Michael Curtis tapped it in for a high rebound.

Sean Monahan would regain the 67’s lead after jumping on a big rebound and shooting it into the open net after the powerplay expired.  Subban made a great first stop, but with no defenseman covering the right side and Subban now out of position, the net was wide opened and 67’s capitalized.

Rough play started early, but the game’s first fight did not come until the 14 minute mark.  After making an extra shot at Mrazek after the whistle, Tyler Graovac took exception and attempted to drop the gloves with Joseph Cramarossa.  It wasn’t much of a fight since the linesmen jumped right in with Cramarossa still managing to get a couple extra shots.  Three minutes later, Dalton Smith and Adam Payerl continued what they started in the warmup.  Smith took Payerl to the ice with four shots.

Time expired for the first 20 minutes.  Unlike last game where the teams took their turns dominating the play, both teams skated away with an even effort.

They did, however take their turns with undisciplined play after the first and into the second period.  After killing off a lengthy 67’s two-man advantage, the Bulls were stopped on a lengthy two-man advantage for themselves.  There were several great chances and great goaltending on both ends as the teams were scoreless in the second.  Sean Monahan must have had 3 great chances but was unable to bury them.

Early in the third, Monahan jumped on a bouncing puck, grabbed his own rebound and made no mistake to fire it past Subban for the eventual game winner.

Cramarossa would respond for the Bulls and finally solved Mrazek again after some hard work from his line. It appeared that the puck re-directed off of Steven Janes, but it was Cramarossa original bullet shot that got past Mrazek.  The intensity just cranked up higher for the final 10 minutes of the third with the 67’s holding on to a thin one-goal lead.  After pulling the goaltender for an extra attacker, Prince rounded out the scoring on an empty net for his first goal of the playoffs.  Subban was solid with 29 saves, but Mrazek stole the show after stopping 44 shots fired his way,

The 67’s now hold a 2-0 series lead over the Bulls.  Both teams have a time to recoup before heading to Belleville for games 3 & 4 on Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night from the Yardmen Arena.

Three Stars
1. Petr Mrazek, Ottawa
2. Sean Monahan, Ottawa
3. Joseph Cramarossa, Belleville

First round playoff preview: Ottawa vs Belleville

Ottawa 67’s (1)

Record: 40-20-5-3

Last year’s playoffs: Swept in first round by the Sudbury Wolves

Top performers:
Tyler Toffoli 52 goals, 100 points in 65 games
Shane Prince 43 goals, 90 points in 57 games
Sean Monahan 33 goals, 78 points in 62 games
Cody Ceci 17 goals, 60 points in 64 games

NHL Draft Picks:
Shane Prince, Ottawa Senators, round 2, 61^st overall in 2011
Tyler Graovac, Minnesota Wild, round 7, 191^st overall in 2011
Dalton Smith, Columbus Blue Jackets, round 2, 34^th overall in 2010
Tyler Toffoli, Los Angeles Kings, round 2, 47^th overall in 2010
John Mcfarland, Florida Panthers, round 2, 33^rd overall in 2010
Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings, round 5, 141^st overall in 2010

Top Eligible for 2012 Draft:
Cody Ceci, #16 of North American Skaters in CSS’ Midterm rankings

Season review:

The 67’s came out to a good start at the beginning of the season but things really started to click after the first month. The 67’s found themselves ranked in the CHL Top 10 for several weeks. Tyler Toffoli, Shane Prince and Cody Ceci – to name a few were at the top of their games. Despite their outstanding play, none of them were selected to represent their country in the World Junior Championships. Most came back with extra fire to prove their critics wrong.

By the end of the season, Tyler Toffoli was two points away from winning the OHL Scoring Title for the second year in a row (100 points). Toffoli did manage to have back-to-back 50 goal and 100 point seasons. Shane Prince was in the top 10 in scoring for the second half of the season and had the OHL’s longest scoring streak of 40 points in 21 straight games. Cody Ceci proved to be solid on the back end and saw his stock value rocket up towards the top 10 in a defense-heavy draft.

The 67’s held first place in the Eastern Conference for the majority of the season until the Niagara IceDogs did a full 180 and stormed to the top knocking everyone out of the way. It wasn’t until the last month that first in the East became unreachable for the 67’s – this was largely in part of the IceDogs stellar play but the 67’s not so great play either. In the last month, the 67’s have struggled offensively and relied on a relatively young defense. Sometimes the team was bailed out by World Junior standout Petr Mrazek. Even then, Mrazek has not put up the numbers like he has in the past but alike rookie Michael Nishi, they both were able to put up a solid game consistently.

Facing the Belleville Bulls for the first time in the post-season is probably the best thing the 67’s could hope for. After winning only 4 of their last 11 games, the lack of momentum going into the post season could be a killer for confidence and would risk them being heavily under prepared – like last post season.

Keys to victory:
-Top players & consistency. The 67’s best players have to be their best players. In the last month, this hasn’t been the case & the players have lacked consistency.
-Physicality. Ottawa plays well against Belleville when they throw the body. The Bulls do not respond well to it.
-Take advantage of opportunities. Specialty teams are important and so is home ice advantage. This team needs to win right away to gain more confidence.

 

Belleville Bulls (7)

Record: 35-32-1-0

Last year’s playoffs: Swept in first round by the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors

Top performers:
Brendan Gaunce 28 goals, 68 points in 68 games
Austen Brassard 27 goals, 51 points in 64 games
Adam Payerl 22 goals, 47 points in 61 games
Jordan Mayer 17 goals, 47 points in 64 games

NHL Draft Picks:
Austen Brassard, Winnipeg Jets, round 5, 149^th overall in 2011
Stephen Silas, Colorado Avalanche, round 4, 95^th overall in 2010

Top Eligible for 2012 Draft:
Brendan Gaunce, #11 of North American Skaters in CSS’ Midterm rankings
Daniil Zharkov, #19 of North American Skaters in CSS’ Midterm rankings
Garrett Hooey, #61 of North American Skaters in CSS’ Midterm rankings
Malcolm Subban, #1 of North American Goalie in CSS’ Midterm rankings

Season review:

The Bulls were off to a fantastic start in the first 28 games of the regular season with a record of 19-9-0. But were subject to a lot of man injuries and found themselves falling in the last half of the season. The record fell to 16-23-1 in remaining 40 games.

Despite his stats dropping and his games vs Ottawa, Malcolm Subban has the Bulls MVP for a lot of the season. He finished the season with a 2.50 GAA, save percentage of .923, won two CHL Goalie of the Week Awards and is the top-ranked goaltender in the upcoming NHL Entry draft. He is capable of stealing wins for his team and has done so a couple times this season.

Brendan Gaunce has been another great player for the Bulls. He is his team’s leading scorer with 68 points in 68 games. Gaunce is also ranked high in this year’s NHL Entry draft and has proven to be a very effective on both ends of the ice vs the 67’s.

Keys to victory:

-Malcolm Subban is the top ranked North American goaltending prospect for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft for a reason; however, he has yet to prove it to Ottawa after losing all 4 games vs 67’s this year.
-Stick to the game plan. The Bulls need to play to their game plan and not let the 67’s force them into theirs. Position by position, Ottawa is arguably better on paper.
-Take advantage of large ice surface. Use the speed to try to beat Ottawa.

Hamilton leads IceDogs to a 5-1 win

Freddie Hamilton scored his 6^thgame winning goal at the 19:52 minute mark in the first period to lead the Niagara IceDogs to a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa 67’s.

It was a highly anticipated battle for first place in the Eastern Conference.  The Ottawa 67’s were hosting the red hot Niagara IceDogs – a team that has only lost 3 games in their last 26 games since the new year.  Instead of coming out firing, the 67’s allowed themselves to get caught up in lost momentum from an early double highsticking minor and set the tone for the remainder of the game.

The 67’s successfully killed off the 4 minutes against the league leading IceDogs’ powerplay but the IceDog’s momentum continued.  The Niagara IceDogs drew first blood after Freddie Hamilton scored right off the faceoff just under 7 minutes into the game.  The 67’s would get their first shot on net only 7:28 into the first.

After some decent chances, the 67’s would finally respond when Shane Prince grabbed a Tyler Graovac drop pass and fired it past Mark Visentin to tie the game at 1.  With 4 minutes left in the first, it appeared the two teams would head to intermission in a tie.  However, F Hamilton had other plans.  He notched his second of the game with 7 seconds left to give the IceDogs a 2-1 lead going into the second period.

The 67’s never seemed to recover from the early momentum changing penalty.   Niagara continued to beat Ottawa to the loose pucks, the battles in the corners, quality chances and most importantly on the scoreboard.  Mrazek made a couple highlight reel saves on Alex Friesen but was beat moments later.  Ryan Strome stole the puck away from Jake Cardwell creating a 2-on-1 rush the opposite way.  He fed the puck to F Hamiliton who made no mistake to tap it past Mrazek for his hattrick goal.

The IceDogs would add two more early in the third period.  Andrew Agozzino got his 39^th of the season than 30 seconds later Joel Wigle would add his 9^th.  Visentin was not tested much, but helped keep him team in the game.

The 67’s remain in the second spot in the Eastern Conference while the IceDogs go up 3 points remaining in the first spot.  The IceDogs also clinch their division with the convincing win.  Ottawa will look for redemption on March 17^th when they travel to Niagara for their final meeting of the season.

Meanwhile, the 67’s will prepare for their other three remaining games in the regular season vs Majors, Wolves & Battalion and will try to gain ground on the IceDogs.  The 67’s host the Mississauga St.  Michael’s Majors Sunday afternoon at 2pm.

THREE STARS
1. Freddie Hamilton
2. Andrew Agozzino
3. Mark Visentin

67’s lose captain & fall 5-4 to the Colts in the shootout

The Barrie Colts skated to a 5-4 win over the home team Ottawa 67’s.  It took the Colts until the 7^th round of the shootout when Zach Hall scored the winner in front of a crowd of 5,722 who bared the snowy weather.

It was a wild one at the J Benson Cartage Centre with back to back action throughout the game.  The Colts and 67’s both came out of the gate flying firing a total of 26 shots in the first period.  It wasn’t until the 12:35 mark of the first period that the Ottawa 67’s would open the scoring.  Off a Colts turnover inside their own zone, Shane Prince jumped on the puck, made a move in close and a slid the puck past rookie Alex Fotinos in the Colts net.  The goal extends Prince’s league leading point streak to 19 games.

The Colts continued to press, but couldn’t solve Petr Mrazek until the 8:29 mark of the second period.  Ivan Telegin converted on a Steven Beyers drop pass and wired a shot top shelf over Mrazek.

The pace of the game shifted after 67’s captain Marc Zanetti was pushed by Telegin and hit the boards awkwardly.  Zanetti left for the locker room and returned late in the second period.  He took one shift and did not return.   The pace continued to shift after some undisciplined play arose.  The 67’s took three straight penalties but managed the keep the score tied at 1 against the OHL’s second best powerplay team.

With Gregg Sutch off for slashing at the end of the second period, Shane Prince would pick up his second tally of the night.   Chris Byrne must have had some choice words as things seem to turn around early in the third… or so fans originally thought.

That lead would last just over 1 minute until Colin Behenna and Alex Lepkowski scored within 2 minutes of each other to take the Colts first lead of the game.  Behenna tied the game off a nice backhanded feed from Tanner Pearson then Lepkowski fired a shot from the point and the puck bounced past a screened Mrazek.

Telegin would pick up his second goal of the night and his 11^th in 7 games after he took advantage of a Tyler Graovac giveaway in the 67’s zone.  Graovac would redeem himself after directing an innocent shot towards the net that trickled past Fortinos.  A monkey off his back, it was Graovac’s first goal in 13 games.

Graovac’s goal sparked the 67’s bench as they continued to turn their play around and eventually tie the game on another weak trickling goal – this time birthday boy Steven Janes was awarded with the tally.

Credit to rookie Fortinos, after two very weak goals, he step it up in the extra frame and helped keep his team in it including successfully killing off a full man advantage.  There were some great efforts on both sides, but overtime would not solve it.

It took seven rounds to end this game.  Tyler Toffoli and Ivan Telegin scored the only two goals in the first three rounds.  A couple missed shots (and hit crossbars) and a couple nice saves.  Zach Hall would finally notch the winner in the 7^th round to give the Colts their second straight shootout victory in two days.

NEXT UP

The Ottawa 67’s have the day off and will host the top team in the CHL, the Western Conference London Knights on Sunday at 2pm.  The Colts travel back to Barrie to get ready to host the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors tomorrow night at 7:30pm.

THREE STARS

1.  Ivan Telegin, Barrie
2.  Shane Prince, Ottawa
3.  Mark Sheifele, Barrie

NOTES

The Niagara IceDogs lost in regulation tonight which means the 67’s move into a tie with them for first in the Eastern Conference … While Tyler Toffoli scored in the shootout, his OHL goal streak is halted at 6 games … Shane Prince’s league leading point streak is extended to 19 games … Marc Zanetti did not return to action in the 3^rd period, he will be looked at by team doctors tomorrow … Jake Cardwell and Daniel Broussard made their return to the lineup.

Petes come from behind to win 4-3 over the 67’s

The Peterborough Petes scored four unanswered goals to defeat the Ottawa 67’s 4-3 in regulation in front of 6,017 Ottawa fans.

After a leak in the roof caused unsafe skating conditions at the J Benson Cartage Centre triggering the game to be postponed, the Lansdowne crews scurried hard to get the arena in shaped for Saturday afternoon.  With one section still leaking, it wasn’t until after warm-ups that both teams were certain that they were going to play.

It was an important game for both clubs.  The 67’s sat one point back of the Niagara Ice Dogs for first spot in the Eastern Conference while it was even more important for the Petes who sat tied one point back of the Mississauga Majors for the final playoff spot also in the Eastern Conference.

The 67’s came out flying, Tyler Toffoli had a glorious chance to open the scoring but was hauled down by Steven Trojanovic.  Toffoli made a great attempt, but Mike Morrison came up big stopping the shot stick side.

They continued to press, but it wasn’t until the 12:19 minute mark that Cody Ceci would get the first goal on the board.  After some great passing plays by the Prince-Cazzola-Cajkovsky line, Cody Ceci picked up a perfect drop pass from Cazzola and sent a bullet shot past Morrisson in the Peterborough net. Prince picked up an assist extending his point streak to 16 games, one game back of the best streak this season from Tanner Pearson of the Barrie Colts.

A little excitement was created through the 67’s bench when Remy Giftopoulos was challenged by winger Dylan Fitze after he threw a big hit near centre ice.  One big punch and Giftopolous sent Fitze to the ice.

Just over two minutes later, Shane Prince picked up his 35^th goal as Cody Ceci made a beautiful feed to him as he was streaking into the slot.  That marked Prince and Ceci’s second point of the game and Prince’s 22^nd point against the Petes this season.

The 67’s pressure continued in the second period.  Tyler Toffoli jumped on his opportunities as he got a hold of a bouncing puck from a Petes’ giveaway in front of the net.  He wired it high over Morrisson’s shoulder to extend the 67’s lead to 3-0.

Moments later the Petes would get one back, Derek Mathers rung a shot off the post that bounced off Mrazek and into the Ottawa net.  A bit of bad luck for Mrazek who would make another blunder seconds later.  After coming out far of his net in an attempt to poke the puck off of Andrew Yogan’s stick, he missed and Yogan made no mistake to shoot into a wide open net leaving the home team and crowd stunned.

Mrazek responded well not allowing any more goals for the remainder of the second period, but that remains the turning point. With Nicholas Foglia in the box for highsticking, Nick Ritchie gets a powerplay goal snipping it high on Mrazek early in the third to tie the game.  This set a new tone for the remainder of the game.

Andrew Yogan would strike again with just over 5 minutes left in the game as he beat Mrazek on the short side for the Petes first lead of the game.  The Ottawa 67’s tried to respond, but Mike Morrison shut to door making some big saves to keep the game tied at 3.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

The loss keeps the 67’s looking two points behind the Niagara Ice Dogs who remain top in the Eastern Conference.  The win pushes the Petes into 7^th place, one point back of the Generals in 6^th place – but the Gens have one game in hand.

COMING UP

The 67’s will look for redemption as they host the Erie Otters Sunday afternoon at 2pm for their second of three back-to-back games this weekend.  The Petes have the day off before hosting Brampton Monday afternoon at 2pm.

THREE STARS

1. Andrew Yogan (PBO)
2. Cody Ceci (OTT)
3. Mike Morrisson (PBO)