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.

67’s on the brink of elimination after 5-2 loss

OTTAWA – Petr Mrazek stop 39 shots, but it wasn’t enough as the Niagara IceDogs skated to a 5-2 victory over the host Ottawa 67’s.  The win gives the IceDogs a 3-1 series lead and puts the 67’s in a must win situation Friday night at the Gatorade Garden City Complex.

Despite an early powerplay chance, the Ottawa 67’s didn’t get off to a very good start.  The Niagara IceDogs did a great job of keeping the 67’s to the perimeter and limiting their chances – in fact, the 67’s had no shots and no chances in the first 6 and a half minutes of the game.

However the momentum started to change once they finally got their first shot – and it was a great chance that Mark Visentin had to be ready for.  The 67’s started to produce more scoring chances with help from another 2 straight powerplay opportunity.  On each end of the rink, the goaltenders were solid. 

It wasn’t until the 10 minute mark of the first period that the 67’s would open the scoring.  With Remy Giftopolous in the box serving a too many men on the ice penaltiy, Tyler Graovac bounced the puck of the boards in the neutral zone and beat Dougie Hamilton to the net.  Dalton Smith grabbed the loose puck in the slot and wired it top shelf past Visentin.

After 20 minutes, the IceDogs outshot the 67’s 15-12.

The 67’s started to get into a bit of penalty trouble in the second period and took 3 penalties in the first 8 minutes.  The Ice Dogs continued to fire shot after shot and Petr Mrazek had to come up big on several flurry of shots.  While Mrazek stood on his head, the team in front of him started to collapse.  After a big initial save, the puck took a weird bounce onto Andrew Agozzino’s stick.  He made no mistake a tapped it in effortlessly into the opened Ottawa net.

After 40 minutes, the IceDogs outshot the 67’s 17-11 for a total of 32-23 IceDogs.

Focusing at the period at hand, the Ottawa 67’s regrouped in the 3^rd period and started to look like they did in the first period.  Off a great individual effort, Tyler Toffoli netted his 1^st goal in 4 games.  He deked out Jesse Graham, went backhand to forehand, and then slid it past Visentin to give the 67’s the go-ahead goal.

The IceDogs would respond.  With only one man back, Alex Friesen catches a wide open Andrew Agozzino in the slot who makes a beautiful stickhandling move to get the puck past Mrazek.  That was Agozzino’s second of the night.

Less than a minute later, the IceDogs would get their first lead of the game.  From a defensive breakdown off the faceoff, Ottawa native David Pacan grabbed a hold of his rebound as it squeezed under Mrazek’s pads.  This ultimately led to the 67’s collapse.                   

David Pacan would tally his second of the game on the powerplay beating Mrazek on a sharp angle – a goal he would like to have back.

The IceDogs would round out the scoring with an empty net goal from Freddie Hamilton.  His first in 5 games since his breakout 5 point night earlier this month.

The 67’s fall 5-2 and will try to force a game 6 in Niagara Friday night.  You can catch the action on the Team 1200 or Rogers Cable 22.

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 power past IceDogs 5-2

(Ottawa 67’s Fan Blog link here)

OTTAWA – Tyler Toffoli and Shane Prince combined for 9 points in a 5-2 victory over the Niagara IceDogs in front of a crowd of 6,382 on Canadian Forces Day.

The 67’s started out of the gate early scoring 3 goals in the first seven minutes of the game.  Tyler Toffoli got the 67’s on the board after a nicely executed tic-tac-toe play.  Cody Ceci picked up the puck at the half boards and passed it to Shane Prince who fed Toffoli in the slot.  Less than two minutes later, Prince gave the 67’s a two-goal lead wristing a powerful shot from the hashmarks.  And then, just over two minutes later, Prince notched his 2^nd of the game and 11^th of the season after shooting the puck past Mark Visentin in close on stick side.

After allowing 3 goals on 4 shots, Visentin was quickly pulled and replaced by Christopher Festarini.  This mixed up the course of the game and the IceDogs came out stronger after the first period.  Festarini was solid when he needed to be, but the story was on the other side of the ice.  By the end of two, the IceDogs were leading on the shot clock 28-16.  Mrazek had to come up big on a couple of great scoring chances the rest of the game.

One goal got past Festarini when Prince did some great work handling the puck behind the net and snapping it to Toffoli who was right out front.  That goal would mark Toffoli’s 2nd of the night.

After coming in fast, Andrew Agozzino roofed it high on Petr Mrazek to get the IceDogs on the board.

The 67’s ran into penalty trouble but were able to keep the damage low until Remy Giftopolous was in the box for hooking.  Alex Friesen wired a shot from the point which hit an Ottawa 67’s player near the net and redirected past Mrazek to cut the lead in half.

The IceDogs kept pressing firing a total of 45 shots at Mrazek, but were unable to solve him again.  Toffoli rounded out the scoring with his 3^rd of the game and 24^th of the season into an empty net.

NEXT GAMES:
The Ottawa 67’s host the Oshawa Generals on Friday, November 25^th @ 7:30pm
The Niagara IceDogs host the Brampton Battalion on Thursday, November 24^th @ 7:00pm

NEWS AND NOTES:  Shorthanded, the 67’s played with 15 skaters … Sean Monahan and Taylor Fielding are expected to be back practicing with the team this week … The 67’s were 3/0 on the powerplay and held the IceDogs to 1/4 on the powerplay … Alex Friesen extended his point streak to 8 games … Dougie Hamilton extended his point streak to 6 games.