by Alex Quevillon
The OHL season is more
than halfway completed and the Ottawa 67’s (22-10-4-1) start the 2012 fiscal
year tied for first place in the Eastern Conference. With that being
said, the New Year and the second half will be the most difficult and trying
portion of the season as the 67’s try to solidify themselves as
true contenders. Ottawa center Tyler Graovac, who has missed
18 games due to mononucleosis this season, made the team’s goal quite clear via
Twitter:
Ottawa vs Kingston 2pm.
New years resolution: Winning streak, Mem cup. Let's start today!
Okay, so perhaps they
didn’t get off to the New Year’s start that they wanted. Ottawa got 32
saves from Michael Nishi and goals from Sean Monahan (23) and Ben
Dubois (8) but fell to divisional rival Kingston Frontenacs. Kingston
shut down Ottawa’s powerplay four times on Sunday afternoon and Igor Bobkov stopped
a Shane Prince penalty shot to put an exclamation point on the win.
On Friday night, Nishi
recorded his first OHL shutout in a 2-0 win over the Peterborough Petes.
Prince had the winning goal while Dalton Smith added an empty
netter. The win, however, was overshadowed by that day’s performance from
67’s goaltender Petr Mrazek at the World Under-20 Championships in
Alberta. Mrazek made 53 saves against Team USA and nearly scored an empty
net goal for the Czechs, mixed in with numerous exuberant celebrations.
For a couple of hours, Mrazek was a hero on national television, and Ottawa
fans responded with a loud ovation for their absent goaltender during a
stoppage in play.
It appears as though the
goaltending position should be set the rest of the way. Between Nishi’s
shutout, Mrazek’s amazing performance thus far at the World Juniors and Shayne
Campbell expected to be back by February, Ottawa has a trio of capable
goaltenders and it is highly likely that all three will remain with the team
through next Tuesday’s trade deadline.
If head coach and general
manager Chris Byrne wants to become a buyer in the next week, it will be
to upgrade at the right wing and center positions most likely. Ottawa
only has two natural right wingers (Tyler Toffoli and Steven Janes), and three
centers (Monahan, Graovac and Nicholas Foglia).
Ottawa’s goal has
remained the same since day one, to be a serious contender. It was a
tough blow when they realized that center Ryan Martindale would not be
coming back, and that he would be spending the year in the Edmonton Oilers
organization.
Instead, the 67’s
acquired Daniel Broussard from the Sarnia Sting to use up their final
overaged spot and improve their already deep defence. Monahan has made a
seamless transition to Ottawa’s top line with Toffoli and Prince, but having
another center to play on one of the top two lines and spread out the scoring a
little more would help immensely.
Regardless, the next week
should be fun to follow as the 67’s may or may not make deals to bolster their
roster. And the rest of the season should be fun to watch as well.
Fans in Ottawa are hoping that this year’s squad will be able to perform in the
playoffs after being swept by the Sudbury Wolves last season.
With that being said, the
next few months will not be an easy ride. The 67’s are tied for first in
the Eastern Conference with the Brampton Battalion. Three Western
Conference teams, the London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, and Ottawa’s opponent
in the 2002 OHL finals, the Plymouth Whalers, are also ahead of the 67’s and
Battalion in the standings. The road will only get tougher from
here. But whether or not this team’s roster is altered or remains intact,
the Ottawa 67’s have one ambition; to be a championship team.
