Play Off Time in Niagara!

Upon arrival at the Jack Gatecliff Arena Thursday night it took only one step into the arena to verify play off time had arrived. I entered the side doors and was immediately greeted by a new player riding the bike pre-game- Bozo the Clown!

Upon closer inspection it was none other than Mitch Theoret!

The top half of his head was sheared cleaned with the little tassel of hair left behind dyed red. I had to speak with the artist behind this new do, none other than In the O Radio twitter updater @Barberwill.

With Blackbeards Barber Shop located right around the corner from the Jack it is frequented by many Ice Dog players throughout the year. But it is prior to playoff time where it becomes the go to place. In the week leading up to their opening game the Dogs come in small groups before or after practice and do their hard core play off preparation.

“The veterans decide what the rookies get,” says Barber Will. The hairstyles range from Mark Visentin’s trim and hot-towel shave to mohawks and mullets. Theoret definitely achieved his desire to be the most outrageous. Will goes on to explain when the Dogs arrive they take over the shop checking out the Ice Dog memorabilia on display.

Back in the Jack the fans have prepared for play-offs as well. With most donning new “Black the Jack” play-off T-shirts it was a sea of black in the arena. Through-out the season the Jack has been packed with most games a sell out and the crowd loud and proud. Many thought it was not possible for the crowd to getter louder, but louder they did get as the play-offs began. The fact pre-game parties have returned to the arena parking lot with music, food and drink being served starting two hours pre-game might have intensified the enthusiasm. The Laura Secord High School Drum Band also added to the noise and hype.

Another factor in the fan hype was the return of Lucas Lessio on the opposing Oshawa Generals. The Ice Dogs fans have long memories and have not and will not forgive or forget Lessio’s snub. Every time the Generals defenseman touched the puck the home town crowd booed heavily.

As the Ice Dog’s first round draft pick in 2009, Lessio (7^th over-all) refused to sign for Niagara and subsequently signed for the Oshawa Generals. During last year’s play-offs Lessio decided to take on Niagara’s defenceman Simon Gronvaldt. When Gronvaldt would not reciprocate, Lessio ended up with a double minor of roughing and a ten- minute misconduct. As Lessio was leaving the ice he dramatically gave the home crowd a two-handed, one finger salute. That game ended with the Ice Dogs celebrating their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in five games.

And the Ice Dogs are well on their way to doing the same again this year with a 8-2 trouncing of the Generals at home on Thursday evening and a 6-1 win again in Oshawa Friday. As the Dogs lead the series 2-0, the Jack is sure to be Black and Boisterous again Sunday night.

OHL Hot-Stove: If the playoffs started today, who is your sleeper pick?

With the playoffs nearing, I've decided that it was time to get the writers on our team to examine and select their sleeper team. Obviously the playoffs are not set in stone yet, but at this point we pretty much know who will and will not make the playoffs and which teams are not getting the respect and recognition they deserve.

Without further ado, here is this week's question for the hot-stove to discuss: If the playoffs started today, who is your sleeper pick?

Joining me in this week's hot-stove is Trevor Miller, Alex Quevillon, and Phil Phillips.

Todd Cordell

If the playoffs started today, my sleeper team would have to be the Barrie Colts. Though they're currently 5th in the Eastern Conference, I feel as though they don't get the respect they deserve. The Colts have a good mixture of high end talent, gritty players, and their starting goaltender, Mathias Niederberger, is playing the best hockey of his young OHL career. I feel like the Colts forwards can score with pretty much any team in the league, and their defense and goaltending are very underrated in my opinion. The Colts have a lot of depth on defense, and between Niederberger and rookie goaltender Alex Fotinos, who has played very well for Barrie this season, I think they certainly have the talent to get the job done.

All of this aside, your best players need to be your best players come playoff time and with the likes of Mark Scheifele, Ivan Telegin and Tanner Pearson, among others, leading the way I see no reason why the Colts can't make some noise.

Trevor Miller

If the playoffs started today, my pick for the East as a dark horse would have to be the Brampton Battalion. The Troops have been terrific all year with the exception of their eight games without coach Stan Butler behind the bench. While not laden with OHL stars, the Battalion boast one of, if not the best defense corps in the league. Steady goaltending from Matej Machovsky and Keegan Wilson has also been and will continue to be crucial for Brampton’s success. They have victory’s over the elite teams in both conferences this year and Sam Carrick, Barclay Goodrow and Phil Lane have proved to be valuable up front for the team.

My dark horse in the West is Sarnia. With the likes of Yakupov, Sarault, Spooner and Thompson up front, the Sting should have little trouble scoring. They solidified their goaltending bringing in JP Anderson, a guy who went all the way to the OHL and Memorial Cup final last year. They have a good enough defense corps to knock off some of the big teams in the West.

Alex Quevillon

In my mind, Oshawa has to be the "sleeper" in the East.  They lose so many games because of poor discipline.  In the playoffs, I think that the referees will become a little more lenient and it will be intimidating for other teams to play the Gens.  Having a young goaltending tandem is worrisome.  But let's be honest.  Who wouldn't love to have Boone Jenner in a seven-game series? Fact is, the Generals attack is scary when it gets going.  They play a tough game against teams like Niagara and Ottawa and if they end up playing a team like Barrie, the inexperience in goal isn't any sort of disadvantage.  I've spoken to many 67's fans who are hopeful that Oshawa doesn't end up being the first round playoff opponent, or it could be another short playoff here.  In the West?  Well, Windsor always finds a way to go far as of late, right?

Phil Phillips

If the playoffs started today, my sleeper pick to represent the Eastern Conference in the OHL final would be the Oshawa Generals.

Big things were expected of the Generals this season, and they haven't lived up to the hype. They made a coaching change. Chris DePiero stayed on as the teams GM, but was replaced behind the bench with Gary Agnew earlier in the season.

Coach Agnew comes to the Generals with a nice resume, He's coached in the NHL, AHL.  Is a two time winner of the Matt Leyden Trophy for OHL Coach of the year. He took the London Knights to the OHL Final in 1999, where his Knights would lose to the Belleville Bulls in 7 games. He also holds the distinction of being the only coach to lead the Kingston Frontenacs to a division title in 1994–95.

Up front the Generals are loaded with fire power. Where do you start ? Andy Andreoff , Lucas Lessio , Nicklas Jensen, Boone Jenner and lets not forget former 50 goal scorer Christian Thomas, who we all know is capable of more. The Generals could have six 20 goal scorers in the line up when the playoffs start. And with import Sebastian Uvira and Scott Laughton also on the roster, if they can get rolling any team in the East would have a hard time handling what would be three very solid lines.

On the back end the Generals are lead by two players they picked up at the trade deadline. 1st is Matt Petgrave, who brings a wealth of playoff experience and Julian Melchiori. Both can put up points. Chris Carlisle and Colin Suellentrop are both over +11 and give the Generals a nice top 4.

But as we know all playoff runs start and end in net. This is a question mark for Oshawa. They have a former 1st rounder in Kevin Bailie. Who up to this year, hasn't really lived up to expectations. But as of late the Belleville Minor Hockey product seems to be coming in to his own . Daniel Altshuller has showed in his rookie year that he also has the tools to help the Genny's go far. With a lead both goalies are able to win games.

If all of the pieces fall in to place and everyone reaches their potential look for the Oshawa Generals to make some noise.

What Happened?

Well the season seemed a little too good to be true, and all of a sudden we're seeing the team everyone expected the Rangers to be; sloppy, unable to score timely goals (or goals at all really), and generally inexperienced. For lack of a better term, lets call it the curse of 2012.

Seems that when that clock flipped over to January 1st, the team simply put seemed confident. They only lost twice in the month of december, and both times by one goal margins (both times were also the first 2 friday's of the month, ironically). Heading to Guelph on new years day saw a team that struggled for puck control, took stupid penalties, and let the Storm come within one goal of winning the game. Had it not been for Tobias Rieder's quick goal in the final minute, I'm almost certain the Storm would have pulled out the win. They certainly deserved the extra point for on OT loss, had it gone that far. But The Rangers got lucky.

Last Friday, they fall behind 2-0 to the Generals early in the first, and never come back, eventually losing 6-3. Saturday night in Erie, they fall behind 4-2 but thanks to some strong play from Franky Palazzese they come back to win it 6-4. Thursday in Peterborough, they get badly outplayed 95% of the game, but thanks to one miscue from former Ranger Mike Morrison they eke out the win. Come back to tonight against Plymouth, and it's all gone again, falling behind 3-0 in the first period, eventually losing 6-1.

First word that came to my mind tonight: Pathetic. Second? Commitment. When the team is not ready to commit, they play pathetically. It's just that simple.

What's pathetic about the Rangers play? Their power play. Simply put, it was brutal tonight against Plymouth. Kitchener went 0/6 on the man advantage. They set 18th overall in the league with a lousy 14.8%. The one consolation is that they have allowed the fewest shorthanded goals against, at only 2. The penalty kill also needs a lot of beefing up, as the Rangers sit 19th. Again, there is a consolation, as the Rangers have the third most short handed goals for, at 11.

So where do they need to go from here? First, they need to get healthy and stay healthy. It currently looks like Matia Marcantuoni will either have surgery on his shoulder and be gone for the whole season, or do rehab and be back in about a month. That decision will be made on Monday. Regardless of whether it's for the season or a month, it's a huge loss for a guy who was projected to be selected by Carolina in the first round (Maybe Faksa now instead?). What a tough season for #91, certainly he can't be blamed for being injured, it's simply bad luck.

John Gibson needs to get back in between the pipes. Franky Palazzese could use a break. He's made the last 9 starts for Kitchener, going 7-2 in that time. That's pretty good, except those 2 losses he allowed at least 5 goals. My conclusion is, and it's not a knock at Franky's skill at all because he's very talented, he's simply tired and needs a game or two off. Gibson was away at the world juniors and now has a concussion, but hopefully he'll be back next weekend. The Rangers could really use his services.

Secondly, this power play needs a serious overhaul. For the past 2 seasons the Rangers have been trying the same system over and over again. It's not working. The special teams are easily the biggest hole in the Rangers game right now. Had they converted on a couple of those opportunities tonight, maybe it would have been a different game. Something to work on next time.

And finally, Ryan Murphy needs to get back in to it. He absolutely has the potential to be the best player in the western conference, hands down. He proved it over the last 2 seasons, he proved it with Carolina at their camp this summer, he needs to prove it now for this team to get going. If he can find his stride, maybe the rest of the team will start to build off it and the team as a whole will get better.

Here's hoping for a strong effort on Sunday.

Rangers vs. Oshawa, Looming deadlines

As we move closer to January 10th, it almost seems like everything that happened prior to the deadline doesn't matter. With teams like Sarnia and London getting significantly better (at least on paper) and Saginaw and Erie getting significantly worse (again, at least on paper), where will things go from here?

Saginaw and Erie weren't really making a lot of noise this season. The teams sit 9th and 10th respectively in the Western conference, so it really wasn't a surprise to see them sell the farm and land numerous key draft picks and young players. The otters have only won 5 games this season, and the Spirit aren't much better at only 16. Both teams will certainly be looking to make some noise over the next couple seasons.

The most surprising move for me, is the Sarnia Sting. Here's a team that has gone 3-7 in there last 10 without Nail Yakupov in the lineup. To me, that screams that the team lacks depth. During the gold medal game on Thursday, Yakupov left with a knee injury on crutches, and is likely to miss a significant amount of time. So they bet the future of the franchise, by sending picks as far away as 2017, to try and make a championship run when they sit in 4th at the half way point. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but i've been wrong before.

So what do the Rangers have to do? Well in order to go anywhere this season they need more than Radek Faksa to score goals. Last night against the Generals, they were badly outplayed and outshot the entire game. Could it be that the team chose to take an off night? Could be, or maybe it's just good luck ending at the same time as December did.

One thing is for sure; this team needs to get its special teams going. The power play is a joke most of the time, and the penalty kill also needs a significant amount of work. The Rangers went 1/4 tonight, while Oshawa when 2/5. Kitchener had plenty of opportunity on the power play when they were down by only a goal, and they failed to capitalize. Down by 2 heading in to the third, they failed to generate any good scoring chances and allowed a goal against. Suddenly this high flying Ranger squad looked a lot like the team everyone expected them to be pre-season, ie lackluster efforts, and essentially getting run over by the competition.

Of course this was only one game, so it's not time to panic. But this needs to be the stinker of a game that is also a wake up call to the boys in blue: you can't take a single night off in this league.

Attack Week in Review (12/28-1/1)

Thanks to Nick MacArthur

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As the OHL resumed after the Christmas break the Owen Sound Attack were faced with a challenging opponent in the Niagara Ice Dogs making the trip to the Harry Lumley Bayshore on Wednesday night , then on the road for a tilt with division rival Kitchener Rangers on Friday and ending the weekend with a stop in Oshawa to take on sniper Christian Thomas an the Generals.

The Attack didn't get off the start they wanted as they fell to the visiting Ice Dogs on Wednesday by a score of 2-1. With four of Niagra's top players not in the lineup ( Strome, D.Hamilton , F.Hamilton, Visentin ) this was a good chance for the Attack to play a solid home game and collect the big two points to keep pace in the midwest division, unfortunately the Ice Dogs had other plans as they played a near perfect road game and came out on top. Attack power play goes 0-4 on the night and was hard to watch at points as they could not muster any solid chances.

Two nights later the Attack find themselves playing a huge game against long time rival Kitchener Rangers at the Aud. I don't know if we are far enough along into the season to start labeling games as must wins but I feel this one was a must win for the Attack.  With the power play unit still not clicking well and the Rangers playing their usual crash and bang style the Attack just couldn't find the energy to keep up with the Rangers as they fall 4-1 and fall 11 points back of the Rangers and 15 back of London.

Fast forward to the new year and we find the Attack traveling to Oshawa to take on the Generals in the first game of 2012 looking to get off to a good start.  The Attack jump out to an early lead with their first power play goal in 4 games from captain Mike Halmo, his 22nd of the season. Oshawa would tie the game 1:18 later and eventually take the lead with a late goal to end the period. 2-1 Gens after twenty minutes.


A relatively quiet second period saw Blandisi get his 12th of the year and Keevin Cutting scraping with Maggio after a check to the head. Game all square at 2 after 40 minutes.

The third period would see a lot of back and forth play between both sides and the Gens would score twice on goals from Thomas and Graves. The attack would draw within one goal as Halmo would score his second of the game and 23rd of the campaign.


Another tough loss for the Attack as they have now lost 4 of their last 5 and have fell into a tie with Sault St.Marie for 5th in the Western Conference.


Power play and penalty kill will win you games and it can most certainly lose you games as the Attack struggle with the man advantage over the past 5 games going a combined 3-27 on the power play. Penalty kill was respectable killing off 26 of 30 over the last 5.

Next up for the Attack is Friday in Niagara for a rematch with the Ice Dogs and returning home to host the Brampton Battalion on Saturday night at the Lumley Bayshore game time as always 7:30pm.

Where to Go From Here?

We're just about at that time of year again. Snow crunches under your feet, annoying Christmas music is played in every grocery store, and Bob McKenzie is causing controversy on twitter. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's junior hockey's second most glorious annual tradition, the World Junior Championship (some would argue the first most glorious, but I'm a big Memorial Cup fan)

So where does this leave the Rangers? Already short due to injury woes, the team now loses leading scorers Radek Faksa and Tobias Rieder, as well as defensemen Ryan Murphy and goalie John Gibson. Brent Pedersen will also play for Team Ontario at the World U17's in Windsor.

This becomes a true test of the team's depth. This is the perfect opportunity for Matia Marcantuoni (him more than anyone really) to step up and show that he really is worth all the pre-season hype after his rookie season last year. Brandon Francisco, Eric Ming, Zach Lorentz, and pretty much everyone else who plays forward for the Rangers has a huge opportunity ahead of them. Time to prove that they're worth it.

Of course it's also a great chance for Franky Palazzese. When I spoke with him at the beginning of the season, he told me he'd love to be the number 1 goalie in Kitchener. Then of course, John Gibson came around. No knock at Franky at all as he is a stellar net minder, but Gibson is just a little bit better. I'm sure Franky would love to prove me and everyone else wrong and show that he can be a starting net minder in this league. He's already proven that he's a strong goaltender. In 11 games played he has a save percentage of .932, and is 7-3-1. Not bad for a guy who was essentially hung and dried by fans in Kingston just a few months ago. So far Franky has proven to be very strong between the pipes in Kitchener, and I don't think anyone else would doubt that.

The final missing piece will be Ryan Murphy on defence and quite frankly, there isn't much to worry about there. Murph has been having his share of struggles this season. He was expected to lead the OHL in defensive points, yet only has 9 points as we get very close to the halfway point. Of course he has only played 14 games due to Carolina's camp and injury, and will now miss more due to WJHC, but there's been a few other defensive mistakes that, for a first round NHL draft pick, shouldn't be happening.

This is no big secret of course. On Tuesday night at the Aud it was obvious that Ryan was getting fed up with himself (and maybe the officials too.. i think everyone saw that slash except the zebras). He certainly puts more pressure on himself than anyone else puts on him. I fully expect Murph to make the world junior team, and return to Kitchener in January ready to take the league by storm.

The Rangers also made a trade with the Generals this week, sending a 4th round pick in the 2012 OHL Draft, a 4th round pick in 2015 and a conditional 3rd round 2017 pick, in return for Mitch Eden, a 17 year old blue liner currently playing Junior A in Hunstville. Could this be a sign of more trades to come?

I believe Spott has to decide over the WJHC whether or not this team is going to make a serious run in the spring. If the team performs well without it's top guys, why not? If they don't well then just stay the course and wait until next year. If the team were to make a run this year though, they can't trade away rookies or unsigned draft picks that will be next years core. My opinion is that the best option would be for a couple more guys who can score. Not necessarily a big name forward, but someone who can put the puck in the net more often than not to give this team a little more secondary scoring. With that in mind I do not think, that at this point, it's entirely impossible for the Rangers to make a long post season run in March. But again that all depends on the how things go over then next few weeks.

Congratulations to all Ranger fans for raising 7662 bears on teddy bear night this past Tuesday! I'm already looking forward to next year where an extra 1000 seats will mean an extra 1500 bears!

What Happened to the Attack?

This is a question many people are asking. So lets take a look and see if we can provide an answer. Last season many people, including myself, predicted the Attack to be a very low seed in the western conference and possibly the playoffs too.  Clearly I was wrong and I have no problem admitting my mistake. This season many people thought the Attack would be a competitive team despite losing, Mignardi, Hishon, Wilson and Fritsch. What would make them competitive would be the hope of a repeat season by Jordan Binnington. I have said it before and I will say it forever, Binnington saved Owen Sound’s season last year and made it possible for the Attack to not only win the OHL championship but also be considered a contender in the Memorial Cup. 

I am still peeved that OHL coach of the year, Mark Reeds, decided to go with Stajcer in the Memorial Cup over the red hot Binnington (unlike other posts where I rip goalies, I like Stajcer. But he clearly wasn’t 100%). Based on that decision, I even suggested that Reeds give back his coach of the year award, I mean who goes to the their starting goaltender and says, ‘I don’t think you will win tonight, you are sitting.’

But I digress from ripping the coach. What’s done is done.

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So far this year Binnington has not been his spectacular self. Sure he does not have the same rock solid defence in front him, or the same offensive firepower but there seem to be something missing from his game this season. For the Attack to have a shot at making some noise come playoff time, Binnington will have to reclaim his number 1 goaltender position from Scott Stajcer who has been the better of the two thus far.

What is also missing in the Sound, from the outside looking in, is the cohesive team unit that seemed to emanate through the television set when watching their games. Maybe it is the youth on the team, maybe it is the new faces in the room, but there doesn’t seem to be the same team feel as last season.

The Attack lost a lot of fire power up front (Hishon, Wilson, Mignardi and Shaw) and from the blue line (Blacker and Stanisz). To replace what was lost… the Attack added Daniel Catenacci, while trading away Andrew Fritsch to get the Buffalo Sabres draft pick. Catenacci is doing his part leading the team in scoring, on pace to best last season’s point totals, but is also last on the team in the plus minus category with a -8. Definitely not what you would want to see from a highly sought after commodity, but you knew what you were getting when trading from him.

The big difference this season is the blueline. It is not as solid as it was a year ago as it misses the experience Blacker and Stanisz provided, but they can learn and turn it up in the second half. A work in progress is a work in progress but sometimes you can not wait and maybe a move is necessary to help out your goaltenders. I say this because on average Stajcer and Binnington face over 30 shots a night. Sure that is pretty average but it is also the quality of shots they are facing. Unlike games featuring the Missisauga Majors, these shots are not clappers at JP Anderson from 100 feet away hoping to catch him off guard. The goalie duo are having to come up big more often than not and it is catching up to them in the W/L category.

But you may be asking yourself, ‘so you have pointed out their faults, so what is the solution?’ Good Question.

Plain and simple, the Attack need to unload their veterans and give the kids a chance to learn and play. Lets face it the Attack, if they choose to attend currently have to deal with the Soo, London, Plymouth and possibly Kitchener, all currently ahead of them. It is a big hill to climb so why not get value from your pieces. The way the Western Conference currently looks, you will be making the playoffs, and the young guys will be getting the experience you want them to get.

The Trading block may only have Scott Stajcer on it right now as he has been rumoured to be off to Saginaw for at least 3 weeks now, but Oshawa is also in the mix as Chris DiPiero is not happy in the lack of progress in ‘stud’ Daniel Altshuller.

The rumour mill has also been churning in regards to Matt Petgrave and Jay Gilbert, there is interest in the two defenceman, both as individuals and as a package.

If there is a serious offer for the two defenceman, then look for a rebuild in the Sound which will undoubtedly put the GM in the hot seat considering what was given up for Catenacci just to pull the plug after a third of the season.

This is the dilemma in Owen Sound at the moment… maybe making a move will turn the ship around. Or maybe it will sink the ship. Owen Sound is always an interesting case study and no one ever knows the answers. 

2007/12 Team Needs - East Division

As we continue the content-a-day giveaway... We get to the final division, the East. So lets take a look at who these teams may be targeting on Saturday. and don't forget the OHL Priority Draft this Saturday May, 7th live on ontariohockeyleague.com.

To preface, the lists of what the team declares as 'holes to be filled' is not FACT. These are my opinions and are corroborated with others and is a general guess as to what they may be trying to fill come draft day. If they are not adressed during draft day remember that they can also trade for players already in the league. Also, this is 'in a perfect world scenario' as the first 7-10 picks will be best player available and defy the logic of what I am talking about.

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Kingston Frontenacs - With all the scrutiny that this team goes through in terms of not having this, or giving away that. This is Kingston's time to get this or that. But the question is where to begin. This team needs a better blueline, they need confident goaltending and they need people to put the 'biscuit in the basket'. So i guess with my babbling I would have to say, Kingston's draft board will be filled with the best available players. I do have to say that even though many are not to happy about the potential of a Palazzese, Perry goalie tandem. You have to understand it could be worse... and that the Fronts will not be contending next year so it is not that big of an issue.

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Belleville Bulls - It came down to the wire to earn the playoff spot and whether you believe in Teichmann or not. The team has quality goaltending in Subban, and possibly Altshuller. Or even another year with Tyson. Their defence is basically returning as a whole unit for the 11/12 season so that leave the forward position for the Bulls. The team has a top pick so more likely they will fall into a best available but they would kill for an impact forward the likes of a Brendan Gaunce... hopefully not the playoff hair. then again... a Subban is eligible to be drafted... so all bets out the window here.

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Peterborough Petes - Peterborough had a tough year, on and off the ice. With all of the changes around the team nailing one position will be difficult. Peterborough needs to have confidence between the pipes, but a 95 birth year goalie wont bring that. Their young Defence is not comparable to Brampton, but with all the ice time and experience they gained this year, could be a force next year. That leaves the forward position for the Petes and considering they draft 2nd overall... they have the pick of any 95 birthday they want. Nicholas Ritchie.

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Oshawa Generals - This team is poised for a tremendous run come 2011/12. What do they need... nothing. No one this team can draft in the first round will help them improve in terms of pushing them over the age. They do need a goaltender, because if the team believed in Kevin Baille... they wouldn't have traded for DiSalvo. The D will suffer a bit as an OA moves on, De Haan will be in NYI of the NHL and Maggio or Zupancic will be your veteran defender. as for offence... a big CHECK! so stick with a defenceman here.

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Ottawa 67's - After the disappointing first round exit by the 67's this year... They will be looking for a spark plug to show the fans the best is still to come... even though they will more than likely lose Martindale and Toffoli to the AHL if not NHL next season. Mrazek is back. So no worrying about Goaltending as there are two goalies who could come on up for experience. Their young forwards really stepped up in the later third of the season so there is no reason to think they will regress. That leave the blueline which will lose an OA to graduation and possibly 1 or both 91 birth years. to the Dfence could be young and need some more top quality help.

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We are done the divisions and you now know what to possibly expect from each team when they are on the clock. Make sure you look at In The O... Mock Predictions for the First Round in the OHL Priority Draft. Starting Monday there will be a more indepth look at each of the 20 rosters in the OHL.

Game Review - 67's Clinch East Division With Win Over Generals

67’s clinch Eastern Division title

As always, special thanks to Kathryn Jean (twitter.com/msconduct) for the Game Preview.

Marc Zanetti scored the game-winner to clinch Ottawa the East Division title.
Photo courtesy Krista Windsor 

Marc Zanetti scored the eventual game winner at the 2:56 mark in the third period to give Ottawa a 4-3 lead over the division rival, Oshawa Generals.   Dalton Smith stole the spotlight after scoring a goal and adding two more helpers in the win.

The 67’s, who were already playing a short bench, suffered another loss early in the game forcing the 67’s to play with only 14 players.  Less than two minutes into the game Tyler Graovac suffered a fractured forearm after a collision with a Generals player.  Graovac was re-evaluated after the game and is expected to miss the next 5-6 weeks.

With Mark Petaccio in the box for elbowing, Dalton Smith got on the board first for the 67’s after he gained possession off a rebound from Jake Cardwell’s shot from the point.  The Generals responded a few minutes later after a turnover created an odd man rush. Mrazek made a great initial save but Boone Jenner was right there on the door step and made no mistake to snap it in. 

The 67’s found themselves killing off a long 5-on-3 man advantage halfway through the first period.  As the first penalty expired, Dalton Smith sent a nice outlet pass to Toffoli who drove the puck past Di Salvo on a bit of a breakaway.   Moments later, J.P. Lobardo tied the game up again after a scramble in front of the net.  After 40 minutes of play, the shot clock read 21 to 10 in favour of the 67’s.

 The game continued with back to back action as both teams took their turns scoring.  Early in the first period Ben Dubois helped retake the lead by deflecting the puck past Di Salvo off Cardwell’s on the powerplay.  Halfway through the second period, Ottawa native Calvin de Haan capitalized on their powerplay opportunity as his shot deflects off of defender Adam Sedlak and up over Mrazek.

Marc Zanetti became the hero of the game scoring after receiving a great pass from Toffoli and went upstairs on Di Salvo to score his first goal since returning from a lower body injury late last week.  The 67’s were able to hang on to edge the Generals after some glorious chances both ways.

Next game:

Saturday, March 19^th – Brampton Battalion @ Oshawa Generals, 7:05pm

Sunday, March 20^th – Sudbury Wolves @ Ottawa 67’s, 2pm