Recap: Colts @ Generals Jan. 22/12

The Oshawa Generals played host to the Barrie Colts on Sunday evening, looking to build on momentum created by a big 11-3 win over Kingston a night before. The Guelph Storm also come into the game on a high note, defeating Guelph on Saturday at home. With Alex Fotinos out of the lineup, the Colts would start Mathias Niederberger in goal, while Oshawa countered with Kevin Bailie, who was solid for them in Saturday’s win.

For two teams meeting for the first time this season, it didn’t take long for the animosity to show between the clubs, as Andy Andreoff and Anthony Camara would drop the mitts just nine seconds in for a spirited tussle. Bodies would clash together throughout much of the opening frame, as neither team shied away from any opportunities to finish their checks. Midway through the period, the game would see its second fight, when Emerson Clark and Norm Ezekiel went at it right off the draw.

Despite the physical play, the Colts would find take the majority of the play in the first period, evidenced by a 13-5 edge in shots over the opening twenty, but were unable to capitalize as the teams would go to the intermission scoreless. The start of the second would be no better for the Generals, as a pair of penalties in the first 63 seconds of the period would put them down two men. During the advantage, it would fall to Kevin Bailie to keep the game knotted at zeros, sliding across the net to make an unbelievable toe save on Mark Scheifele. The chance was Barrie’s best during the advantage, as the Gens would kill both penalties off.

If the first period belonged to Barrie, the second was Oshawa’s, as they seemed to find another gear midway through the game. Much of the period would be played in Barrie’s end, and Niederberger would be called on to make some key saves to keep the game scoreless through two periods. The Generals would outshoot the Colts 12-9 in the middle stanza, though Barrie would lead the shot clock after 40 minutes by a count of 32-27.

In the third, Oshawa would continue the pressure they generated in the second, and would finally be rewarded for their persistence with a lucky bounce. The play started on a rush led by Andreoff, who would drive to the net, taking a defender with him. Christian Thomas would trail behind with the puck, and throw a shot at the Barrie net that would strike Andreoff’s skate and deflect between the legs of Niederberger. The goal finally gave a large crowd of 4,900 at the General Motors Centre something to cheer about, and their support would help buoy their squad as the Colts sent wave after wave into the Oshawa end, looking for the equalizer. Bailie would be up to the task on each occasion, turning aside a number of chances to retain the lead.

With little over seven minutes remaining, the Generals would earn a big insurance goal, when Scott Laughton would go to the net with his stick on the ice, taking a feed from Andreoff and snapping it past Niederberger. The two goal lead would be more than Oshawa would need on this night, as any thoughts of a comeback by Barrie would be thwarted by Bailie, who stopped all 39 shots he would face in earning his first shutout of the season, as well as the game’s first star.

Andreoff would cap off an impressive night late in the game, scoring into the empty net with 0.9 seconds left on the clock to make the final score Oshawa 3, Barrie 0. With two goals and an assist, Andreoff would be named the game’s second star, while Barrie’s Niederberger was honoured with the third star selection for keeping his team in the game.

The win by Oshawa, coupled with Kingston’s victory in Belleville on Sunday afternoon, would vault the Generals into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Bulls, who hold a game in hand. With the loss, Barrie remains in fifth in the conference with 51 points. The schedule gets no easier for Barrie, as they return home for their next game on Thursday evening, against the high-flying Plymouth Whalers. The Generals are off now until Friday night, when they play in Kingston.

For OHL news and thoughts, be sure to follow me on Twitter, @N24Nichoson.

Friday the 13th.......Ice Dog Style

by Susan Tromanhauser

Just when the Niagara Ice Dogs thought they finally had the pieces of the puzzle together, Friday the thirteenth struck and proved to be an unlucky day for the a team filled with bad luck this season. With players returning late from NHL camps, injuries, suspensions, the World Junior tournament and more injuries, the Ice Dogs finally got their team back together as whole unit. But in one game against the Sudbury Wolves, the Dogs lost three key players.

Dougie Hamilton:

This week Hamilton was suspended for ten games as supplemental discipline for a check to the head of Sudbury captain Michael MacDonald who suffered a concussion on the play. The OHL imposed the ten game supplemental discipline after deciding Hamilton’s hit was a check to the head on a vulnerable player that resulted in an injury.

Niagara Coach Marty Williamson felt the suspension was “Unfortunate. It’s one of those hits the league is trying to get rid of and Dougie would be the first guy to say he’d like to have it back. Dougie’s not a dirty player, he plays the game clean, but there was a player injured and the league is making a bold statement about what they do in those situations.”

Williamson had earlier this season predicted it would be difficult for Hamilton due to his size to avoid a hit such as this. “It’s hard for big guys and you have to watch those hits coming across the middle. …….if a guy ducks on you, it’s awfully tough.”

Ryan Strome

Ryan Strome’s adventure in Sudbury got him a goal, an assist and a broken nose. In a scrum around the net, Brody Silk punched Strome in the face resulting with much blood on the ice and ending Strome’s night early.

There is controversy whether Silk should receive supplemental discipline as many believe fights happen in hockey and Strome was just as guilty for throwing punches. Others feel this was not a fight but rather Strome was punched from behind when he was not expecting it. Williamson believes it was a “bad punch. Fights happen, this wasn’t a fight, it was a scrum.” The only opinion that matters of course is the OHL as they handed out a twelve game suspension to Silk.

The other controversy talked about in the twitterverse was the fact Strome played the game against Barrie on Saturday night with a broken nose only to return home and discover on Monday the injury was much more severe, including additional broken facial bones. William assures there is no controversy. “(Strome) had a broken nose….we were told he could get it looked after Monday. Ryan wanted to play and felt good. …if this was play off time he could possibly be playing today. We are going to give him time to heal.” Williams also assures the surgery went well and “(Strome) looks better than ever.” Strome is expected to be out for one month.

Brock Beukeboom

After sitting out the first six weeks of the season with two cracked bones in his back, Brock Beukeboom suffered his fourth concussion against the Wolves. Again the confident Williams assures the concussion is not too worrisome as Beukeboom’s parents report the concussion is not as serious as previous ones he has suffered and he appears to be on his way to full recovery.

On top of missing three players in one game Joel Wigle is still out with a shoulder injury and many other players are not 100% due to a flu bug going through the Ice Dog dressing room.

In order to fill out the player roster, the Dogs turned to the St. Catharines Junior B Falcons many times this year. However, the “B” roster is getting slim as well. Broderick Kelly has already played nine games with the Ice Dogs and one more game will mean he is no longer eligible to play with the Falcons. Jimmy Sheehan is out with an ankle injury. The Ice Dogs have now turned to Falcons' Brad Col to bolster the defense.

Amid this upheaval the Ice Dog coach remains calm, insisting everything will be all right. Williamson insists “these things happen over a 68 game schedule” When asked how the Dogs will go forward in the wake of the bad luck his quick response is “Keep trying to win hockey games.”

Ottawa 67's 3-in-4 Review; Another Perfect Weekend

by Alex Quevillon

When Shane Prince was cut from Team USA at the Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championships, he was very vocal about it. But at the same time, he couldn't just talk the talk. In order to follow in the footsteps of past World Junior snubs from the 67's, such as Logan Couture or last year's Tyler Toffoli, he had to produce at a torrid pace and stick it to the American squad.

If this weekend didn't make an impression, nothing will. Lining up once againwith Ottawa's two newest faces, Mike Cazzola and John McFarland, Prince scored eight points in three games, moving into seventh in the OHL scoring race. The New York native topped it all off by potting a late winning goal against his former team, the Kitchener Rangers, on Sunday afternoon.

Thursday, January 19th @Peterborough

After a tough end to last Friday's game against the Petes (21-19-3-3), Ottawa had a great bounce-back game this Thursday. The strongest of the three games for this recently formed line, Prince, Cazzola and McFarland combined for 6 goals as the 67's blow out the Peterborough Petes 9-4. Michael Nishi made 30 saves to preserve the win while Mike Morrisson and Andrew D'Agostini combined for 22 stops.

The two teams traded goals in the first period, trading leads back and forth. Prince, Cazzola and McFarland all had a goal in the first, as well as Cody Ceci, as the 67's lead 4-3 at the break. Joey West, Derek Mathers and Andrew Yogan had answered for Peterborough. In the second, McFarland and Prince helped open up a 6-3 lead and Ottawa never looked back.

Cazzola's second marker of the game, to go along with goals from Dalton Smith and Nicholas Foglia, topped off a dominant third period. Stephen Pierog had the fourth Peterborough goal.

Friday, January 20th vs. Oshawa

Once again, the 67's flexed their offencive muscles, putting on another scoring clinic and winning once again via blowout, an 8-3 win over the Oshawa Generals. As was the case with the previous night's game, Ottawa chased the opposing goalie, Oshawa switched goaltenders three times on the night between Kevin Bailie and Daniel Altshuller.

Nicklas Jensen opened the scoring for the Generals (20-21-1-3), a shorthanded marker with just 30 seconds to go in an extremely physical first period. The frame saw Marc-Anthony Zanetti drop the gloves with Scott Sabourin early on. Sean Callaghan threw a booming hit on Boone Jenner, a hit heard around the rink. Josh Brown answered the bell by dropping the gloves with Callaghan.

It didn't take long for the 67's to chase Ottawa native Daniel Altshuller from the Oshawa net. Zanetti and John McFarland scored in the first 85 seconds of the period, giving Ottawa a 2-1 lead and bringing in Kevin Bailie. Perhaps it was an equipment issue, as Altshuller came back after Lucas Lessio tied the game at two, but the timing was suspect to say the least.

Cody Ceci, Steven Janes and Jake Cardwell scored in the late stages of the period to give Ottawa a 5-2 lead, and once again, Altshuller came out. Bailie started the third period and Ottawa continued their scoring parade. Tyler Toffoli, Dalton Smith and Janes rounded out the scoring while Sebastian Uvira answered for Oshawa.

The game was won and lost in the special teams department as the officials let the game get out of hand in the first two periods. After a rough showing on their first two powerplays, including the Jensen goal, Ottawa's powerplay scored on four of their final six attempts with the man advantage. Oshawa only had one powerplay marker on six attempts.

Sunday, January 22nd vs. Kitchener

Ottawa topped off the weekend by narrowly beating a tired Kitchener Rangers squad that had beat Kingston 9-1 and Belleville 5-4 in the two previous nights. Plenty of Rangers fans made the trip, most likely a three-game roadtrip, filling nearly an entire section behind their bench. Always great to see so many fans travel to other buildings.

Again, Ottawa gave up the opening goal. A great rush by Ryan Murphy was thwarted, but Murphy stayed with the play, taking a feed from Tobias Rieder and roofing it past Petr Mrazek.

Before the first period was up, however, Tyler Toffoli scored his league-leading 36th goal and Tyler Graovac, who has had a tough season dealing with a long illness and absence from the lineup, scored just his fifth of the season. Toffoli added to his league-leading total with his 74th point in the second period, setting up Sean Monahan for his 26th of the season. Monahan joins Prince and Toffoli in the top-seven in scoring, sitting in fifth with 61.

The Rangers stormed back, as Radek Faksa scored a powerplay goal while Andrew Crescenzi was in the net behind Mrazek, finishing the second-period scoring. In the third, Crescenzi had a powerplay marker of his own to tie it.

But it was Prince, who the Rangers sent to Ottawa for a 3rd-round draft choice two years and two weeks ago today, that made the difference against his former team. Finding the rebound from Cody Ceci's point shot, Prince buried the puck past John Gibson and jumped into the corner glass, a celebration we've seen in many third periods this season in Ottawa.

Mrazek shut the door the rest of the way, registering 29 saves in his 20th win of the season. Gibson also had 29 stops for the Rangers (30-13-1-0), who appear to be sticking in the Western Conference's third spot.

The 67's (29-11-4-1) are still the top ranked team in the Eastern Conference, although by a narrow marigin. Ottawa holds two points and a game in hand on the Brampton Battalion, while the Niagara Ice Dogs are just four points back. They face a tough task next weekend. First up, Sarnia comes to town for a national broadcast. Former Sting Shayne Campbell (injury) and Daniel Broussard (suspension) will unfortunately be out of the lineup. The Barberpoles head to Barrie and Owen Sound to close out their 3-in-3 weekend.

January 22nd Game Previews

by Dwayne Williams

As today is the busiest day of the OHL schedule – with 18 of teams in action – we will be doing rapid fire format for our game previews.

Sudbury @ Brampton

Wolves with great road win last night vs. Niagara – Sgarbossa and Leivo with 4 points each. Brampton has only won 5 of their last 10 games but are still in 2^nd in the Eastern Conference. Brampton lost a shootout game to Mississauga  Friday night.

My prediction Sudbury 4 Brampton 3

Sarnia @ Guelph

Sarnia has not seen the full fruit of their trades in winning only 4 of their last 10 games. Guelph has been hot and cold with 2 shutout wins and one shutout against in their last 4 games.

My prediction Sarnia 3 Guelph 4

Erie @ London

Erie loses a 2-1 home game in OT to Peterborough last night. Only averaging 1.6 goals in their past 10 games. Fox and McKegg play against their former teams for the first time since their trade. Teichmann played last night and Houser didn’t dress (injured maybe?). London on a 4 game win streak after handling the Attack home / home on Friday and Saturday.

My prediction Erie 0 London 5

Saginaw @ Mississauga

Mississauga won a 5-4 shootout vs. the cross-town rival Battalion on Friday night (2 late 3^rd period goals by Brace to complete his hat trick).  This is a rematch of the game played @ Saginaw Jan 15 which was won by the Spirit 4-2 Shalla and Trocheck were top scorers then.  Saginaw did some sightseeing yesterday with the day off – enjoying their 9-8 win at Sudbury on Friday night (Saad with 4 points and Rose with 2 points)

My prediction Saginaw 5 Mississauga 2

Peterborough @ Niagara

Dogs lost last night at home, Captain Agozzino with 2 goals and F Hamilton with 2 assists. Vizzer to start today. Petes won in overtime @ Erie last night.  Peterborough only 9 points behind – won in Erie in overtime last night. Andrew Yogan with 10 points this month.  Quine has surpassed his point total from last year and is second on the team in scoring (43 pts).

My prediction Peterborough 1 Niagara 4

Kitchener @ Ottawa

Both teams with 61 points and identical record in the past 10 games – should be a dandy! Kitchener won a tough battle @ Belleville last night 5-4. Couple of scraps (Randell, Thompson, Ming).  Ottawa has been clipping along at a rate of 6 goals per game (in their past 5 games). 

My prediction Kitchener 2 Ottawa 5

Sault Ste Marie @ Windsor

Greyhounds got shellacked last night 8-0 at Plymouth and are on a 3 game losing skid. Windsor has been hot and cold – 2 wins and 2 losses in their past 4 games – giving and receiving a shutout in that stretch.

My prediction Sault Ste Marie 1 Windsor 3

Belleville @ Kingston

Kingston has been having some defensive struggles lately giving up 20 goals in their past 2 games (yes 2 games).  Belleville has struggled too – losing their past 4 games – only one win in their past 10 games.

My prediction Belleville 2 Kingston 4

Barrie @ Oshawa

Barrie hosted the Generals and handed them a 4-2 defeat last night. Pearson with 1 goal and 1 assist – Beyers with 3 assists.  Oshawa has scored 14 goals in the past 2 games so they are ‘on fire’.

My prediction Barrie 3 Oshawa 6

Recap: Frontenacs @ Generals Jan. 21/12

On Saturday night, the Oshawa Generals would play host to the Kingston Frontenacs, in a battle of the bottom two teams in the Eastern Conference. The Frontenacs have long since become an afterthought in the OHL Playoff race, but have been playing much better hockey as of late, and Coach Todd Gill has his young club on the same page, perhaps for the first time all season. The Generals meanwhile, continue to chase down one of the final playoff spots in the conference, and enter action just three points behind the Belleville Bulls in the coveted eighth spot.

Both teams were looking to rebound on Saturday night, after both found themselves on the wrong end of lop-sided scores the night before. The Generals lost in Ottawa by a score of 8-3, while Kingston lost on home ice to the Kitchener Rangers by a 9-1 count. The Frontenacs would go right back to their number one starter, Igor Bobkov, for this game, while Oshawa would stay with Kevin Bailie, who played the 3^rd period against the 67’s.

I remember noting prior to warm-ups that the crowd in the General Motors Centre seemed exceptionally loud, and the case would prove true throughout the night, as a raucous crowd of over 4,500 would take in what would become an enjoyable night for Generals fans. Kevin Bailie gave the team some much needed confidence early, making a sprawling save off of the stick of Kingston Captain Cody Alcock on an early Fronts powerplay.

The momentum built from the early penalty kill would pay off for the Generals a few minutes later, when Boone Jenner would follow Lucas Lessio to the net, where he would be rewarded with a juicy rebound to open the scoring. Two minutes later, Matt Petgrave would get his first as an Oshawa General, wiring a shot from the point that found a way through everyone, including Bobkov.

In the dying minutes of the period, the Generals would add another when Scott Sabourin would snap a quick shot that seemed to catch Bobkov off-guard. Outshooting Kingston 18-11 in the opening frame, Oshawa would take a three goal lead to the break, and would continue to pour things on early in the 2^nd period. They would be rewarded once again just five minutes in, when Boone Jenner would take a feed in the slot and rip a shot just under the bar, beating a bewildered Bobkov, who never saw it. Jenner’s 2^nd of the game seemed to really open the floodgates, and a goal three minutes later by Christian Thomas would drive Bobkov from the net, having surrendered five goals on 29 shots.

Jacob Riley would take over between the pipes for the Frontenacs, but would fare no better, as he was beaten for a goal almost immediately. Just 49 seconds after the Thomas goal, Lucas Lessio would score a shorthanded marker to drive the Generals lead to six, and they would make it a seven goal lead only two minutes afterwards, as Nicklas Jensen would rip a shot coming down the wing that fooled Riley.

The Frontenacs would finally crack Kevin Bailie with a minute remaining in the middle stanza, as Darcy Greenaway would take advantage of a rare miscue by the Gens goaltender, sliding the puck through his legs. While the goal gave Kingston a small measure of vengeance to take to the 2^nd intermission, they still found themselves down six heading to the final frame.

The opening five minutes of the third period was about as intense as it gets in junior hockey. Kingston would press for another goal early in the frame, opening the period with nearly a full powerplay to work with, but the play of Bailie in goal would keep the Frontenacs at bay. After killing the penalty, the Generals would add yet another goal a minute later, when Sebastian Uvira would get in on the scoring, snapping a quick shot that beat Jacob Riley high glove side. On the proceeding faceoff, the sticks and gloves would be dropped in a fight of the year nominee, as heavyweights Conor Stokes and Emerson Clark would go toe to toe for nearly a minute, bringing the crowd to a fever pitch. Stokes was returning to the Fronts lineup from a lengthy suspension, while Clark was returning to the lineup himself, having missed the better part of a month due to injury.

With the crowd still buzzing from that fight, we’d see another tussle moments later, when Generals rookie John Urbanic would battle with defender Warren Steele. If the crowd wasn’t loud enough after back to back fights and a seven goal lead, they would get even louder, when Uvira would score his 2^nd of the game to make it 9-1. Uvira’s two goals would be scored just 91 seconds apart, and Oshawa kept sending wave after wave into the Kingston zone. Josh Graves would get in on the scoring just over two minutes later, putting the Generals into double digits.

At this point, it would have been very easy for the game to spiral completely out of control, but both teams and the officials in charge did an excellent job of ensuring that no wackiness would ensue over the game’s final minutes. The Frontenacs would start to get some pressure in the later part of the 3^rd, evidenced by a pair of powerplay goals, first Petr Beranek, then Warren Steele, to cut the lead to 10-3 with four minutes left, but Boone Jenner would complete the hat trick in the final two minutes, scoring another goal on a deflated Frontenacs squad. With the win, Oshawa climbs back to within a single point of the final playoff spot, as Belleville would lose to Kitchener on Saturday night.

Despite the final score of 11-3, the Frontenacs can take solace in the fact that they were even with the Generals in shots for the game, as each team would register 41 shots on the night. Boone Jenner (3G,1A), Sebastian Uvira (2G,1A), and Josh Graves (1G,2A) would be named the three stars. Both teams are right back in action on Sunday, as they wrap up their respective three game weekends. The Frontenacs now return home to Kingston, and will host the Belleville Bulls at 4pm, while the Generals remain in Oshawa, visited by the Barrie Colts at 6pm.