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April 28, 2005

CONFERENCE FINALS Game 4 – Peterborough at Ottawa (27-Apr) – OTTAWA WINS IN OT! SWEEPS SERIES 4-0!

67s win 3-2 over Petes. See OHL game summary here. See 67s’ site for playoff coverage here.

[As I have for all home games during the playoffs, I took a bunch of pics. I still need go through them to pick out the ones that are bloggable. Some – many – of them are blurry from jumping up and down and yelling and whatnot. I’ll salvage what I can.]

IN THE NEWS
From the Ottawa Sun Barre Campbell writes, 67's enjoy broom ball. Snippet:

Rookie Jamie McGinn scored the winner at 11:01 of the first overtime period.

Winger Julian Talbot worked his way around Petes defenceman Kyle Raftis on the right side to get a shot on goal, and the puck rolled out to a charging McGinn, who muscled through a check to poke in the rebound for a tap-in winner.

"It's a great honour to get that goal," said the 16-year-old McGinn.

"I just saw Julian Talbot cutting down the wing. He made a nice move around the D.

"Every practice, you go hard to the net and you get rewarded."

From the Ottawa Sun Chris Stevenson writes, 'He's been phenomenal'. Talbot on his linemate:

"He's just been digging pucks out for me and Chris Hulit," said centreman Julian Talbot. "Tonight, it was his turn.

"Every [sic] since he came back from the Canadian team, the under-17 team, he's been phenomenal."

From the Peterborough Examiner Mike Davies writes, Petes season ends in OT. Snippet:

“It was a disappointing end,” said Petes head coach Dick Todd, “to what we felt was a pretty good year. We didn’t anticipate going down four games to nothing with the hockey club we had. Ottawa with the experience they had give them full marks and full credit. I think their experience showed even when we tied the game up 2-2. We had some chances but in general I thought they were able to keep their composure. They didn’t necessarily take it to us but we weren’t getting shots and weren’t getting as many chances as they were.”

[. . .]

“It’s not the best way to go out,” said Tardif, “but we gave it our all tonight and we have to keep our heads high. It was a lucky bounce in overtime that Ottawa got. They’re a tough team to play. We didn’t do too well in this building this year and we had a great record at home. We knew it was going to be a battle. Their goalie has been unbelievable but tonight and at the end of Game 3 we drove the net really well and got some goals. If we had done that at the beginning of the series who knows what would have happened?”

From the Ottawa Citizen Chris Yzerman writes, 67's sweep way to final.

From the Globe and Mail David Naylor writes, Ottawa sweeps way into OHL final. Snippet:

For many hockey fans in this part of the country, spring is a time associated with heartache brought on by the annual playoff woes of the NHL's Ottawa Senators.

But for the large number of fans who consider themselves 67's supporters first and foremost, hockey playoff time has meant something different altogether. Ottawa's "other" team has reached either the OHL final or the Memorial Cup five times in the past nine years.

But, more often than not, the 67's' success has been overshadowed either by the Senators shortcomings or the nightly flow of NHL playoff games on television in the spring.

Not so this season, as last night's game marked four consecutive playoff sellouts. The team has dominated local sports broadcasts and newspaper coverage in a way not seen since the Senators arrived.

At least part of the 67's' appeal in Ottawa stems from the fact they are everything the Senators are not. The Senators are well known for playing their best hockey when it matters the least, only to stumble when the heat is turned up. For the 67's, most times, including this season, it's been the opposite story.

From the London Free Press, Rookie's overtime goal lifts 67's to East sweep.

PRE-GAME NEWS
The game was broadcast on radio (TEAM 1200/Dave Schreiber and AJ Jakubec) and television (Rogers Television 22/Scott MacArthur, Ed Hand, and Lee Versage).

PRE-GAME INTERVIEW w/KILLER (AJ)
(Thoughts on Game 3) It went right down to the wire. We played really well for the first 50 minutes and not for the last 10 minutes. I thought we played really well early. Danny was sharp and we cut down a lot of their chances until the end and then they got a lot of chances on us. You can’t just keep beating a path to the penalty box. Good teams will find a way to score.
(Was it a wake-up?) I’m hoping they realize the mistakes we made.
(On what to expect from Peterborough in Game 4) We know they’ll do what they always do. They’ll work hard and hopefully we’ll work a little bit harder.
(Do you say anything to calm down your team before an important game like this one) No I’ll leave them alone and hopefully they’ll get themselves ready.
(On thinking about the Memorial Cup) All I know is that you have to win 4 to get there. We have 3. I’ll wait ’til we have 4 before then.

PRE-GAME INTERVIEW w/ASST COACH HULL (Schreibs)
(Thoughts on Game 3) It was a tough game for us. We came out a little slow, got behind and dug ourselves a little hole. But maybe we can score on this guy.
(On Staal playing so well and a rookie) To a man in the dressing room we have to have more production from guys who’ve been in the league. To be successful we all have to step up.
(On key to Game 4) We have to weather the storm. They always come out hard here. We need to take it minute by minute, and keep playing. As long as every guy gives it his all that’s all you can ask.
(On staying with the same line up) To make a change for making a change is not worth it. We’ll keep giving the guys the experience.

LINE UP
*Forwards: McGinn, Talbot, Hulit; Bickell, Bonello, Mancari; Akeson, Petruzalek, Kaspar; VanderVeeken, Ouellette, Alphonso.
*Defensive pairings: Colbert, Joslin; Staubitz, Van Herpt; Lawrance, Beard.
*Starting in goal: Battochio. Guadagnolo on the bench.
*Scratches: Reid (inj-ankle), Lahey (inj-conc), Spezza, Kiriakous, Jarram (healthy)

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
A big group of fans travelled from Peterborough to cheer on their boys. Considering the ratio of Ottawa fans to Peterborough fans – they were very loud and definitely made their presence known.

With all those bodies, all that excitement, the air in the Civic Centre was pretty steamy – there was condensation rolling down the big windows. Maybe this is the reason for why some guys kept falling down – the ice was too soft?

First Period. Surely not what the Petes wanted – Chris Hulit scored just over one minute into the period, and on the first SOG. I expected the Petes to come out with more of a sense of urgency, but it seemed like they sat back (too much weathering the storm instead of forcing their style of play?). The 67s had their turn at a goal-non-goal. Talbot put the puck in with a high stick. (On replay later, I couldn’t really tell because the camera was behind Talbot and you couldn’t see his stick at all). And no video replay because it wasn’t working? But, the 67s came back to score a few minutes later. A PP goal by Bonello, and from a sweet through-the-legs pass by Mancari. Coach Todd was flipping out on the bench – the Petes took 4 straight penalties. The 67s spent a large chunk of the period in the Petes’ zone, a good thing to see. SOG at the end of the period were 16 for Ottawa and 5 (5!) for Peterborough. The score was 2-0 for Ottawa.

Second Period. The Petes had a much better effort in the second – some questioned whether it was stronger play by the Petes or poorer play by the 67s. Maybe a combination. It was Ottawa’s turn to take penalties. Tardif scored a big one for Peterborough, getting the Petes fans on their feet, screaming and honking. Ottawa couldn’t get the puck out of the zone, even with a number of chances. With all the penalties, Hulit and Talbot were working their butts off. And in a reversal of the first period, the SOG at the end of the period were 5 (5!) for Ottawa and 16 for Peterborough. The score was 2-1 for Ottawa.

Third Period. Ryder scored just over a minute (1:03) into the period to tie the game (2-2). Bonello got boarded by Staal – one of those very scary, very awful hits from behind a few feet from the boards. Hobor was standing right beside them, and there was no call. Mancari was furious, coming to his defence, and he ended up getting a penalty. Go figure. The Petes were pushing, getting some chances, and the 67s continued to take penalties. But after the 67s killed off Bonello’s penalty, they seemed to settle down. Battochio worked hard this period – with Peterborough getting some chances that were definitely cringe-worthy. Sitting at the other end of the rink, all you could do was watch the scramble in front of the net, with Danny flailing, and wait to see either the goal light to go on or the puck cleared. SOG at the end of the third were 14 for Ottawa and 8 for Peterborough. The score was (obviously) tied 2-2.

OT. An edge-of-your-seat period, oh boy. Now this is what I was talking about earlier when I said Game 4 should be the best game yet. And being on the giddy side (read: winning side) makes a difference in how it’s interpreted, I suppose. To see McGinn score the winner, the one that takes them most likely to the Memorial Cup was the best. The look on his face said it all: a look that said 'this is what utter happiness is.' Like, he was bursting with it (See 67s’ playoff site for his pic here). And seeing the joy on Battochio’s face as he waved that broom was priceless! SOG at the end were 39 for Ottawa and 32 for Peterborough. The 67s won 3-2 on OT.

SCORING
OTTAWA
1, Hulit, (10) (Talbot, McGinn), 01:07
1, Bonello, (7) (Mancari, Colbert), 13:23 (PP)
4, McGinn, (4) (Talbot, Hulit), 11:01

PETERBOROUGH
2, Tardif, (8) , 09:35
3, Ryder, (9) (Stewart, Hendrikx), 01:03

THREE STARS
OHL three stars were: (1) McGinn, (2) Hulit, and (3) Ryder.

TEAM 1200 three stars were: (1) McGinn, (2) Talbot, and (3) Battochio.

REFFING
Hobor.

ATTENDANCE
9862.

NEXT UP
OHL FINALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Schedule TBA.

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