ROUND 2 GAME 4 – Sudbury at Ottawa (13-Apr) – Ottawa Wins 2nd Straight, Takes Series Lead 3-1 Back To Sudbury

The 67s win 5-2 over the Wolves. It’s off to Sudbury for Game 5. See OHL game summary here. See also the 67s’ playoff site here. And the Wolves’ main page here.

IN THE NEWS
From SLAM! Sports, 67's go up 3-1 on Wolves. From the Ottawa Citizen Chris Yzerman writes, 67's strike back in style. From the Ottawa Sun Barre Campbell writes, 67's take charge. Some good words from the coach:

Ottawa coach Brian Kilrea could only praise the Talbot, Hulit and rookie Jamie McGinn combination that also did well checking the Sudbury's top line of Nick Foligno, Benoit Pouliot and Bobby Chaumont.

"They're killing penalties, they're scoring goals, they play defence, they play against Sudbury's best line," he said.

"I think a lot of times their defensive play is overlooked, but there's no doubt that they're having a tremendous series."

And Hulit on his SH:

"I don't think I've scored three shorthanded goals in my life, much less in one series," said Hulit, who grew up in the Soo and was a bitter rival of Talbot's playing minor hockey. "We're just playing sound defensively in our own end in order to get those chances. It's always good to get a break like that, especially in a game like this."

From the Ottawa Sun writes Chris Stevenson writes, Branch will whack Wolve. Two snippets, first about Reid:

67's D Elgin Reid could be lost for the rest of the playoffs after suffering what might have been a broken leg last night in the second period. It was a freak play. After he took a high stick in the chin from Sudbury's Rafal Martynowski, he hurt his leg when he fell into the boards. Reid had been playing with Brad Staubitz to make up a solid duo.

And then Mancari:

"I was so hesitant the first couple of shifts," said Mancari. "Near the end of the second, I started feeling a lot better, more confident."

From the Sudbury Star Scott Mitchell writes, Wolves lose a backbreaker. Some more goodies from the coach:

Ottawa head coach/GM Brian Kilrea said Talbot’s line has been good in every facet of the game.

“For a long time now, it’s been the Hulit, Talbot, McGinn line that’s been shining, and they were shining again tonight,” he said.

“Whether it be shorthanded or just playing defensive hockey, they’ve come to play every night.”

More as it’s published . . .

PRE-GAME NOTES
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). A few notes from Schreibs and AJ:

*Ehelechner to get the start.
*Musselman is out indefinitely after meeting with Branch.
*Mancari will play; AJ says he still looked ‘woozy.’

PRE-GAME INTERVIEW w/ KILLER (Schreibs)
(On last game) We were moving the puck well and we skated well. We got some good chances but they had some too.
(On Battochio) Danny is the star of the series so far and the reason we are here. We just hope he can continue.
(On Akeson/Petruzalek/Kaspar line) They played the best for us in Sudbury in Game 2. It gives us balance and they can’t key on one line.
(On Mancari) It was a real good game from our standpoint. You don’t want anything to take away from the game. For 60 minutes we did a pretty good job.

PRE-GAME INTERVIEW w/ FOLIGNO (AJ)
(On Musselman hearing today) The League has a process for a match or misconduct where they look into the matter. Dave Branch came to look at the matter. The final decision will be Friday. It was an unfortunate incident no doubt about that. But these are young men you’re working with. We’ll address it and move on. Thankfully Mark’s going to be okay. This is a physical series, but at the same time you have to be smart. Tonight’s a new game. We need to play smart.
(On goaltending) Ehelechner’s is in. He’s our most experienced. This is a big game for us and we need to be our best and we feel Patrick gives us that.
(What they’ll focus on tonight) The key for us is speed.

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

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
First Period. The 67s started off strong, with Sudbury icing the puck 3x in a row. And then Alphonso (Alphonso!) got things going for the 67s early on, scoring a beautiful goal off a beautiful pass by Ouellette. McGinn scored next to put the 67s up 2-0. (Things look real good for next season, lemme tell ya!) McGinn went directly to the front of the net, while Talbot battled in the corner for the puck. He got it and made a great pass to McGinn, who was alone in front of the net. Coach Foligno called a time-out after the 2nd goal, trying to settle his players down. It was LOUD in the rink. The fans were screaming, the boys were scoring – it had to be intimidating and disconcerting to the Wolves to get down so early in the first period.

Alphonso got things started!

While the 67s were working hard at the beginning of the period, they fell apart near the end. They had a PP and had some trouble getting the puck out of the zone (reminiscent of their earlier reg season PP troubles). Sudbury didn’t sit back, pushing hard, forechecking, controlling the puck. Battochio was doing his thing, but inevitably Sudbury scored (Chaumont) making it 2-1. The 67s left the Wolves unmolested, waiting for the shot. Stortini took a penalty for elbowing at the end of the period, and Ottawa had a bad line change, leading to a SH chance for Sudbury. It was a sloppy play at the end of the period. The SOG at the end were 18 for Sudbury and 14 for Ottawa. The score was 2-1 for Ottawa.

Ehelechner makes a save!

Second Period. Sudbury tied it up early in the second (2:32) with a goal by McDonough (2-2). Battochio was down on his back and had no chance when McDonough flipped the rebound over him into the net. Talbot got the lead back for Ottawa when he scored a few minutes later (3-2). He was all alone in front of the net and Hulit’s pass was perfect. It’s nice see Talbot get a G over his usual assists.

And then an injury: Reid got a stick in the face and he fell into the boards. He had to be helped off the ice, as he couldn’t put weight on the left leg. He didn’t return to the game. (Later, on the Rogers television broadcast you could see his skate catch the boards as he fell.)

Hulit scored his third SH goal of the series (4-2). A beautiful pass by Talbot, who skated with the puck down the left side and made a sweet pass to Hulit.

Battochio comes out to congratulate Hulit, Talbot.

Sudbury had trouble getting the PP set up. At one point Battochio lost his stick – it was lying a couple feet to the right of him; he was using the stick of one of his D-men – and Foligno kicked it away.

The period ended with a break-away for Mancari, where he scored with about 7 seconds left in the period. He was hanging out at centre ice, watching and waiting. When the puck rebounded off some legs, Bonello caught it and passed it out of the zone. Mancari was off . . . he waited . . . waited . . . and shot it through Ehelechner’s legs.

Generally, the 67s continued having trouble with the PP – getting puck control, getting set up, etc. At times the Wolves looked stronger – skating faster, forechecking, looking like they wanted it more. Again the Wolves had more SOG at the end of the 2nd – 34 for Sudbury and 26 for Ottawa, but the 67s were up 5-2.

Battochio ready . . . and calm and collected.

Third Period. A scary moment for Ottawa about 4 minutes into the third. Battochio caught the puck in the shoulder/neck area making a save and went down. Patafie came out but thankfully Danny was okay and play resumed. Again the 67s’ PP was flat. Sudbury did a good job clearing their zone. The Wolves got away with a very obvious too many men at one point. Van Herpt had a huge check on Blaho.

Mancari gets a chance, Ehelechner makes the save.

Near the end of the period, Battochio came out behind the net to corral the puck and Eaton checked him – gently, but still – so Van Herpt came to his defence. Akeson also got involved. Eaton was given a penalty for g-tender interference and a 10 min misconduct, and Akeson a 10 min misconduct. There was no further scoring. The 67s were 0/5 on the PP (Sudbury 0/3). The SOG at the end of the game were 37 for Ottawa and 49 for Sudbury. Ottawa won 5-2.

Ottawa wins Game 4 - Woo Hoo!

A few miscellaneous notes:
* Ehelechner stayed in net for the entire game.
* Bickell seemed to be ‘off’ somehow, like he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to be positioned at times. A side-effect from his broken nose and eye (and accompanying meds)?
* Mancari played very gingerly at times. You could see him stretching and sometimes grimacing after whistle stoppages.
* The Wolves’ play at times (imho) was indicative of lack of confidence in the goaltending (i.e., not taking offensive risks with D joining rushes; collecting at the blue line to prevent the 67s from penetrating the zone.)
* I’m so excited about the young’uns on the team for next season. They are such a joy to watch: they’re feisty (Alphonso), speedy (Ouellette), they score (McGinn), and defend (Joslin). Good stuff.

Some other pics from the game:

Bickell’s having a great series.

Ouellette takes the face-off.

Hulit, the SH goal-scoring king.

Staubitz, OHL tough guy!

McGinn, fits in well on top line.

SCORING
OTTAWA
1, Alphonso, (1) (Ouellette, VanderVeeken), 02:25
1, McGinn, (3) (Talbot, Hulit), 05:32
2, Talbot, (6) (Hulit, McGinn), 05:35
2, Hulit, (6) (Talbot, Colbert), 14:16 (SH)
2, Mancari, (6) (Bonello, Colbert), 19:53

SUDBURY
1, Chaumont, (5) (Hastings, Pouliot), 16:18
2, McDonough, (1) (D'Aversa, Blaho), 02:32

THREE STARS
OHL three stars were: (1) Battochio, (2) Talbot, and (3) Colbert.

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

REFFING
Hobor.

ATTENDANCE
9862. A sell-out. The CC was packed and LOUD!

NEXT UP
Game 5 – Friday, April 15, 2005, 7:30 pm, Ottawa @ Sudbury
*Game 6 – Sunday, April 17, 2005, 2:00 pm, Sudbury @ Ottawa
*Game 7 – Monday, April 18, 2005, 7:30 pm, Ottawa @ Sudbury

*Game to be Played If Necessary