67’s skate to home shootout win over lackadaisical Peterborough
Just an hour before puck drop, Ottawa 67’s head coach Jeff Brown was praising his players for having cut the shots on goal against down from the 40-to-60 range of last season to a more respectable 30 to 35.
“You know in this league (holding a team to) 30 is a great night,” said Brown.
His 67’s then went out and held the offensively-challenged Peterborough Petes to exactly half that 30-shots figure — yes, 15 — in regulation, though the 67’s still needed goals by Brendan Bell and Nathan Todd in a shootout to turn back the Petes 2-1 on Friday night at the TD Place arena.
The Petes, who at times looked as though they were chasing some kind of Ontario Hockey League record for icing the puck, registered period shot totals of six, four and five in regulation time, then just one in overtime.
In fact, 67’s goaltender Liam Herbst may not have broken a sweat until his two shootout saves made him a winner for the 10th time this season. The Petes skated for 12 minutes 28 seconds before their first shot of the third.
The win pushed the 67’s into a lofty third place overall in the Eastern Conference and they turn around Saturday and head west on Highway 7 for a rematch with the Petes, then return home for a Sunday afternoon contest with the Kitchener Rangers.
The 67’s home record now stands at 9-0-1 after they admittedly caught a break playing a Petes team minus its top scorer, Nick Ritchie, 10th pick overall in the 2014 NHL draft by Anaheim.
Petes head coach Jody Hull would only say his leader’s absence was an internal disciplinary matter that also involved other players. Ritchie’s absence deprived the Petes lineup of a player with 12 goals and 25 points, meaning Ritchie has figured in more than a third of the Petes’ total of 70 goals before heading into the 67’s home-and-home.
Ritchie, a power forward if ever there was one, is a difference-maker and his not being on the ice likely made a difference.
As it was, 67’s captain Travis Konecny continued his torrid scoring pace with his fifth goal in four games just two minutes in.
The Petes tied it late in the period on a goal by Josh MacDonald, just a second after the 67’s had successfully killed a penalty.
The teams then skated though a dull middle 20 minutes of scoreless hockey, Ottawa managing to outshoot the Petes 6-4.
The period was so bad that when public address announcer Howie Mooney announced late in the second intermission “we now present the second-period highlights sponsored by Cineplex” there were none to show. Really.
As for the 67’s, they hit the unofficial one-third mark of the season with 12 wins. Consider that last year’s 67’s didn’t record a 12th win until Dec. 28 and one can gauge just how much the still young club has improved.
“I’m not one to divide the season into segments, but after starting out 0-4 I have to be (happy),” said Brown.