67’S CAPTAIN MAKES UP FOR DISALLOWED GOAL WITH WINNER
Ottawa’s Chmelevski takes page out of Maple Leafs’ Matthews playbook
After the first one got called back, I said I was going to make sure they counted the next one.
After being denied his 24th goal earlier by, of all people, the video review official, Sasha Chmelevski wasn’t leaving anything to chance on his next goal.
The Ottawa 67’s star and scoring leader told himself just that the moment his original goal was disallowed after a painstaking delay to review, then determine, a missed offside call just two minutes into the second period to negate a goal that would have given the 67’s a 3-1 lead.
So when Chmelevski roofed the game-winner 5:51 into the third period he even one-upped Toronto Maple Leafs star Austen Matthews with not one, but two distinct “good goal” signals, pointing at the net from his vantage point to the side of the net to make things even a little more obvious for both the referees and goal judge.
Just for good measure, Chmelevski also capped the 67’s 5-3 win over the Peterborough Petes Sunday afternoon in the Arena at TD Place with a nifty empty-netter with 16.7 seconds to play as the 67’s celebrated their own Super Sunday by moving eight points up on the Petes in the battle for one of the final two playoffs spots in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.
“After the first one got called back, I said I was going to make sure they counted the next one,” said Chmelevski, who now has 25 goals and 49 points through 50 games. “I was pretty pissed off.
But I didn’t let it get to me. I stayed focused. And I said to myself if I scored again I’m doing (the gesture).”
And now if Chmelevski never cracks the San Jose Sharks lineup, he always has a fallback second occupation waiting as that of an on-ice official.
But for the present, the 67’s need Chmelevski’s offence and there’s no denying the 67’s may not have scored a bigger goal all season as the 67’s have almost single-handedly kept the Petes around in the playoff conversation. Two of the Petes’ last three wins had come against the 67’s and they were less than 16 minutes from making that three of their last four against Ottawa.
That was until Tye Felhaber and Chmelevski took charge with goals 59 seconds apart early in the third to give the 67’s a 4-3 lead.
The difference is an easy as the math in the conference standings. It could have been the Petes down just four points on Ottawa or up to eight and now they are almost officially out of the playoff picture.
On the 67’s side, meanwhile, they continue to add to something of a post-season push with 17 points in their past 13 games since the new year and points in six straight.
“We talked a lot about the difference and about them creeping up and what a win would mean,” Chmelevski said. “Now we have them a little further back in the rear-view mirror and now there’s no looking back.”
The teams were tied 1-1 after 20 minutes in a period the 67’s dominated, outshooting the Petes 17-8.
All they had to show for it, however, was a power-play goal by Jacob Cascagnette at 10:46 to even things after Chris Paquette had put the Petes up just past the five-minute mark.
The opening period also saw a little feistiness on both sides with first 67’s rookie Lucas Peric run from behind into the boards. That play went unpenalized.
Then, in the late stages, 67’s six-foot-seven defenceman Kevin Bahl was nailed from behind into the boards and when Bahl got back into the play he nailed Pete Cole Fraser. Bahl was assessed a match penalty for a check to the head. Bahl, who can’t help being as towering as he is, will face an automatic suspension that could grow in length when the league reviews it.
Fortunately, the 67’s weathered the major rather well with rookie Mitchell Hoelscher scoring short-handed 46 seconds into the second period and two minutes into the five-minute penalty.
What really hurt was when Chmelevski’s goal was called back, Peterborough’s Zach Gallant scored at 2:37 in it marked really a two-goal swing.
And teammate Nikita Korostelev sent the Petes into the third up 3-2 with a goal at 18:20.