67’s-IceDogs ‘going to be pretty even’
It’s a difficult task to pick a favourite in the OHL Eastern Conference quarter-final series between the Niagara IceDogs and the Ottawa 67’s.
Niagara finished in fourth place, two points ahead of Ottawa in the standings. But the 67’s recorded one more regular-season win.
“It’s going to be pretty even,” IceDogs head coach/GM Marty Williamson said as the teams prepared for Game 1 on Thursday night in St. Catharines. “We gave up 21 less goals, they scored 21 more, and our plus-minus is identical. They played us hard during the year and have good goaltending.”
Williamson feels his squad, which boasts 10 NHL draft picks, is deeper than Ottawa’s, but the 67’s are a pesky team with good speed.
“We have to make sure we match that every night, because they are a team that doesn’t go away,” he said.
Ottawa GM/coach Jeff Brown is expecting a competitive series, much like last year’s quarter-final matchup, won 4-2 by Niagara.
“They’ve got a lot of size and brains and great goaltending,” Brown said. “If we don’t come with our best, we don’t have a chance against these guys. If we do come with our best, we have a shot.”
Ottawa won the first game of the regular season between the two clubs and Niagara took the next three.
“We played them early, and the last time we played them they had a bunch of injuries so you really can’t put much stock in it,” Williamson said. “They won one more game than we did, so we have to go prove ourselves Thursday and move on from there.” Brown echoes those sentiments. “It’s a whole new season and we’re getting somewhat healthy,” he said. “We’re excited to see what we can accomplish in these playoffs.”
Both squads enter the playoffs on a roll.
The 67’s won their final six games of the regular season, while Niagara went 6-3-1 down the stretch, including a big win over Kingston.
“There were some games late in the season that were kind of meaningless games, but at the same time we’ve had some good games down the stretch and we certainly should have some confidence,” Brown said.
Niagara, ranked third in the preseason, is finally playing to its full capability.
“We’re feeling better about our team,” Williamson said. “There’s much more accountability and I like the way we are playing.”
To be successful, Brown needs his team to play with confidence.
“We have a good team and we need to get off to a good start against these guys,” he said. “They are strong front-runners and it’s important to get good starts against them.”
For the IceDogs to win, they will need to play strong defence, limit Ottawa’s chances and oddman rushes, and forecheck well, Williamson said.
“We need to get on them hard and play a physical and heavy game,” he said.
“But the line I draw is we have to be disciplined.”
Williamson describes Ottawa as a team that doesn’t shoot itself in the foot.
“They are the least-penalized team on our side. There’s 250 minutes difference, and that’s a big difference. We kill penalties very well, but that can’t be the difference in this series.”
In coming up with a game plan, Brown isn’t going to key in on any particular line or player.
“It’s kind of like the old Yankees,” he said. “It’s Murderers’ Row and they have a whole bunch of guys who can hurt you. We are going to have to be on our game every shift and not take any shifts off, because that’s when they jump up and get you.”