67’s even up playoff series
Hot goalie cools off potent Steelheads
Ottawa 67’s goalie Leo Lazarev shut down one of the hottest offences in junior hockey at the perfect time.
The seventh-seeded 67’s will return to TD Place with a muchneeded split after a 4-0 victory against the No. 2 Mississauga Steelheads in Game 2 of their bestof-seven Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference quarter-final on Sunday before a sparse gathering at the Hershey Centre.
The Steelheads, the highest scoring team in the East and one of the best squads anywhere in the second half of the regular season, couldn’t put any of their 31 shots past Lazarev. Meanwhile, the 67’s got to Steelheads rookie netminder Jacob Ingham for three goals in less than four minutes late in the second period and avenged a 6-2 defeat in Game 1 on Friday.
“Unreal, unbelievable,” 67’s winger Tye Felhaber said of the Moscow-born Lazarev, who notched his first shutout in nine OHL playoff games overall. “He’s been standing on his head for the past month.”
Any thoughts of a Steelheads comeback were thwarted in the third period, when Lazarev slid across his crease to block a Nicolas Hague rebound before he stoned Jacob Cascagnette from close range.
The road win came after the 67’s lost 11 of 13 contests away from TD Place arena to start the new year.
“It’s 1-1 right now. Who cares what was in the past?” Lazarev said. “We have home advantage, we have two games at home and we have to take care of business and (get) some wins.”
The 67’s received a big boost from their power play as Travis Barron and Sasha Chmelevski both scored on the man advantage late in the second period. Neither goal was particularly pretty, a point head coach and general manager Jeff Brown was sure to hammer home.
“Guys want to be on SportsCentre with the fancy play and that’s not how it works,” Brown said. “It’s simple. You just move it to the open guy, break down pillars and get the puck to the net. That’s what we did and that’s why we were successful.”
Felhaber added an even-strength goal before the second period was done to give Ottawa a commanding lead going into the dressing room.
Ingham, who has been good and should be a top goalie in the league in the years to come, wasn’t at his best Sunday, but Steelheads veteran starter Matthew Mancina remains day-to-day with a lowerbody injury.
Mathieu Foget of Orleans added an empty-netter for the 67’s.
“They kind of took it to us early, but (Lazarev) made the saves we needed and we got our confidence,” Brown said.
“After the initial 10 minutes, I thought we were really good. You can’t win without goaltending and we got it (on Sunday) and that was the difference.”
They ’ll need more of the same on home ice on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The Steelheads have far more firepower, with the likes of Spencer Watson, Michael McLeod and potential 2017 top-10 NHL pick Owen Tippett, but they were neutralized by Lazarev and the 67’s commitment to defence in Game 2.
Ottawa also played a physical game, setting the tone early when winger Artur Tyanulin levelled Tippett with an open-ice hit near the blue line. While Tyanulin was called for roughing (a questionable penalty), a clear message was sent that the 67’s weren’t about to back down.
“We’ve got home ice,” Brown said, “and we’ve got to keep it now.”
They kind of took it to us early, but (Lazarev) made the saves we needed and we got our confidence.