EARLY START NOT TO BLAME FOR LOSS, SAYS BARRON
Morning games are something juniors think they leave behind with their last tournament in minor midget. The lone exception is that one School Day special the Ottawa 67’s first invented 11 seasons ago and is now all the rage across junior hockey. Still, the 10:30 a.m. drop of the puck can be a rude awakening for some and the 67’s were out of Wednesday’s game with the Kingston Frontenacs almost before morning recess. “If some guys have a routine, well, this early start could affect it,” said 67’s captain Travis Barron, now a veteran of four such events. “But this is one of those days you’re supposed to wake up excited to play. “The younger guys are excited, for sure, and I still get excited about it. “So I don’t think the early start had that much effect on what happened. We just handed them some opportunities and they took advantage.” A trio of Kingston goals came seven minutes in and Barron tried to get his team going by jumping up a weight class and fighting six-foot-three, 208-pound Kingston heavyweight Jacob Paquette, Barron spotting his opponent two inches and 15 pounds. Barron was asked if he thought twice about exchanging punches in front of so many impressionable youngsters, not that the kids seemed to mind. “I tried to give us a spark and I took a hit and didn’t like it and the gloves were off before I had time to think,” said Barron. “So no, I didn’t think about it. It was a good fight.”