Red-hot 67’s taking aim at franchise goal mark
In last 13 games, team has racked up 25 of a possible 26 points to lead OHL
By the time the Ottawa 67’s regular season ends a month from Sunday, communications ace Alex Pilote could be working overtime doing a rewrite on the 51-year-old franchise record book.
The sizzling 67’s continued their assault on the single-season franchise record of 104 points set by the 1996-97 edition on the strength of a hat-trick by Kyle Maksimovich to turn back the Hamilton Bulldogs 8-1 Friday night in The Arena at TD Place before a Winterlude crowd of 3,078
The win stretched the 67’s amazing run to more than a full calendar month without a loss in regulation, giving them 25 of a possible 26 points in their last 13 games dating back to a Jan. 13 loss at Guelph.
It’s propelled them to the best record in the Ontario Hockey League, at 42-9-3.
In that time, the 67’s have also outscored their opposition 65-28 for that kind of mad dash that has also pushed them to a 108-point pace, and potentially their first Eastern Conference title since, strangely enough, 1996-97.
Upcoming are two more home games Sunday (versus Kitchener) and Family Day (North Bay) before the 67’s head into their final 10-game stretch to the playoffs.
Now, 100-point and 50-win seasons are nothing new to Maksimovich. In his first three seasons with the Erie Otters, they posted point totals of 104, 105 and 103.
Still, the 67’s may do even better. They have 12 games to earn another eight wins to hit 50 and are just 11 points short of 100.
“My first year we had (Connor) McDavid, so nothing comes similar to that,” said Maksimovich, now with 11 goals and 21 points since joining the 67’s 16 games ago. “It’s hard to rank teams. But going after 100 points and 50 wins is tough to do in this league.
“My goal every year was to make the playoffs and have a long run in the playoffs, and I was fortunate to do that my first three years in Erie. And now I feel blessed to be here.”
Trade deadline acquisition Maksimovich registered his 300th OHL point by sending the 67’s out front just 2:18 in before Hamilton’s Logan Morrison tied it six minutes later.
The 67’s got things going in the second, however, breaking out while killing a penalty midway through the period.
Maksimovich again showed his offensive prowess with his 33rd goal of the season at 9:50 and hard-charging Sasha Chmelevski notched his 23rd of the season 83 seconds later on the same penalty kill, giving the 67’s 12 short-handed goals for the season.
Assistant coach Mario Duhamel “had a plan,” said 67’s head coach Andre Tourigny. “Mario noticed they went with the same five for the full two minutes, so Mario had a plan.”
As for Maksimovich’s arrival, Tourigny said his addition to the roster was seamless, and now he knows his player a lot better than he did a month ago.
“Our GM and scouts liked Kyle’s all-around game,” Tourigny said. “I did not know too much about him. But it’s not just about his numbers. He plays a hard game. I like the way he carries himself too.”
Back at the 67’s net, Cedrick Andree was posting his 31st win of the season while waiting for equipment expert Chris Hamilton to add him to the short list of 67’s netminders who have posted 30 or more wins in a single campaign.
Noel Hoefenmayer gave Andree even more breathing room with a blast from the point 3:33 into the third to tie his OHL career-high with his 14th of the season.
That left it for Maksimovich to complete his fourth threegoal game of the season on the power play three minutes later, and the rout was on. Sam Bitten stretched the lead to 6-1 with his 11th of the year and Chmelevski and Marco Rossi rounded things out.