In Ottawa, Anthony Peters made 40 saves in a losing effort as the 67’s posted a 3-2 win over a hard working Belleville Bulls club.
The first period was an even affair with both teams playing a solid defensive period. Belleville had the best chances of the frame but 67’s goalie Chris Perugini was up to the task when called upon making some nice pad saves. Luke Judson spent 10 minutes in the box after being caught for a mouth-guard violation. Shots on goal in the period were even at 10-10.
After a lackluster power-play effort by Belleville, Cody Lindsay scored his 27th goal after his 2-on-1 pass caromed off a Bulls defender’s skate and into the goal to give the homeside a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the frame. Right off the following face-off at centre ice, Luke Judson and Dalton Smith dropped the gloves with Smith delivering a knock-down blow to win the fight. Just four minutes later, Lindsay was able to net his second marker of the game after a Bulls defensive breakdown left him all alone at the side of Anthony Peters’ goal.
The Bulls were able to respond midway through the period as Scott Howe, who’s been on a bit of a roll lately, fired a spinerama shot past Perugini to earn his 4th goal of the season. Brett Catto and Branden Eden earned assists on the play. That goal would be the sum of Belleville’s offensive effort in the period as Ottawa was in control for most of the frame buzzing around the Belleville net and taking advantage of numerous Bulls’ breakdowns and turnovers. If it hadn’t been for Anthony Peters things could have been much worse for Belleville. Shots on goal favoured Ottawa 19-11.
The third period saw Belleville start out fast as Richard Panik picked the top corner after taking a nice Kyle Decoste pass to tie the game 2-2. Adam Payerl earned an assist on Panik’s 15th goal of the season. Ottawa was able to regain the lead a few minutes later as Panik’s blind backhand pass in the Ottawa end lead to a 2on1 the other way that saw Tyler Toffoli hammer a slapshot over Peters’ glove hand. The goal was Toffoli’s 28th of the season. DeCoste had the best Belleville chance to tie the game late in the game but Perugini came across to make a nice pad save and the 67’s were able to skate away with a 3-2 win. 14-12 in favour of Ottawa in the frame for a game total of43-32.
Notes
Announced attendance was 6,011…Belleville went 0/2 on the power-play while Ottawa was 0/3…Three stars were 3)Panik, 2)Toffoli 1)Lindsay…Alex Basso was out with (stomach virus/flu) so Julian Luciani drew in and had a solid game playing with jam and not backing down against older players…Andy Bathgate will be sidelined for a couple of weeks (shoulder)…Other bright spots for the Bulls was the pairing of Steven Strong and Paul Bezzo and the work of DeCoste who had his share of chances and set up Panik’s goal with a pretty pass…
More notes
As the season goes on the games get more and more intense and earning a win becomes more and more difficult. When the Bulls play an upper-level team like Ottawa, to win they’ll need to play an almost perfect game and get some luck. It’s tough on the young squad when older teams come in and execute their game play. Credit to the younger kids who never quit.
To put it another way, every Bulls game from here on out is like trying to bake a loaf of bread. For the loaf to turn out properly and rise, you’ll need every ingredient mixed in or else it won’t work out.
Recipe for a Bulls win
- Quality Goaltending – They got that tonight (Check!)
- Near-perfect Defensive Zone Coverage and limited turnover – Wasn’t the case tonight, breakdowns cost them especially on Lindsay’s second goal and the puck got turned over in all three zones tonight and cost them
- Their veterans have to lead the way - Didn’t happen tonight. Shawn Lalonde continues to regress with turnovers on bad pinches on which he doesn’t skate hard to get back. Other vets struggled tonight both on defence and up front.
- They have to outwork other teams or catch them asleep – Ottawa imposed their will in the second. Bulls weren’t outworked but Ottawa came to play tonight and they’re an older and bigger team (half check) This also applies to a 60 minute effort. Being good in one period but then poor in the next is a back breaker.
- Special Teams need to be good – Tonight the refs stayed out of the game but there have been numerous instances over the course of the year where the Bulls have gone to the power-play only to lose momentum once the two minutes are over.
This is a blue-print you can apply to just about any team in any scenario but with a young developing team like the Bulls, at this stage in the season, all five check marks need to be present to get the win.(Maybe you can get away with only four) They just can’t win on talent, or special teams or great goaltending alone. It has to all come together. That’s a tall order for such a young team, probably too tall. The OHL is a tough league, but the youngsters are paying their dues and learning some harsh lessons that will see them become better players in the future.
Again, I want to give credit to the overall work ethic of the team, especially the young players. They don’t quit and they deserve the ovation they get after every home game. It’s a good sign, once this team gets some size and experience we’ll see huge progress because of the yeoman’s work they put in now.
