Backup Battle Breaks 67's Skid Against Fronts

A three-goal outburst in the first half of the third period on Saturday kept Ottawa’s perfect home regulation record intact, a 7-4 win over a Kingston team that has dominated the 67’s for years in the Nation’s Capital.

The win, as good as it looks on the scoresheet, wasn’t the most convincing to the eye-test.

“We won but it wasn't pretty,” said Jeff Brown.  “I feel like this was a game that we didn't deserve to win.”

Saturday’s matinee was a battle of the backups, a matchup that fared well the for the home side as Leo Lazarev, in the ninth start of his rookie season, heavily outdueled Jeremy Helvig, who is still without an OHL win.

Through 40 minutes, Lazarev was the best player on the ice on either side.

At the other end, Ottawa took advantage of every break they could, converting on three consecutive powerplays. 

“We found ways to score and find a way to win, which is a sign of a good team,” added Brown.

Travis Konecny scored on a one-timer, while Tyler Hill beat two defenders to the net to flip it past Helvig.

Dante Salituro followed it up with a tap-in on the powerplay early in the second, while Hill added his second of the afternoon, the second two-goal performance of his OHL career.

Despite being one of the league’s top third period teams, the 67’s weren’t in the clear after the game’s midway point.  Conor McGlynn and Ryan Kujawinski added a pair of goals to erase a 4-2 deficit for the Fronts.

But Erik Bradford, who suffered a broken leg last time the Frontenacs played in Ottawa, registered the eventual game-winner 22 seconds after Kujawinski’s marker.

Jeremiah Addison and Taylor Davis, with his first of the year, piled on in the two minutes that followed.

The win, Ottawa’s first over Kingston in 10 chances, puts them ahead of the Frontenacs in the East.

Game sheet here.

Assorted Notes:

• Salituro may have deserved the game's Hardest Working 67 more than any other player this year.  He was a force at both ends of the ice, before and after his tally
• Lazarev was the best player on the ice for the first 40 minutes, but that doesn't mean he wasn't outstanding in the third either.  He chalked up 31 stops on the afternoon in a game that solidifies the team's healthy goaltending duel
• Hill seems to have fun with these divisional games, his only other game with a pair of tallies was against Belleville in November of 2013
• Addison had a fire lit under him after a second period dust-up with McGlynn.  Even with his gloves off, the rugged winger still hasn't received the first fighting major of the season.  Last place in the OHL in fighting majors, it's doubtful the 67's face any suspensions this season under the 10-fight rule.