Barber Poles make it six straight with 5-2 win over Saginaw
OTTAWA – The Ottawa 67’s made it six wins in a row on Sunday afternoon, as they defeated the top team in the OHL’s Western Conference, the Saginaw Spirit, by a final score of 5-2. Cedrick Andree made 39 saves for Ottawa, while Marco Rossi, Adam Varga, Austen Keating and Jack Quinn (twice) were the goal scorers for the home team.
Marco Rossi scored the game’s first goal with his 28th of the season, after he found himself alone in front of Saginaw goaltender Marshall Frappier and beat him blocker side. The 67’s went on to find themselves shorthanded after a double minor penalty, but Austen Keating and Adam Varga found a way to help the 67’s out on the scoresheet, as they made the most of a 2-on-1 chance that Varga simply had to tap in after a beautiful feed from Ottawa’s number 9.
Almost halfway through the second, the OHL’s top scorer, Cole Perfetti, was able to beat Cedrick Andree thanks to a precise shot right off the faceoff, cutting Ottawa’s lead in half. Austen Keating went on to restore the Barber Poles’ two goal lead a minute and a half before the two sides headed to the locker rooms with a perfect shot of his own.
Saginaw’s DJ Busdeker made things interesting at 12:44 of the third period when he made it 3-2, but the 67’s would have a very quick answer for this one, as Jack Quinn took only 57 seconds to make it 4-2 Ottawa. Quinn was able to hop on a breakaway after Mitch Hoelscher cut up a play in the defensive zone before feeding it to a flying Jack Quinn, who benefited from a little luck as the rebound from his initial shot hit his skate and went in. The goal was reviewed before it was confirmed. Quinn went on to add another one, making it 37 on the year for him, in an empty cage.
Ottawa now sees their current win streak stretch to six games. The Barber Poles will hit the road this week, as they visit the Niagara IceDogs on Thursday and the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday, before coming back home to face the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Sunday afternoon, in what will be a 2:00 PM opening puck drop.
POST GAME COMMENTS
Head Coach André Tourigny
“I think we got better and better as the game went on. I really liked the fight in our guys and also the way we defended on the PK. I like a lot of things about our game, I think we learned during the game how to play against a good strong team, how to manage the puck better, how to fight through, and I really liked the fight in our guys today.”
F Austen Keating
“I felt really good. Obviously yesterday was my first game back, so it was tough getting the rust off but Derek Miller and Sean Young did a great job making sure I was ready to go and my linemates are two incredible players and their instincts make it easy to play with. Games like today, I think we all like to play in these big games and it helped the three of us.”
GAME NOTES
- Three Stars of the game: * Austen Keating (1G, 2A) ; ** Cedrick Andree (39 saves); *** Noel Hoefenmayer (1 A)
- After putting up no goals in 14 games this season with the Mississauga Steelheads, Adam Varga now has six goals with the 67’s in 25 games since being traded to Ottawa.
- With another win today, Cedrick Andree added to his league leading (now) 25 W’s this season.
- Jack Quinn is the OHL’s goal scoring leader with a total of 37 on the year.
- Ottawa’s Penalty Kill was outstanding in this one, as they stopped all six Saginaw power plays from scoring
