It’s been a long time since there was a meaningful hockey game played in the City of Ottawa.
Almost two years, in fact. It was Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Craig Anderson stood on his head, Bobby Ryan scored a power play goal and Mike Hoffman ripped a shot so perfect, you’d have to see it to believe it.
In fact, if I close my eyes, I can still hear it. The sound of black rubber meeting red steel followed by 20,000 people absolutely losing their minds. But I digress.
Like I was saying, it’s been a while since the Nation’s Capital hosted a hockey game that truly mattered.
That’s why with the Senators season long over and the NHL playoffs failing to fully capture my attention, it’s time to shine a spotlight on the incredible run of the team that plays down at TD Place.
The Ottawa 67’s, one of the most dominant Junior teams in history, will host Game 1 of the OHL Final against the Guelph Storm tomorrow night.
Still plenty of tickets available too.
If you haven’t been following them up to this point, the 67’s are certainly a team worthy of your attention. They cruised to a first place finish in the regular season, putting up an absurd 50-12-4 record, outscoring their opponents by 113 goals in just 68 games.
And yet somehow, they’ve managed to find another gear in the post-season.
Undefeated through three rounds. 12 up, 12 down. In series sweeps over Hamilton, Sudbury and Oshawa, they scored an appropriate 67 goals while giving up just 29.
It’s an almost unheard stretch of dominance in Junior hockey.
Production has come from throughout their line up but Tye Felhaber(Dallas Stars), Lucas Chiodo (undrafted) and Sasha Chmelevski (San Jose) have led the way. Michael DiPietro, a Vancouver Canucks prospect, has been solid in goal putting up a 2.26 GAA and .913 sv% and of course, a 12-0-0 record.
Yet as dominant as the 67’s have been this year, the Guelph Storm are certainly not a team they can afford to take lightly.
While their run to the OHL Finals hasn’t nearly smooth as the 67’s, it has been pretty damn impressive.
In the Western Conference Finals against Saginaw, they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit. That would seem pretty remarkable if they hadn’t just done something similar the round before. Down 3-0 to the London Knights in Round 2, the Storm battled all the way back.
Montreal Canadiens first round pick Nick Suzukihas led the way for the Storm, racking up a ridiculous 31 points in 18 playoff games. Their supporting cast includes 20 year old Isaac Ratcliffe, a second round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, and defenceman Dmitri Samorukov, drafted by the Oilers in 2017.
There’s no doubt that the Guelph Storm pose the toughest challenge the 67’s gave faced to date.
The winner books their spot in the Memorial Cup. Prince Albert and Vancouver are squaring off in the WHL final while Rouyn-Noranda and Halifax are left standing in the QMJHL.
If you’re an Ottawa resident looking to watching some meaningful hockey, the Ottawa 67’s are the best show in town right now.
-Not a lot of traction on the Coaching front recently but there was one interesting bit of information that was sent my way yesterday. Maybe not news worthy but through some second-hand information, confirmation that Jacques Martin is indeed interested in a return to Ottawa. Doesn’t mean he’s the guy Ottawa goes with but he is interested. Meanwhile, some Buffalo Sabres beat writers have been suggesting Martin isn’t really a candidate for their opening. It’s possible Pierre Dorion is waiting to talk to Columbus Assistant Brad Shaw before making a decision. Probably a good idea.
-I’m hearing reports that the television show The Simpsons recently said something about the Ottawa Senators. Trying to track down more information on this story. Stay tuned for updates.
