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Ottawa 67′s defence could be decimated: OHL post-game questions

Neate Sager

New York Islanders draft pick Mitchell Theoret ended a goaltenders' duel 5:10 into overtime for the Niagara IceDogs, who open the third round with a 2-1 home-ice overtime win like they did in the previous round against Brampton. Meantime, injuries and a suspendable offence involving two veteran Ottawa defenders seem to the main post-game questions.

Niagara 2 Ottawa 1 (IceDogs lead Eastern Conference series 2-0; Game 2 on Sunday) — How much trouble would Ottawa be in if it loses Marc Zanetti and Jake Cardwell for any length of time? Not only is Zanetti out for Game 2 (at least)status for Game 2 possibly in jeopardy after he kicked Niagara's Tom Kühnhackl in the head during a skirmish that ensued following the IceDogs' third-period goal, but there is concern about Cardwell. The 19-year-old defenceman, who plays in all situations for the underdog 67's, blocked a slapshot on his right ankle during the second period and went off in pain. He finished the game and heavens knows the pain threshold for a hockey player is better than yours and mine, but he could be limited.

The 67's defence suffered a huge loss when Jake Cardwell had to leave the game after taking a shot from the point off his left ankle. He was already playing with an infected foot. (Ottawa Citizen)

The 67's rely heavily on potential top-10 NHL pick Cody Ceci, Cardwell, Zanetti and Michal (Big Mike) Cajkovsky to hold down their back end. There were times during Zanetti's five-game suspension in the first round of the playoffs where they seemed to have a three-man defence, so they are a little thin. They also won't have three TV timeouts per period in Game 2 on Sunday in St. Catharines. The soft ice at the Jack Gatecliff Arena might help with containing the IceDogs forwards.

How did the last series lead the IceDogs into this series? You mean having to be prepared to bide their time to score on a Czech goaltender? As noted up top, in Game 1 of the second round the IceDogs went to overtime against the Brampton Battalion and goalie Matej Machovsky before winger David Pacan sniped the winner. They went on to sweep.

Ottawa's Petr Mrazek (49 saves) played near his peak on Friday, bringing his game to the same level as Mark Visentin, who had the lowest goals-against average in major junior this season. Niagara had to be perfect to beat the Detroit Red Wings prospect. Kühnhackl's goal not only involved a sweet deke but Ryan Strome patiently setting up along the half-wall before bisecting Ottawa's coverage by finding his 6-foot-2 linemate, who had used his extended stride to get a step on 5-foot-7 Ottawa checker Brett Gustavsen as he bulled toward the goal. That came on Niagara's 40th shot. Theoret's winner was on their 51st. So the sticktoitiveness (not a word) satisfied Niagara coach-GM Marty Williamson, whose team is now on a seven-game win streak.

From Bill Potrecz:

Williamson was also pleased how his club stuck to the game plan, even as Mrazek kicked out shot after shot.

"We did stay patient," Williamson said. "We had to do it against Brampton. We learned it against Oshawa a little bit and we believe that's our game, staying patient and waiting for opportunities.

"We don't need cheating and forcing things. The first period wasn't our kind of period, but I thought we settled down." (St. Catharines Standard)

Visentin was sharp with 41 saves. He did look unprepared on Ottawa's goal when Nicholas Foglia banked the puck off his pad and into the net after beating a defender to a loose puck.

Did the 67's bus trip from their hotel really last longer than one of their trips home from Barrie? As Sportsnet's Rob Faulds related on air, Ottawa ended up staying in Mississauga, Ont., since a minor hockey tournament has packed hotels in St. Catharines. As anyone who's even spent time in Southern Ontario could attest, Friday afternoons tend to be bad for traffic. So Ottawa was tied up on the Queen Elizabeth Way for more than 90 minutes before arriving at 5:48 p.m. ET for a scheduled 7 p.m. game.

Following Game 4 in the last round against Barrie, Ottawa took a 45-minute flight home. The extra rest might have helped them get over the hump; they won the next night to start their climb back from a 3-1 series deficit.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.