67’s head home in tied series after Game 2 win
They say in the playoffs, all you need is a split on the road, and the Ottawa 67’s accomplished that mission Sunday night in Brantford.
After a 5-2 loss to the Bulldogs in Game 1, where special teams were the deciding factor, the 67’s rode a shorthanded goal by Luca Pinelli, and a powerplay marker from Sam Mayer to earn a critical 6-3 victory in Game 2.
Collin MacKenzie out duelled Matteo Drobac in goal, for his first win of the postseason, turning aside 27 of 30 shots on the night.
The home side came out flying once again, as Montreal Canadiens prospect Florian Xhekaj opened the scoring for Brantford just 1:01 in.
Not eager to let another game slip away, the 67’s found their composure, and it resulted in a pair of late goals to stun the Brantford Civic Centre crowd by the end of the opening period. First, it was Cooper Foster sliding his first of two on the night past Drobac from the goal line to even the score, and 36 seconds later, a Frankie Marrelli point shot found its way through a maze of bodies, giving Ottawa their first lead of the series.
Calvin Crombie brought the score back even early in the middle period, but 3:02 after his second marker of the series, the 67’s captain came up big once again. With the Bulldogs on the powerplay, Jacob Maillet made a terrific steal in the offensive zone, and fed Pinelli, who beat Drobac with a laser for his second in as many games.
Near the end of the period, their powerplay drought finally ended, as well. Pinelli got the puck to Jack Dever, and Mayer blasted home his pass with a one-timer, for what held up as the game-winner.
Patrick Thomas drew the Bulldogs close with just over four minutes to play, but empty net goals from Foster, and Braeden Kressler sent the once-raucous home crowd heading for the exits, as the 67’s skated off with a 6-3 win, and a tied series.
Game 3 goes down on Tuesday night, in a 7:00pm puck drop inside The Arena at TD Place.