67’s weather Storm, earn two points
The Ottawa 67’s have put back-to-back wins together after taking down the Guelph Storm 5-4 in overtime on Friday night.
The back-and-forth nature of the first frame was complimented by a number of hard forechecks and big hits, but there was nothing to be added to the scoresheet, including penalties.
Standing in stark contrast, the second provided more of an explosive experience for the fans inside The Arena at TD Place. Henry Mews scored his first goal of the season on the power play just over three minutes into the period, and Chris Barlas followed it up with another five minutes later, putting the Barber Poles out in front by a pair.
Guelph trimmed the lead back to one just past the midway point of the period, with Hunter McKenzie notching his third of the year, but the sirens of a hungry 67’s power play unit rung not too far in the distance.
Three minutes separated McKenzie’s marker and Will Gerrior’s power play goal, as he toe-dragged around the defender and beat the Storm netminder to restore the two-goal lead for the home side.
Luca Pinelli finished the frame with a goal of his own, sending Ottawa into the locker room up by three with 20 minutes left to play.
Under seven minutes to play, the Storm got a goal courtesy of Ottawa native Carter Stevens, who tapped home a loose to cut the lead back down to two. With the net vacant, the Storm began surging. Max Namestnikov scored a controversial goal to bring Guelph within a single goal with 1:21 to play.
As luck would have it, that wasn’t it for the Storm. With the seconds ticking away, they rang a shot off the goalpost, which rebounded out, hitting Jaeden Nelson in the back of the leg, before heading toward the goal line. Jake Karabela was right there waiting for it, and tapped it into the net to tie the game with under four seconds to play, sending it to overtime.
There, both sides traded opportunities with the man advantage, but it was the 67’s making the most of theirs, as Mews wired home his second of the night, sending the home fans home happy.
Box score
| Teams | Score | Shots on goal | Power plays |
| Ottawa | 5 | 29 | 3/3 |
| Guelph | 4 | 42 | 0/1 |
First period
No scoring
Second period
1-0: OTT #11 Henry Mews (1) scores. Assists: #20 Luca Pinelli, #34 Filip Ekberg POWER PLAY
2-0: OTT #9 Chris Barlas (2) scores.
2-1: GUE #72 Hunter McKenzie (3) scores. Assists: #20 Leo Serlin
3-1: OTT #23 Will Gerrior (6) scores. Assists: #10 Nic Whitehead, #8 Frankie Marrelli POWER PLAY
4-1: OTT #20 Luca Pinelli (11) scores. Assists: #29 Cooper Foster
Third period
4-2: GUE #96 Carter Stevens (2) scores. Assists: #93 Wil McFadden, #11 Cam Allen
4-3: GUE #26 Max Namestnikov (2) scores.
4-4: GUE #10 Jake Karabela (5) scores. Assists: #4 Rylan Singh, #26 Max Namestnikov
Overtime
5-4: OTT #11 Henry Mews (2) scores. Assists: #20 Luca Pinelli, #10 Nic Whitehead POWER PLAY
Next up
The Barber Poles are back on home ice Sunday afternoon, when they take on Kingston Frontenacs. It’s the first of a home-and-home series, which wraps up with Kingston’s school day game on Wednesday morning. You can get your tickets for Sunday’s game here.
