Barber Poles looking for home-and-home split with Generals

For the second time in three days, the Ottawa 67’s (14-17-3-5) and the Oshawa Generals (24-13-2-1) will do battle, with the scenery shifting to the Tribute Communities Centre for a 6:05 p.m. puck drop. You can catch all the action on Rogers TV or CHLTV, or you can hear Kenny Walls’ call on 580 CFRA.

Since the turn of the calendar, the Barber Poles are 0-4-1-0, but are hanging onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Luca Pinelli has returned to the lineup, and now stands tied for 16th in all-time 67’s goal scoring with 113.

The new year has been nearly perfect for the Generals, winning three of four games, including a 7-0 romp over the Flint Firebirds. At the trade deadline, they added Andrew Gibson, who represented Team Canada at the World Juniors, to the fold.

On Friday night, these two teams churned out a highly spirited contest, with the Gennies finding a last-minute winner in the end. Beckett Sennecke scored a pair of goals, and Gibson scored the winner, while Filip Ekberg and Pinelli did the damage for the Barber Poles.

Including their victory last time, the Generals have taken the past three head-to-head games with Ottawa, but the 67’s have a win in the bank, coming at the beginning of the year.

By the numbers

Keys to the game 

• Again

Ottawa played really solid hockey against this same opponent on Friday. Do it again, and the result might be different.

• Work

Win puck battles, win the front of the net, win on effort plays, and you’ll win the game.

• Positive

Keep your head high, and stay in the game no matter what. Keep fighting right until the final buzzer.