GAME RECAP: 67’s fight hard, but lose the battle against North Bay

The 67’s end their homestand on a sour note, falling 4-2 to the North Bay Battalion.

“It sucks losing a game like that,” said Brayden Krawczyk. “Second and third, I thought we were kind of all over them.”

“I thought there were little areas of the game we have to clean up,” said Frankie Marrelli. “A little adversity isn’t bad; we’ll learn from it and move on to the next game.”

The first half of the opening frame proved to be a tight one as both teams didn’t give much way defensively. That said, North Bay would start to gain momentum offensively in the back half of the period, with the 67’s getting bailed out by some big stops from Ryder Fetterolf. Battalion leading scorer Ethan Procyszyn would finally break the seal on Fetterolf in the dying minutes of the period. A late penalty would lead to yet another Battalion goal with 8.6 seconds left in the period to put North Bay up 2-0 after 1, while leading in shots 16-8.

“It was a tight start,” said Marrelli. “Guys, I think, came ready to play tonight, just were the little bounces here and there and the little things in the d-zone we need to fix up—but it’s nothing I’m worried about.”

After a disappointing first, the 67’s would begin the second with an extra pep in their step as they’d try to get on the board. The Barber Poles hemmed the Battalion in their own zone across the first quarter of the period before Cooper Foster drew a four minute high sticking call. They wouldn’t capitalize, but they’d get the chance to redeem themselves with another four-minute call. Yet again, they’d find themselves unable to find the twine despite the long man advantage. Thankfully, Frankie Marrelli would break the seal with a point shot to bring the game within one. The 67’s were completely dominant in the second, outshooting North Bay 22-3.

“The second period was our best by far,” he said. “Every line was going; that’s the strength of our team, we have four lines that can roll through.”

The 67’s would tie the game to start the third with a clean shot from Ondrej Ruml. Krawczyk and Kingwell would pick up assists on both of the 67’s.

With the two assists tonight, Krawczyk finds himself at five points over seven games since February. 

“I feel great out there right now, things are kind of flowing for me out there,” said Krawczyk. “Looking back at some of my earlier games, the speed I play at and the confidence I’ve built has been huge.”

Krawczyk has been consistently one of the last players off the ice at practice, which he credits to his improved play as of late.

“Those extra reps at practice have been huge for me getting confidence back,” he said. 

Yet, the Battalion would answer back, with Ryder Carey sinking his own rebound to bring North Bay up 3-2. The Battalion would pick up another market off an odd bounce to secure the game 4-2.

“In the playoffs, we are going to lose games,” said Marrelli. “It’s kind of how we come together as a team and how we show up in the next game.”

While the home stretch has been nice, the 67’s are excited 

“As much as we like playing in front of our hometown crowd, we’ve been here for a while, a lot of home games—the most I’ve played in a row,” he said. “Going to the US is always fun, some big games there, and I think we’re excited for it.”

 

Box score

Teams	Score	Shots on goal	Power plays
Ottawa	2	43	0/5
North Bay	4	32	1/2

 

First period

#21 Ethan Procyszyn (24) scores. Assists: #4 Aaron Enright, #18 Evgeny Dubrovtsev

#5 Kent Greer (9) scores. Assists: #17 Ryder Cali, #18 Nick Wellenreiter

Second Period

#8 Frankie Marrelli (9) scores. Assists: #11 Shaan Kingwell, #9 Brayden Krawczyk

Third Period

#13 Ondrej Ruml (9) scores. Assists: #11 Shaan Kingwell, #9 Brayden Krawczyk

#11 Ryder Carey (13) scores. Assists: #29 Lirim Amidovski, #18 Evgeny Dubrovtsev

#29 Lirim Amidovski (21) scores. Assists: #17 Ryder Cali

 

Up next

The Barber Poles hit the ice next February 26th, beginning their four-game road trip in Michigan to take on the Saginaw Spirit at 7:05 p.m. 

The 67’s return home on March 7th, where they’ll host the Brampton Steelheads at 3 p.m. Fans can buy tickets to the game here.