Close-knit 67’s have hard time saying goodbye

The Ottawa 67’s didn’t just often boast about their closeness and camaraderie and what a great (dressing) room they had. They also lived it.

The 67’s never travelled alone or in groups of two and three. It wasn’t veterans in one group and rookies in another. These guys mixed.

It was often difficult to differentiate the veterans and the old-timers on the bus during road trips, other than the traditional seating arrangement, veterans way at the back.

Few teams have leadership that encompasses five full seasons and the 67’s had both captain Thomas Nesbitt and Cody Lindsay in that category, both with over 330 games with the organization. It wasn’t a team put together with castoffs from other teams either. This team had continuity and a sense of tradition.

That’s why it’s so hard for them to say goodbye. It’s why Nesbitt was still in his gear long after fans had left the Civic Centre, the ice had been resurfaced and the lights dimmed, staring out from the end boards.

Or the many players with tears in their eyes, both after the loss in Game 3 in Sudbury in overtime, and the Game 4 fallout Thursday night after giving up three third period goals.

It’s hard to believe that just 13 days after clinching the Ontario Hockey League’s East Division pennant, fittingly in game No. 67, the 67’s are done.

For the first time since late August, Friday was spent without a morning skate or workout to worry about. Without another practice to attend. Or a video session, a road trip or a game to look forward to.

All they have is Monday’s wrap-up banquet, something they thought they’d be attending in late April at the earliest.

The 67’s lost four games in a row once in over a five-day period in February and then matched their longest losing streak over six days at the season’s most critical time.

That they lost is not unbelievable. That they lost in four straight most certainly is.

The series was quick and it had its moments as the 67’s took leads into the third period in three of four games and were tied in the other after 40 minutes. They also won out in number of posts hit.

Game 1, the 8-7 overtime loss, was a shocker. Game 2, with Petr Mrazek making 48 saves in a 5-3 loss, was downright embarrassing. Game 3, giving up the tying goal with 16.6 seconds to play and the winner 33 seconds into overtime, was more like a Game 4, the feeling in the room one of almost resignation to what the future had in store.

Game 4 merely brought the series to its rightful conclusion.

The most simplistic way of looking at it was that it just wasn’t meant to be.

“I really feel we did the best we could with the circumstances we faced,” said head coach Chris Byrne. “We handled a lot of adversity. Things didn’t go our way all the time.

“But we worked and got a lot out of a lot of people. Some were asked to do more than they should have been asked to do. That will benefit them down the road.

“We had a great season. Just a terrible final week.”

In reality, the 67’s were no more a 44-win club than the Wolves were e legitimate No. 7 seed. Take away the Wolves first 20 games and they’re right in the middle of the pack, both highly competitive, and as the 67’s found out, dangerous.

The 67’s, all season long, with all their firepower, were tough to play once. They were tough to prepare for. They could score. Petr Mrazek could keep you off the scoresheet and wondering how so.

But they were hardly tough to go against night after night over a week or two. When an opponent ran Mrazek, or any 67 for that matter, no one pushed back.

The team also played too many games short on manpower and under the limit on players they could dress. When injuries came, they couldn’t reach out to a Tier II affiliate and bring someone in. They even played Game 4 one player under the limit. The best years for trainers are when they’re virtually anonymous and this season no one could walk by Neil Hoch’s ward without asking for an update on two or three players.

The brutal broken leg to overage defenceman Travis Gibbons in a meaningless 68th and final regular season game was the final straw.

Down the stretch, they played too many three-games-in-four nights on the road, only to come home and face a mid-week game in Kingston, Belleville or Peterborough.

The injuries didn’t just happen. The schedule caught up to them.

Any trades they made were to fill holes on defence. A season-changer at the trade deadline in January never happened. What they had to start, and the little they picked up, was all they had to go with.

Overall, they just seem too small and too soft, although some of that is the youthfulness on the roster.

That’s not a knock because the 67’s franchise has never been one to go with a short string of success against a long period or mediocrity. For the most part, the 67’s are pretty competitive every year.

And next year they may not win 44 games and the division. Tyler Toffoli may not score 57 goals and Mrazek may not leave opponents shaking their heads. But they may be tougher come post-season.

If every winner is built from the net out, the 67’s have a lot of the pieces in place.

Will Mrazek top his .920 save-percentage next year? Probably not. And he shouldn’t face 40-plus shots as often either. Mrazek made 40 or more saves in 13 games this season and 30 or more saves in 35. He played in 52 games, so do the math. Little wonder he was second in the league in saves with 1,684.

But should Mrazek and the reliable Shayne Campbell, both 19, return, they represent the best 1-2 goaltending…Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Close+knit+have+hard+time+saying+goodbye/4545943/story.html#ixzz1IYkxqoyt