Game Sheets: Weekend Preview – Jan. 30
By: Steve Irving – Ottawa67s.com Staff
Photo: Valerie Wutti – Blitzen Photography
The 67’s will have a busy weekend with 3 games starting tonight at 7:30 at TD Place against the Sarnia Sting. Then it’s a quick trip down Highway 7 to Peterborough for a Saturday night matchup against the Petes followed by the much anticipated Sunday matinee at home against the Erie Otters featuring what’s his name.
The 67’s are coming off a great performance against the CHL’s top team, the Oshawa Generals. They couldn’t hold a 2-0 lead in the 3rd period and ended-up dropping a 5-4 overtime thriller. It was a great confidence booster for the boys and it kept them close to North Bay and 3rd place in the Eastern Conference standings. Ottawa trails the Battalion by 4 with 1 game in hand heading into this weekend with 51 points through 45 games.
Sarnia Sting
Sarnia’s a good team. Their record is almost identical to Ottawa’s and one of the reasons is a player with Ottawa ties. Jeff Chychrun’s son Jakob will be making his first visit to his dad’s home town since being drafted 1st overall in the OHL Priority Selection Draft last summer. Chychrun is ninth in rookie scoring despite only playing 26 games while most of his competition have played 40 plus games. Tonight’s game is also the 67’s 4th annual Do It For Daron night, where the off-ice focus will be on youth mental health awareness and raising funds for the cause.
Peterborough Petes
The Petes and 67’s are extremely familiar with each other after going head-to-head 3 times this month. Ottawa took all 3 meetings with a pair of 3-2 wins in Peterborough and a home ice 5-1 victory January 18th. The Petes are coming off a big win last night, upsetting Erie 6-5. Conner McDavid had an off-night for thee Otters…only 1 goal and 1 assist.
Erie Otters
The Otters make their only appearance of the regular season at TD Place in a sold-out matchup this Sunday afternoon. Dylan Strome leads the them in scoring with 85 points in 45 games while McDavid is averaging over 2 and a half points/game. McDavid is the consensus 1st overall pick for the NHL Entry Draft in June while Strome is a projected top-ten. No wonder Erie has the number 1 ranked power play in the League. The game represents a great chance for the 67’s to show their largest crowd in three seasons and a national TV audience how good they really are. If you don’t have a ticket, make sure you tune-in to Sportsnet.
