The two competed in Ontario Hockey League career game No. 297 Friday night to move within just a game from breaking the all time record for games played for the 67’s, something that will happen Sunday.

And even on nights the young guns aren’t necessarily firing, the veterans always find a way and Nesbitt, the younger of the old hands, scored twice on feeds from Lindsay and the 67’s third overager, Travis Gibbons, chipped in with a goal from the back end as the 67’s dumped the Brampton Battalion in front of 4,819 at the Rona Centre.

The league’s hottest team has lost only once in regulation since Nov. 8 and, as they are known to do, continue to find ways to win even on nights when they are less than spectacular.

“This is the strongest team I’ve played on in five years here,” said Nesbitt, now with 15 goals on the season. “It’s also the best locker-room in the five years. Last year we were tight. But this year is even better.

“You feel old when you’re 20. It’s always that way when you come back for your overage year. But it seems like only yesterday we were skating as 15-year-olds.”

The 67’s have lost just nine games all year and after eight of those losses, the team has come back and won the next one, just as they did after their shootout loss to Kingston last Sunday. They have also started the past seven weekends with wins on Friday night’s. Losing streaks can’t happen when a team is doing that.

Unbeaten in regulation time in their past eight, and winners of 10 of their past 12, everything is going the 67’s way of late and it was never more evident than in the opening 20 minutes.

How many teams can go 19 minutes and 50 seconds with just three shots on goal and skate away with a 2-0 lead? Worse for Brampton, the 67’s added a third marker with just 0.09 seconds remaining in the period to lead by three despite being outshot 6-5 on the period.

Nesbitt opened the scoring with a short-handed effort just seven minutes in, beating Battalion goalie Cody St. Jacques on a deke to the backhand for his 14th of the season.

“Nez has been s solid citizen here for five years,” said head coach Chris Byrne. “He works hard every night and he’s a good team guy.”

The OHL’s leading goal-scorer, Tyler Toffoli, made it 2-0 five minutes later on an identical move to the backhand to beat St. Jacques, who a few weeks ago was tending goal for the University of Guelph before the Battalion enlisted him.

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