Windsor sends high-flying 67’s crashing back down to earth
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In the next seven days, the Ottawa 67’s will face both the No. 2-and No. 6-rainked teams in the Canadian Hockey League, with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors on Sunday on the road and the Saginaw Spirit next Friday at home.
So how did the 67’s warm up, so to speak, for the tough stretch?
Why, with a preliminary with the two-time defending Memorial Cup-champion Windsor Spitfires on Friday night at the Rona Centre.
Well, nobody said it was going to be easy.
The Spitfires, who keep Jostens Canada, the ring makers, on speed dial, scored twice in a span of 20 seconds midway through the game to erase a 2-1 67’s lead and never looked back in dumping the 67’s before a crowd of 6,879.
The only good news was that the Kingston Frontenacs did the 67’s a huge favour by dumping the Oshawa Generals to allow the 67’s to maintain a seven-point lead atop the Ontario Hockey League’s East Division and Ottawa can take a huge step toward clinching the division pennant tonight in Oshawa.
Oh, and 67’s sniper Tyler Toffoli scored twice to build on his league-leading totals with goal Nos. 39 and 40 in his 42nd game.
“We learned a lot with a game like this one,” said Toffoli. “At times we looked like a playoff-type team.
“But we have to bring our game to the rink for 60 minutes. This is a tough test. We realize that. We need to bring it all game.”
Facing one of their biggest tests in weeks, the 67’s started tentatively, going almost 10 minutes without a shot on the Windsor goal and giving up one early by 17-yearold Russian Alexander Khokhlachev at 3:57.
The 67’s didn’t get that one back until the final period, when Tyler Toffoli took a nifty pass from Shane Prince from behind the net and beat U.S. goalie Jack Campbell.
Toffoli gave the 67’s their one and only lead with a power-play goal in the second,
