Suzuki notches three, Attack take down 67’s
The Owen Sound Attack and Ottawa 67’s met in a rare matinee game in the nation’s capital on Saturday, Jan. 30, and the Attack were able to wrap up an Eastern Conference road swing with their 2nd win in just about 20 hours.
After dispatching the East leading Kingston Frontenacs on Friday night, Owen Sound downed the Ottawa 67’s be a score of 5-2 on Saturday afternoon, thanks to Nick Suzuki’s first career OHL hattrick, as well as a 2nd straight three point performance from Jonah Gadjovich.
Despite dominating the first period in Ottawa, the Attack were unable to find the back of the net as 67’s goalie Liam Herbst was able to track all 13 shots that he faced.
Herbst’s counterpart, Michael McNiven was tested just once in the opening 20 minutes of play, easily turning aside a floater with his blocker to send the Attack and 67’s to the break with a pair of donuts on the scoreboard.
The zeroes weren’t up for long once the 2nd period began though.
Picking right up from where he left off in Kingston on Saturday night was Jonah Gadjovich, who tallied his 10th of the year by banging a rebound into the Ottawa cage.
The 1-0 goal, which was assisted by Thomas Schemitsch, came just 1:12 into the middle frame and would stand as the difference going into 3rd period.
But that may not have been the case if it wasn’t for McNiven’s play in the middle 20 minutes of play.
Teams often need their goalie to be their best penalty killer, and McNiven was just that during a pair of Paul Davis Systems Penalty Kills halfway through the 2nd period. After only facing one shot in the first period, McNiven was a perfect 11 for 11 in the 2nd, including a pair of point blank saves that gave the Attack their one goal advantage heading to the final frame.
However, just like the Attack were able to strike quickly in the 2nd period, Ottawa was able to do the same in the 3rd.
Taking advantage of just their 13th shot of the game, Dante Salituro would tie the game up at one apiece at the 2:41 mark of the final period. Salituro’s goal, which would be his 100th career marker in the OHL, was unassisted after a turnover in Owen Sound’s high slot.
The Attack weren’t about to let Ottawa gain any momentum though.
Almost immediately after the 67’s tied the game, Owen Sound was able to restore their one goal advantage with a gorgeous passing play by the line Gadjovich, Bryson Cianfrone, and Nick Suzuki.
Gadjovich would pick up his 2nd point of the game and 5th of the weekend by feeding the puck to a streaking Cianfrone who set up Suzuki for a tap in at the side of the Ottawa net, making it 2-1 for the visitors with 5:09 gone in the 3rd.
It may have taken a long time, but goals began to come quickly in the 3rd period.
Moments after going down 2-1, the 67’s were able to square the game up once again off of the stick of Dante Salituro. Salituro’s 2nd of the afternoon was of the one-timer variety, as the overage forward scored on a two-on-one, taking a pass from Nathan Todd and beating a sprawling McNiven.
The teams seemed destined for overtime after Salituro’s 2nd goal, but the Attack had no desire to extend their stay in Ottawa and scored three times in the final 2:09 of regulation to put the game away.
Nick Suzuki would kick off the score-fest for the Attack by picking up his 2nd of the afternoon, and the game winning goal, on a rebound off of a Damir Sharipzyanov shot at the 18:51 mark. Suzuki would then put the exclamation mark on the game, capping off his first career hat-trick on an empty net goal with just 29 seconds left in the game.
Owen Sound wasn’t done there though, as Bryson Cianfrone scored on a netfront scramble with only nine seconds remaining in the game, cementing the 5-2 victory for the Bears. Gadjovich garnerned the lone assist on the play, giving him six points over the Attack’s two games on the weekend.
Suzuki’s hat-trick earned him Mac Taylor Corporation 1st Star of the game, while Jonah Gadjovich’s three point effort was enough for 2nd star honours. Ottawa’s Dante Salituro picked up 3rd star of the afternoon thanks to his two goal performance.
Michael McNiven turned aside 26 of 28 shots on the afternoon as the Mark McDade Remax Shots on Goal finished at 32-28 for the Attack.
Owen Sound is back in action on Friday, Feb. 5 with a game in London before returning home for the Heart Beats and Hockey Sticks fundraiser game against the Guelph Storm on Saturday night.
Tickets for that game, and all remaining Attack home games, are available at the DJ’s Furniture Attack Box Office online at www.attackhockey.com, or by calling 519-371-7452.
This season of Attack Hockey is brought to you by Caframo.