24 hours after lighting up the Peterborough Petes to the tune of 9-4, the Ottawa 67′s offense exploded again for another big night as they defeated the Oshawa Generals 8-3.

It didn’t come as easily in this one, however as for the first period it looked like the 67′s had left their offense in Peterborough.  They struggled in the first frame as both teams had difficulty putting things together.  Just before the period was out, and with Ottawa on the power play, World Junior players Boone Jenner and Nicklas Jensen combined to steal the puck from Tyler Toffoli and score a shorthanded goal to send the Generals to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

It was an action packed second period filled with goals, penalties and goalie changes as Ottawa struck 5 times by 5 different players to take a 5-2 lead into the third.  Oshawa goaltender Dan Altshuller was pulled after the second Ottawa goal, which came 44 seconds after the first Ottawa goal, early in the period.  It was just a wake-up call by Generals coach Gary Agnew, as Altshuller was back in about a minute later.  He would be pulled again after the second period, with the 3 goal deficit.

In the third, Ottawa didn’t let up and they put 3 past backup Kevin Bailie to complete the romp.

MY THREE STARS

3.  Petr Mrazek – The 67′s were outshot again, and if not for his 14 first period saves, Ottawa wouldn’t have had a chance to get in the game.

2.  Tyler Toffoli – 1G, 2A for the OHL leading scorer

1. Steven Janes – 2G, 1A for some third line contribution

GAME NOTES:

Twelve of the 18 players in the lineup managed to get on the scoresheet.  Especially important was the contribution from two key areas:  The blue line and the third line.  Defensemen chipped in 10 points (including 3 goals) led by Marc Zanetti‘s goal and two assists, while the third line of Steven Janes, Tyler Graovac and Taylor Fielding chipped in 2 goals and 3 assists.  The top two lines are going to do what they do, but support from a solid third line will be important in playoff matchups.

Zanetti was involved all over the ice, getting in an early fight, getting 3 points and actually putting the second Oshawa goal into his own net past Mrazek.

The Generals spent a  lot of time and effort trying to get Mrazek off his game.  They were hacking him every chance they got and the Ottawa crease was a  battleground much of the night.  Mrazek saw a lot of the backends of Lucas Lessio and Scott Sabourin all night. However, Mrazek didn’t appear to be rattled at all, and in fact relished the action in many cases.

The Ottawa power play was rocking, and they were busy.  The 67′s were able to capitialize on 4 of 8 chances.  The PK also worked well, killing off 5 of 6 opportunities as there was a constant parade to the penalty box.  There were 66 minutes in penalties called, with 18 minor penalties called.

Sean Callaghan continues to improve every game, and is a game changer with his hitting ability.  He decked Boone Jenner at the Ottawa blue line late in the first period, and caused Josh Brown to come after him.  The Ottawa rookie held his own and looks like he will be a dominant shut-down defenseman as his OHL career moves along.

Maybe last Friday’s home loss to the Petes was a wake-up call for the 67′s, as they have won 3 straight since then, outscoring their opponents 22-7 in that streak.

Sunday afternoon will be a big test for the 67′s as they face an unfamiliar foe, the Kitchener Rangers.  After having played 10 of their last 11 games against divisional foes, it will be nice to see some new faces come to the J Benson Cartage centre. The Rangers have about the same number of points as the 67′s in the Western Conference, and they put up 9 of their own against Kingston on Friday.  They will be playing in Belleville Saturday night, so Ottawa could have an advantage in that they have Saturday off after playing Thursday and Friday.  Fresher legs and home ice could be the difference.