Madferret
4-19-05, 6:32 PM
OHL rivals prepare for matchup in conference final
Chris Yzerman
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
After a brief pause to reflect on a series victory over the Sudbury Wolves, the Ottawa 67's have quickly shifted focus. The 67's, who enjoyed a day off yesterday, have only reached what is potentially the halfway point in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, and their next task begins Thursday in Peterborough. The 67's know they'll have their hands full against the Petes, their longtime East Division rivals.
"It's going to be an extremely hard series. We know how good they are," right-winger Mark Mancari said before proceeding to rattle off a list of Petes traits the 67's are aware of, plus some dos and don'ts. "We know they're a physical team, we know they're a good all-around team," Mancari said. "You can't take bad penalties, you have to be good in your own end, you have to be good in the offensive end."
After facing each other eight times in the regular season, these opponents aren't strangers to one another, which wasn't the case with either the Wolves or Ottawa's first-round opponent, the Barrie Colts. Ottawa hadn't faced Sudbury since the first week of October. Barrie was a team that, like the 67's, had a couple of different faces and entered the playoffs showing a more efficient side to its game than what Ottawa had seen previously.
With the familiar face of Dick Todd back behind the Petes' bench this year, the 67's know just what they'll get. Peterborough already one-upped Ottawa during the regular season, finishing first in the East Division and earning the Eastern Conference's second seed for the postseason.
"They finished first because they worked hard and did the little things," 67's coach and general manager Brian Kilrea said. Peterborough also held a 4-2-2 advantage against Ottawa in the season series, so the 67's would like nothing better than to even the score. "I know all the boys in the (dressing) room are pumped up to play Peterborough," 67's left-winger Bryan Bickell said. "They beat us in the season series, but the season series doesn't matter any more."
In other OHL news yesterday, Kitchener Rangers defenceman Andre Benoit of St-Albert received the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the league's top overage player, making him the second Ottawa-area native to win the award in as many years.
Benoit, 21, topped voting by OHL general managers after recording 24 goals and 53 assists in 67 games, and finishing with a plus/minus rating of plus-36. He also has 14 points in 10 playoff games in helping the Rangers reach the Western Conference final against the London Knights. Last season, Martin St-Pierre of Embrun won after a standout campaign with the Guelph Storm.
Chris Yzerman
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
After a brief pause to reflect on a series victory over the Sudbury Wolves, the Ottawa 67's have quickly shifted focus. The 67's, who enjoyed a day off yesterday, have only reached what is potentially the halfway point in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, and their next task begins Thursday in Peterborough. The 67's know they'll have their hands full against the Petes, their longtime East Division rivals.
"It's going to be an extremely hard series. We know how good they are," right-winger Mark Mancari said before proceeding to rattle off a list of Petes traits the 67's are aware of, plus some dos and don'ts. "We know they're a physical team, we know they're a good all-around team," Mancari said. "You can't take bad penalties, you have to be good in your own end, you have to be good in the offensive end."
After facing each other eight times in the regular season, these opponents aren't strangers to one another, which wasn't the case with either the Wolves or Ottawa's first-round opponent, the Barrie Colts. Ottawa hadn't faced Sudbury since the first week of October. Barrie was a team that, like the 67's, had a couple of different faces and entered the playoffs showing a more efficient side to its game than what Ottawa had seen previously.
With the familiar face of Dick Todd back behind the Petes' bench this year, the 67's know just what they'll get. Peterborough already one-upped Ottawa during the regular season, finishing first in the East Division and earning the Eastern Conference's second seed for the postseason.
"They finished first because they worked hard and did the little things," 67's coach and general manager Brian Kilrea said. Peterborough also held a 4-2-2 advantage against Ottawa in the season series, so the 67's would like nothing better than to even the score. "I know all the boys in the (dressing) room are pumped up to play Peterborough," 67's left-winger Bryan Bickell said. "They beat us in the season series, but the season series doesn't matter any more."
In other OHL news yesterday, Kitchener Rangers defenceman Andre Benoit of St-Albert received the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the league's top overage player, making him the second Ottawa-area native to win the award in as many years.
Benoit, 21, topped voting by OHL general managers after recording 24 goals and 53 assists in 67 games, and finishing with a plus/minus rating of plus-36. He also has 14 points in 10 playoff games in helping the Rangers reach the Western Conference final against the London Knights. Last season, Martin St-Pierre of Embrun won after a standout campaign with the Guelph Storm.