Mississauga and Ottawa: The OHL's Bone-Rattling Eastern Conference Kings
Jack Campbell said it himself: That Tyler Toffoli sure can shoot.
Unfortunately for Toffoli and the Ottawa 67's, they didn’t do a whole lot of that against the Mississauga/St. Michael’s Majors the other Sunday. With just eight shots after two periods and 18 total for the game, the weekend matinée looked little like the prospective Eastern Conference Final many were expecting.
Earlier in the season Toffoli, Shane Prince and the highest-scoring team in the OHL handed the Memorial Cup hosts a 7-2 loss when they visited the Nation’s Capital. Sunday, they fell victim to Dave Cameron’s physical, tight-checking and mistake-capitalizing squad in a hard-hitting game. If it hadn’t been for Petr Mrazek’s spectacular goaltending, a game that finished 6-1 would have been much more out of hand.
In that first game earlier in the season, the rest of the roster helped out Prince, Toffoli and centre Ryan Martindale. While the top line combined for two goals and four assists (Toffoli was held scoreless while Martindale had two goals and one assist and Prince had three assists), it was Tyler Graovac who helped Ottawa win with the hat-trick. Along with that, former 67's goalie Chris Perugini was the one who stood on his head making 40 of 42 saves. This time, with the tables turned, the man with the hat-trick was Justin Shugg and 10 Majors recorded points, while J.P. Anderson stopped the handful of shots he faced.
While the final score was a six-spot on the board for the Memorial Cup hosts, this one was a much tighter matchup. It was 3-0 Majors after one, and from there it was typical Cameron hockey, removing the opposition’s scoring chances, rather than creating more of their own although there was plenty of bone-rattling play.
There are a few questions that emerged from this game, the main one being if this is the matchup we’re destined to see in the Eastern Conference Final this year. While the likelihood is high, don’t forget that both teams have to get there first, and the odds dictate that Ottawa will have to go through the reborn Niagara Ice Dogs, while Oshawa will be in Mississauga’s way (they’ve split the season series so far with one win apiece).
It’s also only January and the Majors and 67's only lead their divisions by eight and five points respectively, so nothing is set in stone. But, if these two teams are destined to meet in the playoffs, Eastern Finals or otherwise, then one has to wonder just what kind of a matchup we’re in for.
Are we going to see a high-scoring game like the first meeting between these teams when the season was just weeks old, or the early-scoring, defense-the-rest-of-the-way game that transpired Sunday? The answer: Probably a mix of both.
One look at the roster will tell you that the Ottawa 67's will make it nearly impossible for anyone to shut them down completely in a seven-game series. L.A. Kings' property Toffoli is scoring at a goal-a-game pace, Martindale has already matched his career season from last year with 60 points and a career-high 26 goals, and late-birthday draft-eligible Prince is just three-points off of the league-leading pace of 79 points established by Toffoli.
Captain Thomas Nesbitt is on pace for a career-year so far as well with 43 points in 44 games, alongside Cody Lindsay who’s having a fine year too. From the blueline Marc Zanetti and Travis Gibbons nearly have 30 assists each, while Cody Ceci’s game is still developing.
Though Mississauga is a picture of defensive prowess and consistency (they’ve allowed 100 goals on the season—the last team to do so—and their closest competition is Niagara who have allowed 111), they can score too. Justin Shugg is eyeing a third-straight OHL Championship/Memorial Cup, and searching for a second-straight 30-goal/70-point season. Casey Cizikas and Devante Smith-Pelly are seven and eight goals away from the 30-goal plateau respectively, while ten other players have 20 points (2011 draft eligible Stuart Percy is a point away from making it 11 players).
This doesn’t even include recent addition and World Junior gold medalist Maxim Kitsyn who has put on quite a show in his first five OHL games. With seven points the LA Kings pick has made a seamless transition to North American hockey. Kitsyn makes a point of being one of the lowest players on the ice (behind the goalline) and if he’s not, you’ll find him in front of the net in the trouble areas, always seeming to find his way behind the defensemen. The fact he can stickhandle in a phone booth, much like Alex Kovalev, makes him a perfect fit for the Majors.
Both teams have the tools in place to shut each other down as well, and it goes well beyond the matchup in net. (Both JP Anderson and Mrazek are amongst the best in the OHL. ‘Nuff said.) Although some weaker Eastern Conference teams have helped pad these numbers, Ottawa has held opponents to two goals or fewer 15 times this season, and the Majors have done it 22 times.
The 67's also have a leg up in terms of special teams play, as they rank fourth in the league in penalty killing, with the Majors rank a shocking 15th (77 per cent). Although this may be buoyed by the fact the Majors have had to kill off 17 more opportunities than Ottawa, that even temperament of the 67's is a useful asset as well.
The Ottawa 67's and Mississauga/St. Michael’s Majors are two powerful teams who have their sights set on representing the East in the OHL Final. If we’re lucky enough to see these two fight for the right to represent the East, then hopefully you like your hockey loud. These two could be banging on the boards all night long.
