Pluses and plushies: the 67’s take down the Firebirds on Teddy Bear Toss game
The Ottawa 67’s defeated the Flint Firebirds in a shootout 3-2 in The Arena at TD Place on Dec. 7.
The matchup was a high-profile clash, with two of the best teams in the OHL meeting for the first time this season. Heading into the game, both teams were equal on 42 points and in third place in their respective conferences.
The 67’s skated out donning teddy bears on their jerseys for the Teddy Bear Toss game. Fans were allowed to bring their own plushies to the game and toss them on the ice after the first 67’s goal. However, the stuffed toys would remain spectators for the entire first period.
The Firebirds came out strong, putting the 67’s on the backfoot. The 67’s net faced a lot of pressure with the Firebirds recording12 shots on goal in the first period.
Ryder Fetterolf, the 67’s goalie who has a fourth-best save percentage of .920 in the OHL, kept the game close during a lopsided first 10 minutes. The Firebirds finally got their breakthrough, with Nathan Aspinall zipping a wrister past Fetterolf. The winger came into the game on fire, with 21 points in his last 10 games, and extended his points streak to 11 games.
The 67’s grew into the first period, until the Firebirds doubled their lead. Ihnat Pazii scored, with seconds to go, assisted by Alex Kostov and Urban Podrekar. Kostov had his own points streak, which extended to 22 in his last 13 games with that assist.
The Firebirds’ offensive stars put them into the lead, however Fetterolf denied them for the rest of the game. He saved the next 24 shots on goal he faced, including four in the shootout.
“We played pretty good after those two goals and my job was (to) keep stopping the pucks and keep (us) in the game,” said Fetterolf. “All I can really do is stop the pucks and try to make a play. That’s what I did.”
The start of the second period was a cause for celebration in the arena. 67’s centre Nic Whitehead put away a golden chance from a rebound to cut the deficit to one. Teddy bears and plushies rained down in celebration and the game had to be paused while the ice was cleared. The goal signified Cooper Foster’s 100th assist in the OHL and the momentum shifting over to the 67’s.
The rest of the period went scoreless, despite the home team having some great chances on power plays to score. Having won all 13 games where they led after two periods this season, the Firebirds held a 2-1 lead going into the third.
During the final period, the Firebirds put pressure on the 67’s goalie. Fetterolf faced 13 shots in the period, saving all of them.
“They definitely have a lot of (bigger) guys in that front. It’s one of the things a goalie my size is typically doubted on, but it’s one of the things I try to work on,” he said.
“When I’m able to succeed like that, it definitely shows that size doesn’t matter too much.”
The 67’s had minimal chances in the final period. Despite seven power plays on the night, they struggled to break down a Firebirds’ penalty kill which has the third-highest percentage in the OHL.
Foster, the 67’s season leader in points, finally capitalized n the man-advantage to tie the game, six minutes into the period. The game ended in a 2-2 tie and went to overtime.
Both teams’ offences struggled as overtime went scoreless. The dry streak continued into the shootout.
Ottawa’s Filip Ekberg buried his chance, after three unsuccessful attempts from Whitehead, Jasper Kuhta and Thomas Vandenberg. Fetterolf denied all four attempts from the Firebirds, with his save on Matthew Wang ensuring the win.
The 67’s improved to 44 points in the season, trying to chase down the OHL-leading Brantford Bulldogs on 47 points.
