Battling both a 2-0 deficit and a flu bug, the 67’s were able to earn a win Friday.
The Ontario Hockey League’s top team rattled off six unanswered goals to record a 6-2 victory over the visiting Flint Firebirds in front of 3,090 fans at The Arena at TD Place. The result was the 20th of the season for the 67’s.
“We we were coming off the flu bug, a lot of guys sick,” 67’s head coach Dave Cameron said. “We just didn’t have a lot of jump, but we’ve said all year, if you want to be a serious team, you have to stick with it.”
After falling behind by two goals; Jack Matier, Anthony Costantini, Gavin Ewles, Cooper Foster, Cam Tolnai, and Henry Mews combined for six unanswered goals to lift the 67’s to victory. Goaltender Max Donoso made 27 saves for his 14th win of the campaign.
Flint struck first, when Zacharie Giroux slipped behind the Ottawa defence, and took a stretch pass in on a breakaway, beating Donoso to open the scoring.
In the second period, Coulson Pitre hit Amadeus Lombardi on a two-on-one chance, and the Detroit Red Wings prospect made no mistake on the one-timer, giving the Firebirds a 2-0 lead.
The 67’s attack began to heat up near the midway point of the frame, and finally, it was Matier breaking the goose egg. The Nashville Predators pick took a feed from Matthew Mayich, and let go a quick wrist shot that found its way through traffic, and past Nathan Day, cutting the Flint lead to 2-1.
With time winding down in the period, Costantini sailed a shot over the Firebirds net, and the puck bounced off the glass, off a defender, and into the goal.
Early in the third period, Tolnai cut back on a zone entry and hit Ewles, whose blast snuck through Day, and trickled across the goal line, four Ottawa’s first lead of the night.
“It felt amazing,” said Ewles of his first goal on home ice. “Especially in a close game, to go up 3-2 in the third period, it felt really good to get one.”
On the power play soon after, Foster rifled home his 11th of the season, and the 67’s extended their advantage to 4-2.
Not long after, Mews made a great play to get the puck to Tolnai in front, and the forward waited out Day, before going up high for his 13th of the season. Mews added one of his one as time wound down.
The 67’s are back in action on Sunday at 2 p.m. with a home game against the Peterborough Petes.
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