Ottawa 67's and Gatineau Olympiques Weekly Report
Your weekly report on all recent Ottawa 67's and Gatineau Olympiques activity.
It's been another week of junior hockey here in the National Capital Region with the OHL fully immersed in the beginning of its schedule while the QMJHL is starting to see separation between the good and the bad teams. Games have been played on both sides of the Ottawa River with the two teams looking to the next week of play.
Ottawa 67's
The Ottawa 67's have had a disappointing start to the season. Ottawa has played a total of four games, three in the last week, and have yet to win a single one, let alone extend the play past 60 minutes. The 67's have gone 0-4-0-0 and are sitting in last place in the division and tied for last place in the league with Niagara (0-3-0-0).
Friday's 3-0 Loss @ Oshawa
There's little to say about this game for the 67's that the scoreline doesn't already indicate. The 67's did win the puck possession battle which suggests things might not have been as bad as the final score suggests. Shots in the end were 31-28 for Ottawa. In net for the 67's was Liam Herbst who made 25 saves on 27 shots, good for a .926 Sv% and registered a "Quality Start".
Saturday's 9-3 Loss @ Barrie
The next day the 67's traveled to Barrie where they were absolutely crushed by the Colts. The 67's lost the puck possession battle in all three periods even with score effects helping them. In net was backup Leo Lazarev who made 31 saves on 40 shots resulting in a .775 Sv%. The three Ottawa goals were scored by Travis Konecny, Brendan Bell and Travis Barron. We know that plus/minus is a very poor statistic, but usually there is something worth looking into when you have players at either extreme end of the plus/minus spectrum. Despite the team goal differential of -6 there were a few players who ended up with a positive plus/minus such as top prospect Konecny with a +1.
Sunday's 7-2 Loss @ Owen Sound
18 hours, and another bus ride, later the 67's were in Owen Sound to face the Attack in the third game on a back-to-back-to-back weekend. The possession battle was much closer in this game than the night before but the tired 67's ended up losing 7-2 with shots in favour of Owen Sound 35-34. he 67's goals were scored by Connor Graham and Bell. Both goaltenders played in this game with Herbst getting the start but he was pulled after 49 minutes of play, letting in 7 goals on 30 shots. Lazarev came in relief and played to the stopping all 5 shots.
Fancystats standings
| Team | Est. Fenwick Close | GP | SF | SA | GF | GA | SOW | SOL | Sh% | Sv% | PDO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Bay Battalion | 63.2% | 3 | 122 | 76 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 9.917 | 88.158 | 98.075 |
| Erie Otters | 60.227% | 4 | 161 | 107 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 14.907 | 90.654 | 105.561 |
| Niagara IceDogs | 59.259% | 3 | 138 | 93 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4.348 | 89.247 | 93.595 |
| Kitchener Rangers | 56.805% | 4 | 140 | 115 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 7.914 | 87.826 | 95.74 |
| Kingston Frontenacs | 54.706% | 4 | 136 | 107 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8.824 | 89.72 | 98.544 |
| Guelph Storm | 54.651% | 4 | 139 | 108 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6.475 | 89.815 | 96.29 |
| Sarnia Sting | 52.804% | 5 | 170 | 155 | 13 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 7.647 | 85.161 | 92.808 |
| Plymouth Whalers | 51.479% | 4 | 112 | 134 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 | 92.537 | 105.037 |
| Windsor Spitfires | 50.259% | 4 | 137 | 147 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5.839 | 90.476 | 96.315 |
| Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 50.0% | 4 | 126 | 138 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 14.286 | 93.478 | 107.764 |
| Owen Sound Attack | 47.964% | 5 | 160 | 170 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 13.125 | 92.857 | 105.982 |
| Oshawa Generals | 47.783% | 5 | 156 | 156 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 12.821 | 93.59 | 106.411 |
| Ottawa 67's | 47.253% | 4 | 120 | 137 | 6 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 83.942 | 88.942 |
| Belleville Bulls | 46.847% | 5 | 155 | 173 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 11.613 | 93.064 | 104.677 |
| Peterborough Petes | 46.309% | 3 | 106 | 114 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 11.321 | 91.15 | 102.471 |
| Mississauga Steelheads | 44.595% | 3 | 90 | 126 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11.111 | 92.857 | 103.968 |
| Barrie Colts | 44.545% | 5 | 160 | 177 | 23 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 14.375 | 89.831 | 104.206 |
| Saginaw Spirit | 44.0% | 4 | 139 | 158 | 13 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 9.353 | 89.241 | 98.594 |
| London Knights | 43.396% | 4 | 118 | 123 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 4.274 | 87.805 | 92.079 |
| Sudbury Wolves | 42.478% | 5 | 133 | 204 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4.511 | 92.647 | 97.158 |
OHL Fancystats standings come from CHLStats.com.
The analytical numbers in the OHL continue to not look great for the 67's as they are currently ranked 13th in possession statistics. While these numbers do not suggest that the 67's are likely to win the Memorial Cup this year, it does suggest that the team should be performing better than they have been. Their extremely unlucky PDO of .889 is not helping them. These numbers suggest Ottawa should be moving closer towards the middle of the pack. The team still has plenty of time to turn things around.
Stand Out Players
With only four games under their belt, all of which have been losses or shutouts, there has been little opportunity for any specific player to stand out with the limited OHL data we have. There are currently six players who are tied for points on the team with a grand total of 2. Those players include Konecny, Bell, Ben Fanjoy, Travis Barron, Erik Bradford and Alex Lintuniemi. Erik Bradford has had a great season so far as he spent the summer recovering from a broken femur. He started the season with limited time on ice, in the game against Kingston, to ease him into the game but he's been quickly earning his ice time back.
Upcoming Schedule
The 67's are finally coming home to their arena in Ottawa proper this week (and I'm betting those Glebe residents are ready to dial 3-1-1 with another noise complaint). On Friday and Sunday the 67's play at home vs Niagara (battle for last place) and against Oshawa respectively. On Monday Ottawa travels to Oshawa for a rematch against the Generals.
Gatineau Olympiques
The Gatineau Olympiques have started the year in opposite fashion. They appear to be around mid-pack of the league in possession standings but have had puck luck and are near the top of the league. Currently, Gatineau is in first place in its division with a record of 6-2-0-2 for a total of 14 points. This places them second overall in the league right behind Rimouski which has two more points than Gatineau. Gatineau also ranked ninth in the CHL.ca Top 10 weekly rankings which ranks teams from all three leagues. These are more power rankings than anything predictive but it's always nice to have the local team noticed and hopefully they can stay in the rankings for the rest of season.
Wednesday's 5-3 Win vs Blainville-Boisbriand
Last Wednesday Gatineau played the first game of a three-game homestand against Blainville-Bosibriand. Gatineau controlled possession for the game, allowing the Olympiques to win the shot battle 33-26 and the game 5-3. Gatineau goals were scored by Vaclav Karabacek (x2), Alex Dostie, Marc Beckstead and Peter Woulds. Goaltender Anthony Brodeur made 23 of 26 saves giving him a .885 Sv%.
Friday's 5-2 Loss vs Chicoutimi
The success from Wednesday did not carry over to Friday when Gatineau lost both puck possession battle and the game. Shots were 33-30 in favour of Chicoutimi. The two Gatineau goals were scored by Pascal Laberge and Alexandre Landreville. Brodeur started again and made 28 of 32 saves putting up a similar .875 sv% on the night. While scoring is typically higher in the QMJHL, Brodeur's Sv% of .890 is not very good and is quite similar to the save-percentage he put up last year in 30 games.
Sunday's 5-4 Win vs Baie-Comeau
The final game of the week was played on Sunday after Gatineau was able to rest for a day. The first period was largely controlled by Gatineau but Baie-Comeau was able to swing the momentum in its direction. Ultimately, it wasn't enough from Baie-Comeau. Gatineau won the game with a score of 5-4 while losing the shot battle 31-29. Gatineau goals were scored by Joey Richard, Vaclav Karabacek, Pascal Laberge, Marc Beckstead and Jonathan Bourcier. Brodeur started in net again but was pulled at six and a half minutes after making 1 save on 3 shots. Nicolas Lachance was put in as relief and he stopped 26 of 28 shots.
Fancystats standings
| Team | Est. Fenwick Close | GP | SF | SA | GF | GA | SOW | SOL | Sh% | Sv% | PDO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drummondville | 58.112% | 8 | 294 | 202 | 27 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 9.184 | 88.06 | 97.244 |
| Rimouski | 56.749% | 9 | 321 | 221 | 42 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 13.084 | 86.878 | 99.962 |
| Moncton | 56.41% | 8 | 255 | 234 | 32 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 12.205 | 89.316 | 101.521 |
| Saint John | 55.053% | 9 | 299 | 278 | 38 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 12.416 | 89.493 | 101.909 |
| Blainville-Boisbriand | 54.747% | 9 | 251 | 231 | 22 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 8.765 | 87.391 | 96.156 |
| Sherbrooke | 54.598% | 9 | 307 | 270 | 40 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 12.459 | 88.889 | 101.348 |
| Cape Breton | 51.882% | 9 | 295 | 282 | 44 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 14.915 | 87.234 | 102.149 |
| Chicoutimi | 50.407% | 9 | 295 | 287 | 26 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 8.191 | 89.199 | 97.39 |
| Acadie-Bathurst | 49.711% | 9 | 269 | 252 | 26 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 9.328 | 85.317 | 94.645 |
| Gatineau | 49.485% | 10 | 291 | 280 | 38 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 13.058 | 88.489 | 101.547 |
| Shawinigan | 48.571% | 9 | 265 | 288 | 31 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 11.698 | 93.38 | 105.078 |
| Rouyn-Noranda | 47.439% | 10 | 277 | 277 | 36 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 12.681 | 90.253 | 102.934 |
| Val-d'Or | 47.368% | 10 | 301 | 324 | 29 | 43 | 2 | 1 | 9.03 | 86.997 | 96.027 |
| Baie-Comeau | 46.647% | 9 | 265 | 289 | 26 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 9.125 | 89.236 | 98.361 |
| Victoriaville | 46.632% | 9 | 259 | 323 | 34 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 13.127 | 91.589 | 104.716 |
| Halifax | 44.41% | 8 | 225 | 262 | 21 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 9.333 | 85.824 | 95.157 |
| Québec | 44.231% | 8 | 212 | 304 | 27 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 12.736 | 89.803 | 102.539 |
| Charlottetown | 39.753% | 10 | 273 | 350 | 32 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 11.397 | 87.966 | 99.363 |
QMJHL Fancystats can be found at CHLStats.com
As of right now, the Olympique are ranked 10th overall in the league in possession stats, around middle of the pack. The team's results have been better than they are playing but their PDO has been at normal levels which is a positive sign. Expect to see Gatineau slowly fall down in the standings, as they continue to play against various teams across the league.
Stand Out Players
There's been a number of players standing out the various statistical categories. Louick Marcotte leads the team with 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 8 games with Yakov Trenin and Alexandre Carrier behind with 12 and 8 points respectively. Vaclav Karabacek is fourth on the team in points with 7 which he has earned playing only 60% of the games so far. These same players are leading the team in shots as well as Jonathan Bourcier who has a team high of 30 shots in 10 games but no assists to his name.
Upcoming Schedule
The Olympique play tonight, at home against Moncton, before heading off on the road for a weekend trip. On Saturday, Gatineau will face Baie-Comeau and then the Sunday after is a later afternoon game against Chicoutimi before five days off.