Ottawa 67’s Suddenly Skidding, Last Game In Belleville

Before the Ottawa 67’s embarked on a mini two-game road-trip, I had to ask Jeff Brown about their upcoming match-up with Niagara, being that it was a possible playoff match-up, and if it was a good measuring stick for the team.

“Not if we’re playing like this,” said Brown, an eerie insight to look back on a week later considering they lost 8-3 to Niagara before another loss to hapless Mississauga.

Suddenly, the “fighting-for-third-67’s” are somehow scrambling just to keep home ice advantage in the first round, and do so without their best player Travis Konecny.

The silver lining is that Ottawa won’t see a powerhouse in the first round regardless, and Konecny will probably aim to return in the first round.

But TK isn’t a perimeter player who can put a cloak on and hide a shoulder injury.  Teams gun for him anyways, the playoffs will be worse.  With this injury, other teams know they have a wounded warrior to go after.

Belleville Bulls Move to Hamilton

For all the talk about how the Bulls move to Hamilton is “bad for small-town hockey” – and it definitely is – it hits hard in the Nation’s Capital as well.

Belleville and Ottawa had one of the OHL’s best playoff rivalries over the last two decades.

With it comes the depressing reminder of how long it’s been since the 67’s won an OHL championship.

2001 was the last one, where they beat the North Bay Centennials, Belleville, Toronto St. Mike’s and Plymouth en route to the title.  None of those teams will exist anymore come 2016.

Belleville fans are still steamed that their team beat the 67’s in 1999, only to have the host Barberpoles go in the back door and win the tournament.

Their hatred for big-market teams, a completely understandable grudge, just got even worse.

Ottawa plays in Belleville for the final time on Saturday.

*Photo courtesy of Valerie Wutti