January 27, 2012
Posted in Ontario Edition, Minor, Tournament Results
A second place finish at Peterborough’s Fitzsimmons Towing & Repair Midget tournament has the Ottawa Jr. 67s feeling good about the upcoming playoffs.
With only five regular season games remaining coach John Yablonski uses the tournament as a postseason warmup.
“Because there is only seven teams in the Ottawa area it’s always nice to get out there prior to the playoffs and play some of the other teams just to get our boys prepared rather than seeing the same faces all the time.”
The 67s lost 3-1 in the tournament final to the Toronto Marlies, the top-ranked Minor Midget team in Ontario.
It was a performance that has Yablonski excited for the playoffs.
“We played well and the players did all the things we asked them to do, they put in a good showing for Ottawa.”
Through 25 games the 67s sit in second place in the Ontario East Minor Hockey League with a 17-6-2 record and 36 points.
Those 36 points put them eight points behind the league leading Ottawa Valley Titans and eight points ahead of the Upper Canada Cyclones and Eastern Ontario Wild who are battling for third place.
With a second place finish all but assured part of Yablonski’s focus has shifted to formulating a game plan for the opening round of the playoffs against the eventual third seed. It’s a difficult task when the two teams vying for that seed play such different styles.
“We know the (Wild) are very aggressive on the forecheck whereas the (Cyclones) are more passive and sort of wait for their breaks so there’s two different styles that we could play against so we have to prepare differently,” says Yablonski.
What won’t change is the 67s commitment to defense.
The 67s have only surrendered 63 goals in 25 games second to only the Titans who have allowed 55.
The offence takes care of itself.
Andrew Abou-Assaly, Patrick White and Hunter Racine are all in the top five in league scoring with a handful of games to go.
Abou-Assaly sits first in league scoring and Yablonski suspects he’ll be a much sought after prospect when the OHL draft rolls around.
“He’s very dynamic, he’s strong on the puck, he’s got great puck protection and he’s going to go a long way this year for sure, he’s got a lot of interest.”
If Abou-Assaly and company are able to qualify for the OHL Cup tournament it will be the fourth time in his five seasons as the 67s coach that Yablonski has guided the team that far.
The 67s best finish at the OHL Cup under Yablonski was last season when the team made it to the quarterfinals.
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