After one of the ugliest nights in franchise history to open the season, the Ottawa 67’s have flipped the script in a hurry.
The 10-3 home loss to the Sarnia Sting is already looking like an outlier. Since then, Ottawa has gone 6-0-1, a surge that has pushed the club into the Canadian Hockey League’s top 10. At 7-1-2, the 67’s are ranked No. 6 in the country, trailing only the Guelph Storm (9-2-0), London Knights (7-2-1), Quebec Remparts (8-2-0), Spokane Chiefs (8-1-0) and Val d’Or Foreurs (10-1-1).
The foundation has been pretty clear. Strip out the Sarnia collapse, and Ottawa has been giving up fewer than two goals a game, with just nine allowed in 17. But the bigger surprise has come at the other end, where Spencer Bowes has taken the lead.
The Carleton Place product has nine goals, which ties him for fourth among OHL snipers even though he has games in hand on the leaders. It’s a strong start that fits the form he showed in the second half of last season, and it came with another big moment in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Oshawa Generals, when he scored both the late equalizer and the overtime winner.
“It’s a good feeling to be back and having a good start,” Bowes, a fourth-round pick of the New York Rangers in June, said after that game.
For Bowes, the production has come with a growing sense of comfort.
“Just trusting your teammates,” said Bowes. “You’ve got to learn howto play with different guys in different moments. There’s been a lot ofmoving around … once you get the feel of your linemates and stuff,it’ll get going.”
That connection has been especially noticeable with Filip Ekberg. The Carolina Hurricanes prospect has four goals and nine assists, matching Bowes’ own pace of 9-4-13.
“We played together a bit, like a couple of months last year, and thenwe’ve been together this whole year, so I think we’re starting to build alot of chemistry together, and knowing where we’re going to be at,” he said. “So I’d say yes, good chemistry.”
The wrinkle is that Bowes isn’t doing this from the wing anymore. Ottawa moved him to centre, a position that asks for more defensive work and more playmaking responsibility.
“It was difficult at first …. I don’t remember the last time I playedcentre,” said the left-shooting, fast-skating 19-year-old.
“But I’menjoying it. It’s a lot more of a defensive role, and I think it’s a goodchallenge for me.
“You’re just everywhere. You know, corners, walls, everywhere. You’renot just kind of on your own side.”
He’s still sorting out the details, especially on faceoffs. Bowes said he’s learning the craft one shift at a time, and the numbers are starting to reflect that progress. He has won just 44 percent of his draws overall, going 62 for 141, but he was much sharper against Oshawa, winning 68 percent of his faceoffs at 13 for 19.
“It’s tricky,” he said. “There’s a lot of different things, more than people think.
What hand (opposing centres) are, all that type ofstuff. There’s the timing, and if it’s on your half of the ice, you’ve gotto put your stick down first.
I didn’t know that at first. Like, if I went into take a faceoff last year, I kind of just did it.
“I’m learning different techniques after practice, and all that stuff, and it’s working.”
Bowes isn’t the only one driving the offence. Jaeden Nelson has continued his strong run in goal, while rookie Noah LaGambina picked up his first start and stopped 23 of 25 shots in last Friday’s 6-2 win over Brampton in Cornwall.
There’s plenty of support up front, too. Ondrej Ruml has five goals and five assists, and 17-year-old centre Brock Chitaroni has two goals and eight assists, both producing at a point-a-game clip alongside Bowes and Ekberg. First-round pick Andrew Laurin has added four goals and three assists, which puts him fourth among OHL rookie snipers.
Ottawa has also been sharp when shorthanded, and disciplined enough to stay out of trouble. Only two of the league’s 20 teams have fewer penalty minutes than the 113 the 67’s have through 10 games, and their penalty kill is second-best in the OHL at 85.7 percent.
The next stretch comes quickly. Ottawa heads to Kingston on Friday night to face the Frontenac (7-5-0), then the two teams meet again Sunday at 3 p.m. at TD Place. The 67’s dropped the first meeting between the clubs, a 3-2 overtime loss on Sept. 20 at Slush Puppie Place.
Then comes Ottawa’s lone morning game of the season, a school-day matchup against the Steelheads at TD Place on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
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