Owen Sound 6, Ottawa 5
Luca Pinelli stands a little more than five feet tall, but he still towered over the little girl who asked for a picture with him on Sunday.
It was a brief, happy moment after a devastating loss. The Ottawa 67’s were defeated in overtime by the Owen Sound Attack after holding a 5-2 lead well into the third period.
The young girl smiled ear-to-ear while Pinelli brushed his hair out of his face for some pictures. When she left, so did his smile, as he made his way towards the media.
“We let our foot off the pedal, let them come back,” said Pinelli, referring to the final minutes of Sunday’s game.
Pinelli did manage to tally his 30th goal of the season, a new personal best. He was also first to score in the game and now has 45 points in 41 games. He was followed by two goals off the stick of Brad Gardiner. Will Gerrior and Braedon Kessler pitched on with two more.
Then Owen Sound started rolling. About two minutes, that’s how long it took the Attack to come back and tie the game. It started with a two-man powerplay advantage and a three-goal deficit. Pinelli was one of the Ottawa players in the box.
Owen Sound converted twice and then, just into the final two minutes, Ottawa took another penalty and Servac Petrovsky tied the game up. Then Ottawa lost in OT. Ottawa’s handful of goals only secured them a point against Owen Sound.
The Attack’s powerplay is not to be tried. They came into this game having converted 30 per cent on their powerplays and are ranked second in the league, behind league-leaders, the London Knights, who currently dominate the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with 63 points — more than any other team.
Despite a massive effort from 67’s netminder, Collin Mackenzie, the Attack’s Cedric Guindon would put an end to the game just more than a minute into the extra frame. What could have been a celebration turned into vexation for Ottawa. And for more reasons than one.
For the team’s captain, Pinelli, his only interest now is in moving forward.
“Just get back together. Go out to practice and get to work, and forget about today,” Pinelli, a Columbus Blue Jackets pick in 2023, answered, when asked what the team’s plan is with their three days off.
While Owen Sound has won three games straight, Ottawa has now lost three in a row. The 67’s have a chance to break that streak on Thursday against the Peterborough Petes.
