Ottawa 5, Oshawa 0
The Ottawa 67’s celebrated a dominant 5-0 win against the Oshawa Generals on Friday.
It was also the first game back in about a month for Ottawa’s starting goalie – Collin Mackenzie. He had missed more than 10 games because of injury.
But the show-stopping performance might not have happened.
“I set an alarm for 3:15 (p.m.),” Mackenzie said, “but I set an alarm for 3:15 a.m. by accident. So my buddy called me at 4:00 p.m., woke me up and then I got here.”
Mackenzie said he started snoozing somewhere between 1 and 2 p.m.
“It was a decent nap.”
While Mackenzie spoke to the media, he sported two different shoes and a smile on his face. He said it’s good to be back, no matter the kicks.
“It felt great,” said Mackenzie. “I was pretty confident going in there with the way our team’s been playing lately, so it was a fun game.”
Mackenzie recorded his first shutout of the season on Friday. He said it came naturally.
“I wasn’t going to fight it, wasn’t overthinking anything, just go out there and play.”
Mackenzie added that, despite the final score, Oshawa still put up a fight. It makes for a game that’s pretty close to perfect, he said.
“There were very few mistakes and that’s really good for us, considering we have a really good team, best in the league, coming up.”
Mackenzie’s talking about the London Knights, whom they play today (Saturday). London currently leads OHL and has already clinched a playoff spot. Ottawa is tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with 64 points.
It might be a confidence booster to win 5-0, but for Mackenzie, he’s keen on staying focused.
“We’ve got to stay level-headed, that’s this whole game. You can’t get too high or too low. So, I think we’re going to enjoy the win for now but wake up for tomorrow and get ready for the next one.”
Mackenzie said he’s also planning another nap. “I’m going to need one,” he chuckled.
He’s hoping to wake up on time too.
