I don't think anyone (who knows anything about hockey that is) thought that any goalie can win a series by himself against the best team in the league. But the Gens are considerably better at making the most of their chances than any team who's not in the playoffs anymore. Usually comes on the PP and on the cycle, which was the case tonight. When the Gens got on the cycle, they absolutely dominated Ottawa down low and that led directly to multiple goals, also got a PPG. But there wasn't enough zone time for that to happen more often tonight, which Walters also alluded to in his presser.
I will say, Niagara dominated the Gens a lot more in games 1/2 of that series than Ottawa did tonight, and the Gens were still able to re-group, make adjustments and then dominate them the rest of the way, so the series is far from over
As you alluded to, When Oshawa made the adjustments, Niagara simply kept on keeping on and did absolutely nothing.
In the post game newsie, Tourigny said it best, “They are going to make adjustments and get better. We are going to make adjustments and get better.”
Keyser will give the Gens a good chance to win but the rest of the team has to do as I said and that is not make so many mistakes and stay out of the box.
Once Oshawa gets on the cycle, they do well. That is true but it is also true for many teams. The problem is it isn’t easy to get that cycle started against Ottawa because of their talented defence.
Teams are starting to realize you have to put the body on the 67’s to have a chance. It isn’t about knocking them around and getting them off their game, it is about simply slowing them down. Get them out of rhythm. It is really hard to do as most teams have discovered.
Sudbury was a strong team. They finished one point ahead of Oshawa. They didn’t get there because they were weak. OShawa had a great 2nd half and I said they clearly won the deadline trading. Ottawa had 106 points and pretty much mailed it in the 2nd half of the season. They aren’t mailing it in now. Oshawa got two weak goals on DiPietro and made it a game. They need to do a lot more than that. They are MORE than capable of doing that, that is for damned sure.
I am ecstatic the Gens beat Niagara. I really like what they did at the deadline. I really like a lot of the players. They are a great team to watch. A lot of classy players. Walters was a great hire. Love Keyser. Oshawa is set up more for the future and Ottawa is set up for this year. It shows.