Or Peterborough was completely healthy and just got badly outworked by another OHL team... There isn't always an excuse to be had!
But while we're here, maybe the Gens whole first 18 games they were sick and now that they're finally healthy they're actually the best team in the league and that's what we saw last night?
Maybe Ottawa was constantly playing against sick teams and that's why they started 18-2 and now the other teams are healthy and Ottawa is regressing to their mean?
Do you now see how silly this sounds when someone else says it?
Obviously I'm being hyperbolic but good teams get outworked by teams who aren't as good and lose to them. Just accept that and stop trying to make an excuse for it.
It doesn’t sound ridiculous at all. Anyone who has known me as a poster going all the way back to the NOOF years knows I call it like I see it and knows I will toss shade when shade needs to be tossed. For a good 4-5 years I was raking Kilrea over the coals leading up to his retirement etc. I was VERY Unpopular amongst 67’s followers. I think I’ve earned a little respect when it comes to being impartial with my assessments.
I’ve touched upon how Ottawa had been lucky with their schedule and some of the nuances helping them out a bit which contributed to their 18-1 start. Dirty and I have had some convo’s about it on here. Catching Kitchener during their horrendous start is an example. Some fortunate results where they had no business winning games against some of the weaker teams playing just a single period and making it count. Loads of home games to start the season. Their play probably deserved a 15-4 start, not 18-1. That puts them about on par with Peterborough and North Bay which I think is a fair assessment.
You are missing the overall point though. Although it is possible that a team has a bad game now and then, or maybe a bad week here of there, it doesn’t explain ZERO scoring opportunities. If you watch a team play 19 games and then on their 20th game it looks like different players wearing the regular players jersey almost to a man for the entire team, it is suspicious. YOU ASKED pregame regarding the 67’s chances (Bodog bet) and I said that I felt they were not healthy becuase that’s what I had heard. Then they lay an egg with zero scoring opportunities and I follow it up with likely they were sick. I think that is a reasonable assessment and comment. It is not meant to be a disrespectful comment to the opposition. The flu does go through dressing rooms for many teams throughout the season. Some teams are able to take advantage. I‘ve seen North Bay quite a few games this season because I think they are a fun team to watch and I am being honest by saying they didn’t play particularly well In that 5-0 win. They were average compared to what I’ve seen them play this year. That is an honest assessment. Ottaw had absolutely nothing to give. Zero. North Bay took full advantage and Ottawa was fortunate North Bay didn’t run up the score.
It would be a different story if the opposition goalie was hot or maybe some bad bounces or a handful of posts that result in some poor luck. That is what we usually see when teams go through some of the losing streaks. Guys squeezing the sticks too tight etc. But when there is one game where almost the entire team is out of the play and can’t even put one shift together, it suggests something else is wrong. Maybe they went out the night before and got totally shit faced? Doubt it but it is possible. But, again, I had heard that the flu was going through the room last weekend. That’s what it looked like. A team full of players with no energy and heavy legs. Keeping in mind this is a team that wins based on tenacity and speed. Neither were present by more than about 4-5 guys.
The flu that is going around right now is kind of a bad one. Rohrer isn’t dressed tonight because of it. The recovery for many normal people I know has been difficult. We’ve seen some odd results over the last week to ten days and that is likely a contributing factor.
To be fair, I am looking at some other results around the league that seem odd and recognize that that could be an issue for some of those teams as well. CHEO in Ottawa is overflowing with kids illness with the flu and upper respiratory viruses. It’s a pretty bad cycle across a lot of the Province right now.
Maybe the Petes didn’t show up to play, maybe it was an anomaly game by Oshawa that they simply played a game to their potential and the previous games they were just a pile of steamy poo because they are lazy and poorly coached? Somehow they managed to put a single game together Out of the blue against a premier team? I don’t know but one team being under the weather is also an explanation and a reasonable question considering what we are seeing with Ottawa.
