Coaches almost come to blows after 67’s heartbreaking OT loss

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FRONTENACS 3, 67’S 2 (OT)

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A beautiful day for OHL scoreboard watching turned into a near-riot in the hallway at TD Place on Sunday afternoon.

Moments after former Ottawa 67’s winger Tuomas Uronen scored with 2.8 seconds left in overtime to give the Kingston Frontenacs a dramatic 3-2 victory over his old squad, the two coaches — Dave Cameron and Troy Mann — had to be held back by on-ice and team officials as they screamed bloody murder and tried to get at each other.

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So incensed was Mann that he delivered a low blow before being ushered into the dressing room.

“Nice (bleeping) job at the world juniors, Cameron,” he shouted.

Sparking the incident was the Frontenacs’ goal celebration, which began with Uronen coasting half the length of the ice holding his finger to his lips in a “shhh” to the 6,262 fans in attendance.

As the Frontenacs poured on the ice to mob Uronen, 67’s defenceman Matthew Mayich stood closer than Mann felt was necessary and he expressed that opinion.

Cameron saw this and went ballistic.

“I take exception to adult coaches yelling at players,” Cameron told Postmedia. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

Mann offered more of an explanation.

“From my perspective, I was coming off the ice and guys were celebrating, Tuomas probably a little too hard because he played here last year and got traded,” began the second-year Frontenacs bench boss. “Mayich was just kind of standing around, and I said, ‘Can you just go, leave the guys alone?’ Like, why is he standing 10 feet from our team? I’m allowed, as a head coach, to tell those guys, ‘Go see your own guys.’ He started chirping me, and that was it. I came off.

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“I was in my office, and I don’t know if Cameron thought he heard something or someone said something that wasn’t said, but then he came after me. So I came back out to make it fun for a couple of minutes anyway,” Mann added with a chuckle. “He’s clearly upset that there was no hooking call on us at the end of the game and I could have said there should have been a penalty called (on the 67’s) before the game-winner. I thought the refs called a pretty even game. There was probably more that could have been called on both sides, quite frankly, but I thought, overall, for what was at stake for both teams, the refs were fine.”

Other than the fact they’ve both been fired by the Ottawa Senators, Cameron and Mann don’t have much of a history.

“He’s a Maritimer, just like myself,” said Mann, a native of Campbellton, N.B. “We’re feisty. He probably wants to go have a beer later.”

Likely not, as the result was more damaging to the 67’s than beneficial to the Frontenacs.

While earning a single point against one of the league’s top teams was a plus for the 67’s, getting two for a win would have been bigger.

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Instead, they are in the same position as they were at the start of the day — two points behind the North Bay Battalion in the race for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot — but now with both teams having just three games left on the schedule.

As the dust was settling in Ottawa, the Battalion rallied to tie the Barrie Colts on a goal with 40 seconds left in the third before they too fell in overtime.

The Colts, who have already clinched first in the Central Division, are tied with the Frontenacs for second spot in the Eastern Conference, both teams three points behind the Brantford Bulldogs but with Kingston holding a game in hand on Barrie.

“Ottawa’s in must win and we’re in must win … just different circumstances,” said Mann. “This was a hard game today. Guys were emotionally invested, at times.”

The 67’s, who dropped a big game in North Bay last Sunday, were blown out 7-1 in Kingston on Wednesday.

But they responded well in their final two home games of the season by upsetting the Oshawa Generals 3-2 on Friday before picking up the point on Sunday thanks to a one-timer by defenceman Frankie Marrelli with 33 seconds remaining in the second period and the steady goaltending of Collin MacKenzie, who faced 31 shots while Kingston’s Charlie Schenkel was tested 24 times.

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Marrelli, who fibbed when he said he didn’t hear anything about the “commotion” in the hallway, said there was a “super intense” playoff-type atmosphere during the game.

“I thought we had a great game today,” he said. “We would have liked to have won, but things happen, and we’ve got three more games to play, so we’re just looking forward to that.”

While both teams face opponents that have already clinched a playoff spot down the stretch, North Bay has an easier remaining schedule.

The Battalion are home to Oshawa on Thursday, play in Niagara on Friday and close out the season back in North Bay on Sunday.

The 67’s are on the road for their last three — in Niagara on Thursday, Erie on Saturday and Brantford on Sunday.

“We definitely need a win in these games, and hopefully we get all three,” said Marelli. “We’ve got something to play for right now. We want to knock (North Bay) out. We want to be in the playoffs. So every game is exciting, and we’re playing our best.”

Cameron was pleased with what he saw from his team Sunday.

“You lose, and it’s heartbreaking, obviously, but overall we’re doing a lot of real good things,” he said. “If we bring that effort and commitment the next three games, you’ll rest easy.”

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