BY KEITH LACEY
Danny Battachio doesn't mind being the
villain in his hometown.
The talented Ottawa 67's goaltender was the
difference Thursday night, turning in a spectacular
performance, to lead Ottawa to a big 3-2 victory in the opening
game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals at the Sudbury
Arena.
"That was a good win, I guess you could say,"
said the modest Sudbury-born goaltender, who was named the
game's first star. "The boys did a
very good job in front of me tonight and I
made the saves I had to make and we managed to get the
win."
Battachio was particularly sharp in the first
period when the Wolves bombarded him with one quality chance
after another. Only because of
Battachio's brilliance, the 67's ended the
first period tied 1-1.
The Wolves didn't have many quality scoring
chances in the second period, but turned things on during the
final five minutes of the contest after Ben
Pouliot brought the Wolves to within a single
goal.
However, Battachio, a graduate of the Sudbury
Northern Wolves of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League,
made several outstanding stops as Ottawa held on for the big
win.
Battachio's biggest save came on a sprawling
stop against Nick Foligno with only a couple of minutes to go,
when it appeared Foligno had an open net to deposit a backhand
shot, however, Battachio dove out with his chest and managed to
knock the puck wide.
Battachio acknowledged he was very sharp and
said both goals that got past him "were perfect shots" by
Foligno in the first period and Pouliot's late marker.
The save on Foligno late in the game was made
out of desperation, said Battachio.
"Foligno picked up a loose puck and it looked
like he had a lot of the net to shoot at, but I got across and
guessed and somehow managed to get a piece of the puck," he
said. "Sometimes luck is a big part of the game."
Playing in front of his entire family and
dozens of friends in his hometown during a big playoff game in
a packed arena was a thrill, said Battachio.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "I'm usually
nervous before any playoff game, but I was really nervous
tonight before the game because I knew there would be a lot of
people supporting me," he said. "I've always been proud to be
from Sudbury and I always get up for the game whenever we play
the Wolves and I'm happy I had a good game and the team
won."
Wolves head coach and general manager Mike
Foligno credited Battachio with stealing the game for the
67's.
"Battachio played very well tonight," he
said. "We have to find a way to get goals past him because he's
obviously a very good goaltender."
Foligno agreed Battachio was at his best in
the first period, when the Wolves could easily have scored four
or five goals.
"We played a very solid first period and had
numerous quality chances, but Battachio kept them in the game
until they got their skating legs," he said.
Foligno said he was disappointed with the
second period effort, when the Wolves didn't manage a single
quality scoring chance, but was pleased
how they turned things on in the final period
and almost tied things up.
"We can play better and we will play better
the next game," he said.
His players are disappointed, but they
realize there's nothing they can do about game one and must now
concentrate on tying up the series
Saturday night at the Sudbury Arena.
"It's only one game…it's obviously a big
game, but we have to move on and worry about the next one," he
said.
Foligno admits he's going to have a very
difficult decision to make about who to start in net Saturday
as Patrick Ehelechner was not sharp in game
one and Kevin Beech came on in relief in the
third period and looked very sharp.
"We have faith in both our goaltenders," said
Foligno. "I felt Patty could have played a little better
tonight…and we have a lot of faith in Kevin.
"We're going to have a hard practice (Friday)
and then a decision will be made so the goaltender who gets the
call in game two will be ready."
Chris Hulit opened the scoring for Ottawa in
the first period batting a puck from the slot through
Ehelechner's legs with Ottawa enjoying a man advantage.
Foligno tied things up with a wicked wrist
shot over Battachio's shoulder.
Hulit scored his second goal of the game,
again on a power-play, picking up a long rebound and rifling it
over Ehelechner's shoulder.
Brad Staubitz scored the game winner on
another power play late in the second period firing a long
slapshot from the point that seemed to handcuff Ehelechner as
he didn't move and didn't appear to see the shot.
Game time Saturday night is 7:30 pm.
Games three and four are scheduled for Ottawa
on Monday and Wednesday evening.
