67’s 3, Generals 2

OTTAWA — Not that there was much wrong with his game in the first half of the season, but Petr Mrazek might just have picked things up a notch since returning from the World Junior Hockey Championships.

The 67’s netminder, who stole the show in Alberta playing for his native Czech Republic, ran his post WJC record to 7-1, making 34 saves, many of them point-blank as the 67’s gained an invaluable two points on the eighth-place Oshawa Generals with a house of 5,084 on hand at the Civic Centre Friday night.

During Mrazek’s current run through January and now into February, his goals-against is an even 2.00 and he is averaging exactly 33 saves a game. The 2.00 is almost a full goal off the average he carried through the first half. Facing the Generals, his 14 first period saves were crucial while his mates didn’t find their offensive game until the third.

“I don’t feel any different than before World Juniors,” said Mrazek, now 23-8-4-1 on the season. “But I feel really strong right now. Maybe there is something to it. I feel great right now.”

Mrazek’s performance bought time for Shane Prine to break a 1-1 tie at 11:36 of the third and hard-working Steven Janes clinched it at 15:22 on the power-play.

Oshawa’s Nicklas Jensen made things interesting with a goal at 19:21 but Mrazek made a glove save at the buzzer to preserve the all-important victory.

The win, coupled with a win by the Niagara Ice Dogs in London and a shocking loss by the Brampton Battalion in Erie kept the 67’s four points up on Niagara and extended their lead on Brampton to six.

Prince, meanwhile, is on a tear in prolonging his point-scoring streak to 10 games, over which he has 11 goals and 22 points to sit fifth in the Ontario Hockey League scoring race.

The 67’s had little time to savour the win, however, as they turn right around and host the Kingston Frontenacs today at 2 p.m.

It’s likely the 67’s may have missed Cody Ceci and Jake Cardwell more for what they bring to the offence than what they do along the blueline.

Minus their top two scoring defencemen due to injury, the 67’s offence took 50 minutes or so to get on track.

“We were missing two to players,” said Mrazek. “But our defence played great.”

Ceci and Cardwell are expected to be out a week, Ceci with a back/hip problem and Cardwell a groin injury. Nothing will come easy without them in the lineup.

Minus the pair, who are also a combined plus-28 with Ceci a plus-20, the 67’s threw some new wrinkles at the Generals including a revamped top line of Sean Monahan with Tyler Toffoli and John McFarland, who replaced Dalton Smith.

They also tried Toffoli on the point on the power-play to compensate for the loss of the pair of D men who have a combined for 18 goals and 75 points, Ceci 11 goals and 47 points of that total.

Little seemed to work as the 67’s power-play, which has steadily climbed to sixth overall in the league, went 1-for-5 and seldom even threatened.

If somehow the Generals miss the playoffs it won’t be for lack of talent up front and the teams set a torrid pace in a thoroughly entertaining opening 20 minutes, the Generals firing 10 shots on Mrazek in the first ten minutes, then the 67’s rebound to outshoot the Generals 15-14 in the period.

If Mrazek was outstanding at times, especially point-blank on several occasions, counterpart Kevin Baillie was nearly as good.

Neither goalie blinked until just short of the halfway point of the game when McFarland gave Monahan a perfect feed for his 27th of the season at 9:23.

Just 1:11 later, Christian Thomas, son of former NHLer Steve, tied it with a blast from the high slot.

The 67’s penalty-kill was seven-for-seven.

dcampbell@ottawacitizen