Under OHL coach of the year Dave Cameron, can Ottawa 67's ride 'belief' to success?

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How does a team of (mostly) teenagers manage to keep its emotions in check and stick to the rulebook so closely in the heat of a playoff series, especially against a bigger and more physical opponent looking to impose its will?

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“It’s really tough,” Sima said. “Our first two games, we were all hyped up, all jacked up, and it kind of bit us in the butt. We were taking bad penalties and they were untimely penalties, too.

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“I feel in the first couple of games we had momentum and we were tied, and then we’d take a bad penalty, and boom, they score in the power play. It’s deflating; we were deflated. (Tuesday) we did a great job.

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“The coaching staff stressed that a lot and it was our biggest key. Staying out of the box was huge. We don’t give them any momentum on their power play. We’re confident in ourselves five-on-five.”

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It will be the key for the 67’s again on Thursday, too, when they attempt to even the series in a 7 p.m. start time at TD Place.

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No doubt Cameron will calmly remind them.

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How many times has a 67’s coach won the Matt Leyden Trophy?

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That’s the second for Cameron and the ninth time in the 55-year existence of the plaque given to the OHL’s coach of the year that it has gone to an Ottawa bench boss.

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Brian Kilrea won it a record five times (1981, 1982, 1996, 1997 and 2003) and current Utah Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny took it home in consecutive years (2019, 2020).

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Cameron also was named the winner of the award in 2023.

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“This is a team award,” Cameron said. “It wouldn’t be possible without the time, effort, and passion everyone brings every day. I’m proud of this group, and everything we’ve achieved together speaks to that commitment.”

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How was the crowd at TD Place for Game 2?

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It was a poor turnout, with attendance announced at 2,556 — almost the number that showed up for Game 2 at a sold-out Sadlon Arena (capacity 4,195) in Barrie.

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That the game was on a Tuesday night didn’t help, but the 67’s bottom-line watcher could not have been pleased nonetheless.

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How well did Fetterolf play?

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He was exceptional.

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If the 67’s were going to have any chance to get back in the series, they needed a starring performance from the 18-year-old rookie from Sewickley, PA., which is just outside of Pittsburgh.

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Fetterolf — a finalist for the OHL goalie of the year award after leading the league in shutouts, goals against average and save percentage — stopped just 60 of 69 shots in the first two games.

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Among his misses was Emil Hemming’s weak-looking shot from the right-wing boards early in the third period of Game 2 that proved to be the winner.

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Fetterolf made up for that whiff by making 36 saves on Tuesday, including 17 in the first period.

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“He gave us a chance to have the second period we did,” assistant coach Norm Milley said. “Without him in that first period, maybe we’re down three goals and it’s a different story. Ryder has been outstanding for us all season, and we need that.

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“In the playoffs, you need a goalie to keep you in a game. It’s not going to be the last time. In these playoffs, you need goaltending, and the teams that go far in the playoffs, it’s the goaltending that makes the difference. It’s your third and fourth line, grind lines, the shutdown line. Those are the guys. And then the game breakers make a big difference for teams that go on long runs.”

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Can momentum carry over from game to game in this series?

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We’ll see.

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The Colts tried to bring it with them from Barrie by throwing everything they had in the first period on Tuesday, but they ran into a masked wall.

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The 67’s need a better start in Game 4, desperate to avoid a return to Sadlon Arena on Saturday and facing elimination.