Russians rock the Molson Centre
Posted By IAN SHANTZ
Posted 2 months ago
For a place some folks refer to as The Library, things got pretty noisy.
And who could fault the standing-room-only crowd for letting their excitement be known?
After all, consider that a who's who of Ontario Hockey Leaguers skated onto the ice at the Barrie Molson Centre last night to face a team of Russian selects in an international showcase game.
That's pretty exciting for the players involved and it's pretty exciting for everyone watching.
It was made extra memorable when Barrie Colts keeper Peter Di Salvo, who was handed the start in goal, came up huge on a couple key saves early on. He got a toe on Maxim Kitsyn's attempt from close range before throwing his glove up on Sergey Ostapchuk's wire job a minute later.
Di Salvo allowed a pair of second-period goals before giving way to former teammate and Barrie native Michael Hutchinson, but it was a solid performance from Di Salvo, an undrafted Oakville kid who played up to his abilities on what was so far the biggest hockey night of his life.
"I had the crowd on my side. I was comfortable, relaxed and ready to go, and I have the crowd to thank and the team to thank," said Di Salvo, who found out he was getting the start earlier in the day. "I had lots of butterflies in my stomach, but once the first shot came, the butterflies went away. After I get the first shot on net, I always feel pretty comfortable in there."
Of course, the fans were digging it, too.
David Redick, his sons and their pal were excited to have scooped up tickets for the sold-out event. Redick's pick-up hockey buddy has season tickets to Colts games, so he grabbed four tickets for the Wasaga Beach group.
Redick, William, 7, Michael, 9, and their friend, Owen Palmer, 9, were all sporting Team Canada replica jerseys from four rows above ice level.
Putting their pride on display makes perfect sense.
"It's a sport. It's what we excel at and it's our identity," David said. "These guys live and breathe it."
William and Owen were rooting for NHL-draft eligible Taylor Hall, while Michael is a fan of Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nazem Kadri.
David, noting a trend, helped sway the balance in the local direction.
"I kind of like (Colts forward) Stefan) Della Rovere, because he's got a bit of an attitude out there," he said. "And I'm really liking (Colts import player Alexander) Burmistrov right now. I like the dangle."
Burmistrov wore the captain's 'C' for the Russians and collected a helper in the middle frame, while Della Rovere brought the same bulldozer style to the ice that placed him on Hockey Canada's radar following a Canada-Russia challenge game last year, ultimately leading to his selection to the gold-medal-winning Team Canada world junior squad.
The 19-year-old served as an assistant captain with Team OHL last night and he'll do so again when the series -- which serves as a showcase leading up to the world juniors selection camp -- rolls into Windsor on Monday.
"The one thing you can't do is take it for granted," said the Maple native, who was called for charging on Sergey Ostapchuck in the first period and drew a penalty the next period. "I remember Pat Quinn saying that last year. There's always new players in the OHL and across Canada, trying to take your spot."
Barrie head coach Marty Williamson served as an assistant in last night's game, while the team's head athletic therapist, Richard Rotenberg, and equipment manager, Kevin Emo, were also back there.
Colts defenceman T. J. Brodie and Nick Crawford will play in Monday's series game alongside Burmistrov, Della Rovere and Hutchinson, a London Knights goalie who stopped all seven shots he faced last night.
ishantz@thebarrieexaminer.com
