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Bowen gets shutout as Wolves win big one over Ottawa

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A gutsy decision paid huge dividends for the Sudbury Wolves as affiliate goaltender David Bowen got called up to play against the No. 1 junior hockey team in the country and made 26 saves to shut out the Ottawa 67’s 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.

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The win, coupled with Barrie’s 8-1 loss at Mississauga, helped the Wolves jump two points ahead in the race for the OHL Central Division title, with 11 games remaining.

Bowen played in exhibition games for Sudbury this season and appeared in three games with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the QMJHL before returning to the Rayside-Balfour Canadians of the NOJHL. He got the call in the wake of the Wolves’ 10-6 loss to the Saginaw Spirit on home ice Friday night, in which regular goalies Christian Purboo and Mitchell Weeks gave up four goals on six shots, and five goals on 31 shots, respectively.

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The 19-year-old son of Leafs play-by-play announcer Joe Bowen said he found out Saturday morning he was getting the call.

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“My billet mom walked into my room and said, are you alive?” he laughed. “She said your dad’s trying to get a hold of you. My phone was buzzing off the wall. I got calls from my GM (in Rayside), I got texts from Cory (Stillman).”

As for the game, Bowen couldn’t imagine a better outcome.

“It was unbelievable,” he said. “When you get called up for a game like this, I don’t think the first thought that goes through your head is that it goes as well as it did out there. A lot of credit goes to the guys in the room, I mean, there were a couple of blocks that probably would have went in, without, if they didn’t get impeded before going in the net.

“That’s a gutsy performance from all these guys and a big two points.”

As an affiliate, Bowen can get called up for the standard number of games, but Rayside is still his main team at this point. Still, the huge ovation from the Sudbury crowd as he was announced as the game’s first star was pretty emotional for a kid who, despite being bounced around a bit this season, has kept working and maintained a great attitude.

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“I didn’t think I’d get another chance, but every chance I get, I try to be the best individual I can and then, secondly, be the best goalie I can,” said the unsurprisingly well-spoken Bowen. “I mean, that one feels great, that one feels unbelievable. When you don’t think you’re going to get another chance to come up here and then get thrown in against the best team in the OHL and it goes as well as that, I mean, you can’t ask for anything better than that.”

Anthony Costantini of the Ottawa 67’s battles for the puck with Matej Pekar of the Sudbury Wolves during OHL action from the Sudbury Community Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Wolves defeated the 67’s 2-0.
Anthony Costantini of the Ottawa 67’s battles for the puck with Matej Pekar of the Sudbury Wolves during OHL action from the Sudbury Community Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Wolves defeated the 67’s 2-0. Photo by Gino Donato/For The Sudbury Star

Bowen, who has a 2.64 goals-against average in Rayside with a .925 save percentage, got tested early as the 67’s led 4-0 on the shot clock in the opening minutes. He seemed cool, calm and collected between the pipes. About the only thing he struggled with a little was puck control behind the net, but mostly due to the communication challenge of playing on a new team and also thanks to one awkward bounce off the end boards.

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It was a scoreless first, with the shots 8-7 in favour of the Wolves, who clearly brought a much better defensive posture to this one than the ugly defeat on Friday.

There was a little bit of everything in a well played and exciting second period as the Wolves took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Matej Pekar at the 12:40 mark and he became a central figure in the game story, even though he ended up getting an early shower. The Wolves had just killed off a too-many-men penalty and Bowen had just made a gigantic glove save on Jack Quinn, who cut in on his wrong wing, pulled the puck to his forehand and snapped it high. Bowen snagged it in his trapper in what might have been his best save of the game.

But as the penalty expired, the Wolves sent out a mix-and-match line of non-penalty killers with Pekar, Kosta Manikis and Owen Gilhula, and they had a tremendous shift with plenty of pressure. Pekar eventually picked up his own rebound and jammed the puck in on the blocker side along the ice past 67’s goalie Cedrick Andree. Manikis and Gilhula both got well-earned assists.

A few minutes later, Brad Chenier took a shot and followed up for a rebound, but Andree held on. As Chenier skated by the crease, 6-foot-7, 240-pound defenceman Kevin Bahl kind of shoved at him, and the pair exchanged a few words. Seconds later, Pekar went after Bahl along the boards near the centre red line and as they tangled up, Pekar dropped the gloves and started throwing. Pekar got two for roughing, five for fighting and a game misconduct. Bahl just got the fighting major.

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On the ensuring power play, the 67’s looked to have tied the game on a shot from the point that sailed in past Bowen. But wanting to hold onto that shutout, the goaltender was demonstrative in letting the referees and his bench know that he had been interfered with in the crease, and the Wolves challenged the goal. After a fair lengthy review, the officials waved it off, much to the delight of the Wolves faithful.

Already missing Quinton Byfield, who’s still nursing an injury, and Pekar, who got booted, the Wolves also looked to be losing captain Macauley Carson, who went down hard behind the Ottawa net after trying to lay a hit on Bahl midway through the third period. Carson got helped off, but was back a few shifts later to help his team lock down defensively.

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The 67’s eventually pulled their goalie, down 1-0 with 1:38 remaining, and the Wolves immediately got control. Nolan Hutcheson made a fancy pass to Brad Chenier while facing the boards inside the Ottawa zone and the veteran Hanmer native ripped it home at the 18:34 mark to seal the victory.

Wolves assistant coach Zack Stortini was impressed with his team’s effort and attention to detail.

“It was a great team win against a great team,” boasted Stortini. “They’re one of the top teams in the OHL and we had a great effort from our guys. They played a playoff-style game for 60 minutes and it was a lot of fun to watch.”

After Bowen’s amazing effort on Sunday, it will be interesting to see if he gets more action in the coming week. The Wolves will hit the road for a rare Wednesday game in North Bay, before returning home to host Niagara on Friday and the Mississauga Steelheads on Sunday.

Either way, it’s a game he’ll remember for a long time, and his rather famous father was in attendance to give his boy a wink as the game ended.

“I kind of gave him a look right when it ended there,” recalled the younger Bowen. “I don’t think anyone’s a bigger fan than your mom and dad. My mom, unfortunately, wasn’t here, but seeing him was really special. He told me to always believe, always think that you’ll get another chance and when you get it do something like I did today, so, I mean, lots of fun.”

Sudbury Wolves Brad Chenier tries for the loose puck in front of Ottawa 67’s goalie Cedrick Andree during OHL action from the Sudbury Community Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Wolves defeated the 67’s 2-0.
Sudbury Wolves Brad Chenier tries for the loose puck in front of Ottawa 67’s goalie Cedrick Andree during OHL action from the Sudbury Community Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Wolves defeated the 67’s 2-0. Photo by Gino Donato/For The Sudbury Star
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