Luca Pinelli nets highlight-reel goal, but 67’s let another crucial point slip away

Luca Pinelli of the Ottawa 67’s goes between his legs before flipping the puck past Petes netminder Zach Bowen at TD Place on March 8, 2025 in Ottawa. Photo by Tim Austen /OTTAWA 67’SArticle content

Luca Pinelli has scored 123 goals in his 239 games with the Ottawa 67’s, but likely none any prettier than his first-period marker Saturday against the Peterborough Petes at TD Place.

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Cutting through the slot, Pinelli let the puck slip behind him between his legs, then followed it with his stick before flipping a shot over Petes goalie Zach Bowen to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

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Had it been an NHL game, it very well might be the TSN highlight of the night.

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“I don’t know,” the 67’s captain said later when pressed for his opinion on the artistic value of his 32nd goal in 45 games this season. “I thought it was a pretty cool goal, I guess, but we didn’t come out with a win, so …”

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No, they didn’t. And for the 67’s, a victory was of utmost importance, especially after they were beaten with six seconds left in regulation time on Thursday night in Peterborough.

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At least the second of two 4-3 losses in 48 hours to the last-place Petes gave the 67’s a single point as it came in the shootout following a scoreless five-minute overtime period.

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It also amplifies the significance of Sunday afternoon’s game in North Bay.

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The 67’s now trail the Battalion by two points in the race for the final playoff spot in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.

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Both teams have seven games remaining, and North Bay has a stranglehold on the tie-breaker with 24 wins to Ottawa’s 21.

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Each has a difficult schedule down the stretch.

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Ottawa has a 3-2 record against the Battalion this season and is 1-1 in games played in North Bay, both of which were decided by a goal.

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“I thought we played well enough to win,” 67’s coach Dave Cameron said after his team outshot the Petes 37-25 in front of 4,481 fans on Saturday. “People are tired of hearing and I’m tired of saying it, but we don’t score easy.”

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The happiest player in the building was probably Brady Stonehouse, an overager the 67’s traded to the Petes earlier this season.

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His power-play goal with 6:31 left in the third period — a one-timer off the bar and in — sent the game to OT.

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It came with an overager the 67’s kept, Will Gerrior, sitting in the penalty box.

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Stonehouse celebrated the goal enthusiastically, then appeared to glare at the 67’s bench as he skated to the Petes’.

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Earlier in the game, Stonehouse caught 67’s rookie Filip Ekberg with a hit that left the 17-year-old Swede sprawled facedown on the ice for about a minute.