Sapurji: Cowick says Gaunce's act 'not a masculine thing to do'

Sorry I've been M.I.A of late, but I've been a little busy tying up some odds and ends while the OHL playoffs are going on.

Still, I was lucky enough to have the chance to see the Mississauga Majors host the Ottawa 67's in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference best-of-seven semifinal. The Majors staved off elimination with a 3-1 victory in which they miraculously scored two goals on the power play.

"Hallelujah!" exclaimed Majors coach Dave Cameron after the game. "We got to the point where not only were we not scoring (on the power play) but it was draining the energy out of us, and it was just a case of trying too hard."

Entering the game the Majors were 3-for-41 working a dismal 0.073 per cent average with the man advantage.

The second power play goal the Majors scored came in the second period with 67's forward Corey Cowick in the box for unsportsmanlike conduct. Cowick took exception to a hit Majors captain Cameron Gaunce put on 67's forward Cody Lindsay, which eventually saw Cowick challenge Gaunce to a fight. Gaunce declined and ended up helping Casey Cizikas score his second of the game to take a 3-0 lead.

"(Gaunce) took liberties with our star centre," said Cowick. "I asked him to go, he shook his head no, said no about four or five times. The linesman came in and (Gaunce) decided to drop his gloves once the linesman came in and I didn't think that was the best thing to do for him, I didn't think it was the smartest thing to do for him or a very, you know, a masculine thing for him to do, but he did it."

DEAR COREY: You'll find that the smart thing to do and the masculine thing to do are usually at opposite ends of the spectrum... just sayin' as someone who is more feminine than the average OHLer, trust me, it's not such a horrible thing. And that move by Gaunce was definitely smart.

When Gaunce was told about Cowick's comments he had this to say:

"I won't respond to that," said Gaunce. "He's been in this league a few years, so if he feels that way, that's good for him. I have my reasons and that's good enough for me."

NOTE: See, I told you he was smart, he wouldn't take my bait either.

The Majors finished the game 2-for-8 on the power play. Dustin Ekleman had the other goal for the Majors while Tyler Toffoli replied for the 67's who will host Game 7 on Monday.

J.P. Anderson made 32 saves for the victory and his start in net caught more than a few people by surprise since he had been in net for the Majors loss in Game 5.

"It's almost like flipping a coin because you have two number one goalies," said Cameron. "Basically we made the switch after we lost 2-1 in... Game 3 and we made the switch because I didn't think my team was real sharp and sometimes you make a shift during a game with your goalie and that sparks your team, so we wanted to change it up a little bit."

Cameron confirmed that Anderson would start in Game 7 as well.

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