67's riding high toward record-breaking season

The Ottawa 67's have plenty of reasons to celebrate these days.

The team is sitting five points up on second-place Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League's Eastern Conference, and are tied with the London Knights for the league lead.

Not only do their 32 wins and 68 points in 45 games place the 67's among the top junior hockey teams in the country, it sets them on pace to challenge their franchise records for wins (50) and points (104) in a season.

That success is stirring a lot of excitement among fans, with attendance at last Friday's game soaring to 5,517, the highest of the season, not counting school day games — essentially a field trip to TD Place for thousands of local students.

"When you get that kind of atmosphere around the team, the buzz with the fans, the smiles from the players and everything, that's the kind of environment you want," said André Tourigny, the team's head coach and vice-president of hockey operations.

"It's like a drug. We don't want to stop, we want to keep going."

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Tourigny said he knows what it's like to lose, which helps him appreciated the winning streak that much more, and suggests the changes he's brought in this year have been well worth the extra investment.

Those includes hot meals for players before school, a full-time conditioning coach and a skills development program.

'Bromance' in the air

As for the players, they say they're feeling the excitement, but are trying not to let it get to their heads.

"You're really proud to put on the 67's sweater," said Pembroke's Tye Felhaber, currently leading the OHL with a career-high 79 points and 48 goals in just 45 games.

The team currently has no captain or even assistant captain, but Felhaber said that doesn't really matter.

"Everybody in our locker room knows the protocol and what to do on and off the ice to be a pro," he said.

 "For us, it doesn't really make a difference if we have a letter on our shirt."

Those sentiments were echoed by rookie Alec Belanger, who scored his first OHL goal last weekend.

He described the current mood on the 67's bench as a "bromance."

"That connection you have with the guys, it's incredible," the 16-year-old said. "If you're on the ice with them, you're trusting them to get the job done."

The team is a favourite to make the Memorial Cup tournament in Halifax in May for the first time since 2005 — but for now, Tourigny said the players are taking it one day at a time.

"We try to be the best today and if we're the best today, tomorrow [will] take care of itself."

The 67's start a home-and-home series tonight in Oshawa before returning to play afternoon games at Lansdowne Park Saturday and Sunday.