By Dan Plouffe
“An unbelievable ride” is how Ottawa Jr. 67’s Minor Bantam ‘AAA’ coach John Robillard describes his team’s year thus far. A strong performance against the top-ranked Toronto Marlies in tournament play was what kick-started it all – three consecutive tournament wins and a regular season league title then followed.“We scored five goals against them, and not too many teams this year have scored any goals against them,” notes Robillard, highlighting team play as the biggest key to his squad’s success. “It hasn’t been one player or another, they’ve done it together. We have some exceptional players, but they play for each other.”Nevertheless, the numbers put up by leading scorer William Bitten are simply eye-popping – 30 goals and 27 assists through 24 games. It hasn’t been only smooth sailing however, with four players missing significant time with a broken leg, a concussion and a pair of broken arms.“Hopefully we’ll get everyone back for the end of February,” Robillard adds. “We’re looking forward to a great playoffs. These guys believe in each other.”