Owen Sound Leads Series 3-1
The Owen Sound Attack are just one win away from winning the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Western Conference Champs and a chance to play Mississauga or Niagara for the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Mississauga currently leads that series 3-1 with game 5 tonight in Mississauga. If the Majors go on to win that series and the Attack can finish of the Spitfires, Owen Sound will head to the Memorial Cup win or lose in a final against Mississauga as the Majors are the host city and their spot is guaranteed. Should the Majors win the OHL final, then their opposition in the final is automatically in the Memorial Cup.
But wait, don't count out the Spitfires just yet. Last year they were down to the Kitchener Rangers 3-0 and came back to win the series. And when many figured they couldn't win the Memorial Cup, they did just that, winning their second consecutive. You just cannot count this Spitfires team as down and out until they've lost that fourth game.
They have a true stud in goal in Jack Campbell, who last night faced 44 Owen Sound shots in the loss. A timely goal here or there or a lucky bounce and it could have been a different result.
Robby Mignardi got it started for Owen Sound on the power play at 6:36 of the opening period with his ninth of the playoffs from Joey Hishon and Garrett Wilson. Windsor would tie it with a power play goal of their own at 15:59 when Tom Kuhnhackl scored his tenth from Jake Carrick and Taylor Carnevale.
The period would end tied at one. Windsor would go 1/2 on the power play while Owen Sound was 1/1.
Wilson would score his eighth just 2:52 into the second from Hishon and Roman Berdnikov to give Owen Sound the lead once again. Owen Sound would increase their lead to 3-1 at 10:24 when Berdnikov scored his sixth from Hishon and Jesse Blacker.
The Attack out shot the Spits 19-9 in the period and if not for Campbell, this game could have been over. Windsor had the only power play of the period and were unable to convert.
The game's final three minutes had everyone on the edge of their seats. With Windsor on the power play, the Spits pulled goaltender Jack Campbell to skate 6 on 4. At 17:23 Kuhnhackl scored his second of the game from Carrick and Alex Khokhlachev to pull Windsor within one.
At 18:40 of the period, Owen Sound's Andrew Shaw took a two minute minor for goaltender interference. Windsor called a time out and with Campbell on the bench skated 6 on 4 again. But this time, Attack goaltender Scott Stajcer, who faced 30 shots, was able to hold the fort.
Game 5 of the series now shifts back to Owen Sound on Wednesday. It's do or die time for Windsor now. Can history repeat itself?
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