Oshawa 6 Kingston 2 - Oshawa wins series 4-1 (Prediction: Oshawa in 7)
Well we thought Oshawa would win this series, but not this decisively. This came down to a goaltending issue, or lack of for Kingston. We touched on that before, so we won't get into it again.
But give the Generals credit. They thoroughly dominated through 4 games and deserved this series as it turned out, no questions asked.
Tony DeHart led the way last night with 2 goals and 3 assists for the generals. Boone Jenner added 1 goal and 2 assists while Lucas Lessio tallied 1 goal and 1 assist. Peter DiSalvo stopped 37 of 39 shots for the Generals.
Here's a look at the stats for Oshawa's big 3 draft eligible players in this series. Boone Jenner had 4 goals and 4 assists and was a plus 7; Lucas Lessio had 5 goals and 2 assists and was a minus 1; Nicklas Jensen had 4 goals and 2 assists and was a plus 2.
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Erie 6 Windsor 5 OT - Windsor leads series 3-2
This game had plenty of action with goals, comebacks, overtime, you name it it had it.
Windsor was able to come back from 4-1 and 5-2 deficits to force overtime with a huge comeback in the third period where they dominated it from start to finish. If not for the goaltending heroics of Ramis Sadikov, Windsor would have won this in regulation. The Spits peppered Sadikov with 22 shots in the third period alone, 50 in the game, while only allowing 7 shots against in the third.
Entering the third, the Spits trailed 5-2. With 9 minutes gone in the period they began the comeback. Kerby Rychel scored at 9:03 of the period with assists going to Carnevale and Ellis.
Then at 16:10 Jake Carrick pulled the Spits within 1 setup by Khokhlachev and Khunhackl.
Just 41 seconds later who else but Ryan Ellis would tie it with assists to Brown and Kassian.
But the party ended there when 4:03 into overtime Anthony Luciani scored his 4th goal of the game, yes the game, to give Erie the victory and send them back home trailing the series 3-2.
Game 6 goes Sunday in Erie.
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Kitchener 6 Plymouth 4 - Plymouth leads series 3-2
With Kitchener leading 2-1 we saw a penalty that most people don't know or understand. Ryan Murphy was called for a minor penalty for illegal equipment. Under OHL rules, a player that loses his helmut must go directly to the bench or be assessed a minor. Murphy hesitated for just a split second and was called for the penalty. Stefan Noesen continued his clutch goal scoring just seconds into the power play to tie the game.
The teams were tied going into the third when Robbie Czarnick scored 34 seconds into the third to put Plymouth up 3-2. Then Murphy, who had over 30 minutes of ice time and had rush after rush up the ice in front of a bevy of NHL scouts and General Managers and the penalty still fresh in his mind, made another rush up the ice.
People will call this a lucky bounce, but i've seen Murphy do this before going back to his days with the York Simcoe Express. His usual move is to fire a shot from the circle or take it around the net. But as he crossed center ice you could see him take a peek over his left shoulder. He saw Jerry D'Amigo coming up the left side and from behind. He slowed up just a bit as he crossed the blue line and put a shot off the end boards that bounced in front to D'Amigo who had a wide open net to tie the game up. Call it luck if you wish, but that is a set play by Murphy.
Michael Catenacci then scored to make it 5-3 set up by Murphy and Sol. It was Catenacci's 2nd of the game at 15:30 of the third. Game over right? Wrong. We've seen Plymouth come back before from 2 goals down and defeat the Rangers. Could it happen again?
With 32 seconds remaining and goaltender Scott Wedgewood on the bench for the extra attacker, Alex Aleardi scored to make it interesting. Was there another comeback left in the tank for Plymouth?
With Wedgewood on the bench and play in the Rangers zone, it happened again. Murphy's helmut popped off. He had no choice, v-line for the bench or take another 2 minute minor. He went for the bench. Luckily, the Rangers were able to clear the zone and Jason Akeson scored his 3rd of the game into the empty net.
Akeson's 1st goal of the game was the first goal for the OHL scoring champion since February 21. That's 39 days without a goal for Akeson ended. And just in time for the Rangers.
Just a note on Gabriel Landeskog, who had 2 assists on the night. With the Rangers down a goal he stood up at the bench and gave his team mates the rah-rah. He never let his team down and he would never let them let themselves down. The consummate leader that he is.
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