The Generals reclaimed first place in the East Division on Sunday night; they beat Mississauga in convincing fashion, taking it 4-1, before a General Motors Centre crowd of 4,677. Oshawa came out of the gate scoring twice on the power play and never looked back. Matt Petgrave and Brian Hughes both had 2-point nights, while Ken Appleby won back-to-back games, narrowly missing his first shutout.
The Generals stormed into the first period, scoring twice before the Steelheads even got a shot on goal. Both goals came with the man advantage. Cole Cassels kicked off the festivities, burying his 12th: a far-side rocket, wired from the right circle at 5:06.
Scott Sabourin continued the power-play trend, cashing in for the third time this weekend at 9:19. Scoring his 20th of the season, Sabourin deflected Matt Petgrave’s point shot under Steelheads’ goaltender, Spencer Martin. Video review confirmed the on-ice call, giving the Generals a 2-0 lead.
Ken Appleby made his third straight start for Oshawa and was perfect in an opening frame that saw the Generals outshoot Mississauga, 13-6.
Mississauga entered the middle frame with renewed intensity, but Appleby met the challenge, making an excellent, left-pad save on Riley Brace. The Generals rewarded their goaltender, adding two more to their tally for a commanding 4-0 advantage.
Petgrave made it 3-0, scoring his 5th at 10:59. Sifting in from the blue-line, the defenseman rifled a glove-side wrist shot from the top of the left circle.
The goals kept coming, courtesy of a clean faceoff win and a tipped point-shot at 16:17. Brian Hughes was credited with getting a stick on his 6th, sending the Generals into the final frame up by a 4-goal spread.
In the third, the Steelheads managed to spoil Appleby’s shutout bid, firing 11 shots on goal and finally solving the goaltender with less than 2 minutes remaining. Taking advantage of a turnover, Andrew Goldberg whistled his 4th through Appleby, but it was merely a statistic as Oshawa skated to a 4-1 win.
Oshawa outshot Mississauga 26-25.
The Generals swept the three star selection with Brian Hughes, Ken Appleby and Matt Petgrave taking home the honours.
The Generals begin a 4-game-road-trip in Belleville this Wednesday January 23rd, where they’ll take on the Bulls in a battle for first place in the East Division. Start time is 7:05 PM, and the game can be seen live on Rogers TV Durham.
Oshawa’s next home game is a 2:05 PM Super-Bowl-Sunday matinee on February 3rd, when the Generals take on the Belleville Bulls at the GMC. Come kick off a great day of sports with one of the best rivalries in junior hockey.
-OHL