OSHAWA, Ont. — Anthony Cirelli scored the winner in the third period as the Oshawa Generals jumped out to a 2-0 series lead over the Erie Otters in the OHL final with a 5-1 win Saturday night.
A shot by Michael Dal Colle came off the pads of Erie goalie Devin Williams and in off a hard-charging Cirelli with 7:43 remaining.
Tobias Lindberg scored 1:23 later on a breakaway, before Cole Cassels and Matt Mistle, with his second of the game, rounded out the attack.
After opening the series with a dominant 4-1 win the night before, the Generals weren’t quite as strong and could easily have fallen behind in Game 2 if not for the strong play of goalie Ken Appleby.
Appleby, although shaken early by what was later described as a muscle spasm in his leg, recovered and made 32 saves.
"We were a bit undisciplined and took some bad penalties and I thought our goalie held us in for the most part," said Generals coach D.J. Smith. "They really had a good push in the third period there and Kenny found a way to make those saves and then the guys fed off the crowd and found a way to score some timely goals."
Oshawa used its power play to open the scoring, with Mistele spinning and beating Williams through the pads 5:21 into the game.
The Otters tied it up before the first period was done, when Nick Betz found a lane to the net and beat Ken Appleby from in tight through a crowd.
Williams, like Appleby, faced 33 shots in the game and was solid until Cirelli’s goal opened the floodgates.
Dal Colle, Oshawa’s top producer, and Bradley Latour each had two assists.
Connor McDavid, who had 43 points in 16 games heading into Game 2, was held without a point for the first time in the playoffs and just the third time all season.
Otters coach Kris Knoblauch was more pleased after Saturday’s game than he was in the opener, when his club managed only 19 shots.
"I was concerned yesterday — we didn’t have that many chances — but today, if we have that many chances again, we’re not going to just score one goal," said Knoblauch. "I thought our game was good enough. We just weren’t able to put the puck in the net, so I’m not concerned at all."
Special teams were key, as the Generals scored twice on four power-play chances and held the Otters scoreless on six opportunities.
With the series now shifting to Erie for games on Monday and Wednesday, the Generals are loaded with confidence.
"I believe in my group," Smith said when asked if he was surprised Oshawa took the first two games so handily. "I’m not saying I thought we’d be up 2-0, but we can play with anybody … Our guys play hard and we’re in every single hockey game."
