Gens set to break franchise point record
Goaltender Kenny Appleby helped the Gens storm through a pair of weekend wins. Appleby earned his sixth shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Plymouth Whalers.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
This season could be one for the record books.
After a 3-0 win in Plymouth on March 7, followed by a 6-3 win in Windsor, the Oshawa Generals have tied the franchise regular season point record with 101, originally set back in the 1986-87 season, a team which included NHL alumni such as goalie Jeff Hackett, left winger Derek King and defenseman Gord Murphy.
“I think it’s a tremendous honour to be part of a team that is going in the Oshawa Generals history book,” says general manager Roger Hunt. “It would be great to do that obviously with the history that is here in Oshawa. I think it’s been more, as a staff, on our minds than certainly the players. The players are just going about their business as normal.”
And it was business as usual over the weekend.
In the matchup against Plymouth, Oshawa saw the return of leading scorer Michael Dal Colle and top goalie Kenny Appleby, both sidelined with the flu in recent weeks.
Oshawa dominated the shot board throughout the game, totalling 60 shots. Tobias Lindberg, former Whaler Matt Mistele and Joe Manchurek registered goals in the game.
Appleby earned his sixth shutout in 46 starts this season.
Heading back down the road to Windsor the following night, the Gens kept the momentum rolling, coming out on top 6-3 over the Spitfires.
Cole Cassels had a four-point game and set a career high of 77 points in the process.
With only six games left in the regular season, Hunt says he hopes the regular season success will lead the club through the playoffs.
“Really, you’re judged in this business by your playoff success. There’s been four teams in this franchise that have been more successful than us, so that’s really our goal to do as well as we can in the playoffs,” he says.
The Generals have been atop the Canadian Hockey League rankings for months, and have clinched both their playoff ticket and the eastern division title. However, come playoff time, Hunt knows anything can happen.
“There are a number of teams that are thinking the same as us so it’s not easy. We need luck and health to stay on our side,” he says.
“It’s great to do well in the regular season and to deliver a large number of wins for our fans…but the playoffs is certainly our goal to be one of the best Generals teams,” Hunt adds.
Three of the Generals’ final six games take place this weekend, starting with a trip to the nation’s capital to take on the 67s. Oshawa returns home Saturday to take on the Mississauga Steelheads before a Sunday night matchup with the troublesome Kingston Frontenacs.