Gens weather the storm and win big in overtime
Oshawa’s Renars Krastenbergs attempts to slide the puck past Noah Carroll of the Guelph Storm during the Gens’ 5-4 OT victory at the General Motors Centre on Oct. 23. Krastenbergs had a solid weekend for the Generals, scoring a goal in the team’s 6-2 victory over Sarnia on Oct. 21 and notching a pair of assists against Guelph.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
They certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves, but after a massive win over the Sarnia Sting to start the weekend, the Oshawa Generals followed that up with a 5-4 overtime victory against the Guelph Storm on Oct. 23.
In the first period at the General Motors Centre, it looked as if the Gens had run the offensive well dry against the Sting two days before when they toppled the visiting club 6-2.
The Storm managed a trio of unanswered goals against Oshawa goaltender Kyle Keyser, who in his his fifth start this season, was pulled at the first intermission to be replaced by starting goalie Jeremy Brodeur.
However, in the second period, a completely different Oshawa team took to the ice as less than 30 seconds into the frame, captain Anthony Cirelli would cut the lead to two goals, quickly followed by a second marker from Domenic Commisso under a minute later.
Jack Studnicka, from an impossible angle near the goal line, would bounce one in off Guelph goaltender Liam Herbst’s skate to tie the game.
“Obviously, we didn’t start the way we wanted to tonight, but to fight back in the fashion that we did, it says a lot about our team,” said assistant coach Greg Nemisz following the game.
The score would stay tied until early in the third period, when Danil Antropov, Oshawa’s top pick in the latest OHL Draft, would notch his first in his OHL career to give Oshawa the lead.
The Cinderalla story would be ruined late in the game when Guelph, with less than a minute to go and the extra attacker on, would tie the game off the stick of James McEwan.
A deflated Oshawa crowd did not stay upset for long, when less than halfway through the OT period, Kenny Heuther would bang in a rebound to complete the comeback and seal the victory for the Generals.
“It shows how much character we have in the room,” said Commisso following the game. “No one gave up and we battled back and that was a big two points at home.”
Nemisz credits Cirelli with turning things around in the game
“He’s been our best player all year, and it was no surpose that he got us jump-started tonight,” he said.
Since returning from training camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Cirelli is averaging more than a point a game and, along with his second period goal against Guelph, notched two goals in the victory over Sarnia.
And while rookie Antropov was able to get the first goal of his early career, it was a big weekend also for Serron Noel, who scored the second of his career against Sarnia.
The young rookie will miss the next five games after being selected for Hockey Canada’s U17 Hockey Challenge team.
Nemisz says he’s not really surprised to see the rookies gaining some footing as all of the team’s young players have been good so far.
“They’ve all been very good for us,” he says. “We know the capabilities of all of them so we’re not really surprised, but it’s nice to see it come to fruition.”
This week, the Generals hit the road for games against the North Bay Battalion on Oct. 27 and the Sudbury Wolves on Oct. 28.
Oshawa returns home to the General Motors Centre to face the Mississauga Steelheads on Oct. 30. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m.