Generals bounce back to top Sudbury

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

After a lopsided loss to the Owen Sound Attack, the Oshawa Generals bounced back in order to avoid a winless weekend, beating the Sudbury Wolves 5-2 at the Tribute Communities Centre on Oct. 15.

The night before, Oshawa travelled to Owen Sound where they were handed a 12-6 loss at the hands of the Attack.

However, on Sunday night, perhaps looking to shake off the bad loss as quickly as possible, Serron Noel knocked in a point shot from Alex Di Carlo less than a minute into the game to put the Gens up 1-0.

The score would remain the same until the second period when, following a breakdown in the Wolves powerplay, Oshawa’s Jack Studnicka and Kenny Heuther rushed down the ice two-on-one against a Sudbury defender with Studnick feeding Heuther a beautiful pass that ended up in the back of the net for a shorthanded goal.

Not long after, the Wolves would finally be able to solve Kyle Keyser in net. However, Heuther would restore the two-goal cushion a few minutes later with his second of the night.

In the third period, the Wolves would take advantage of a Studnicka slashing penality to get within one again, but it wouldn’t last long. This time, it was Swiss import Nico Gross firing one from the point for his first goal in the Ontario Hockey League.

Allan McShane would add the empty-netter to seal the victory at 5-2.

Speaking after the game, Gross admitted the first goal was a bit of a weight off his shoulders.

“It’s an awesome feeling, but I mean today was way important that we (could) win the game,” he said.

For Gross, adapting to the OHL style of play and the smaller ice surface in North American has been a tough adjustment.

“The style of game, of course, it’s more physical, it’s a harder game here it’s faster, you have to think quicker,” he says. “Every game I feel better and more comfortable. Also, my teammates help me a lot.”

Despite the adjustment period, it hasn’t caused his coaches to lose any faith in his future success in the league.

“We really like Nico, he’s a great kid, he’s very talented. With a guy like that it’s going to take a little bit of time, we’ve got to be patient, he’s coming from a completely different world playing on Olympic-sized ice,” says interim head coach Greg Nemisz.  “This is a whole different beast coming over here to North America, there’s less time, it’s more physical, but he’s a smart kid, he’s going to adjust.”

For Keyser, the win came at the perfect time, and exactly what the club needed following the bad loss on the road.

“Hockey is hockey, that’s the way things are going to go some nights, you’re not always going to have your best games as a team and personally,” he said of the loss to Owen Sound. “Once that game was over, we came in the locker room, we looked at each other in the eyes and it was a reality check, but we moved past it, didn’t worry about it for today.”

Nemisz says that the team still has a lot to learn moving deeper into the season, and that the lesson learned at the hands of the Attack, was perhaps one better learned sooner rather than later.

“I think it was a good lesson for our team, I mean our game was slipping for a couple games in a row there and it’s tough to really hammer home what we’re preaching until you run into a good team like Owen Sound that really is going to expose you like that,  and I think it humbled us.”

The Oshawa Generals are on the road to start their weekend with a game against the Ottawa 67s in the nation’s capital. On Saturday, the Gens return home for a special home game, which will see former General Tony Tanti’s no. 22 raised into the rafters. Puck drop for Saturday’s game is set for 7:05 p.m.