Generals melt IceDogs

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

The Gens are moving on to the conference final after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to start their series against the Niagara IceDogs.

The Gens clinched the series with a victory at home on Monday for Game 6 against the IceDogs.

With the IceDogs facing elimination, their fans were out in force, as their voices could be heard echoing throughout the Tribute Communities Centre early on.

As both teams traded shots in the first, the rising chorus of “Go Gens Go!” began to drown out Niagara’s road warriors, fuelling Oshawa’s fire.

With just over a minute left in the first, Oshawa took advantage of successive powerplays, one of which was from a high stick from former Generals’ captain Jack Studnicka, when Brandon Saigeon took possession of the puck beside the net, and flipped it past Niagara’s Stephen Dhillon for the first goal of the game, giving Oshawa a 1-0 lead at the end of the first.

The IceDogs didn’t take long to respond however, as Ivan Lodnia tied the game only 47 seconds after the second period had started.

Once again on the powerplay, Oshawa’s Giovanni Vallati was able to take advantage as he ripped a shot from the blue line past Dhillon to retake the lead for the Gens.

As the clock ticked down in the second, Nando Eggenberger was able to bury a pass from captain Kyle MacLean in the back of Niagara’s net, making it 3-1 at the end of the second.

The IceDogs made a push for a comeback in the third, as Lodnia scored once again, but were unable to overtake Oshawa’s lead, making the final score 3-2 for Oshawa.

The Generals were outshot by their opponents 36-30, while also going two-for-five on the powerplay. Notably, the Gens remained disciplined as they went on the penalty kill only once in Game 6.

Oshawa had two stars of the game, as Kyle Keyser was named the first star of the game after stopping 34 of 36 shots, and Eggenberger was the third star after scoring the game winner.

With the win over Niagara now in the books, Oshawa will move on to the conference final to face division rivals, the Ottawa 67’s.

The series will begin on Thursday, April 18 in Ottawa, and will come to Oshawa for Game 3 on Sunday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 24 for Game 4.