Gens come alive to gain 30th win
By Dave Flaherty/The Oshawa Express
The Generals went two-for-two on the road this past weekend, picking up their 30th win of the season in the process.
Goalie Kyle Keyser picked up his fourth shutout of the 2017/18 season, stopping all 26 shots he faced in a 2-0 victory over the Saginaw Spirit on Sunday, Feb. 25.
Despite outshooting their opponents, the Gens went almost two periods without scoring themselves.
Captain Jack Studnicka broke the scoreless tie at 19:02 of the second period, his 16th of the year with assists from Allan McShane and Mitchell Brewer.
Kenny Huether would notch an empty net goal with 1:20 left in the third, his 28th of the year.
Keyser’s performance was nearly matched by that of Saginaw’s Evan Cormier who stopped 37 of 38 shots.
The Gens were also victorious on the road the previous evening against the Flint Firebirds.
After Flint took an early lead in the first, Brendan Harrogate tied things up at 13:44.
Hayden McCool would score his 12th of the year with 54 seconds remaining in the period to give Oshawa a lead they would never relinquish.
In the second, Danil Antropov scored at 6:56, with assists from Kyle McLean and Matt Brassard, followed only 49 seconds later by Nick Wong’s 16th of the season.
The Gens would head into the locker room after 40 minutes with a comfortable 4-1 lead.
The teams traded goals in the third with McCool adding his second of the game, securing a 5-2 victory for Oshawa.
Keyser was solid in net stopping 33 of 35 shots.
At press time, the Gens sat in fifth place in the crowded OHL Eastern Conference standings, where only six points separate the fourth place Niagara IceDogs and eighth place Mississauga Steelheads.
Oshawa is tied with the North Bay Battalion with 63 points but ahead in the standings by win percentage points.
The team will return home for the first time in nine days Feb. 28 against Mississauga, starting at 7:05 p.m. at the Tribute Communities Centre.
They will then head back on the road for weekend games against Kitchener and Hamilton.