Oshawa Generals blank Battalion; take 2-0 lead in OHL East final

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Published April 29, 2024 at 8:48 am

Ben Danford keep his eye on the prize in weekend OHL action at the Tribute Centre in Oshawa. Photo Ian Goodall

The Oshawa Generals are two wins away from the Bobby Orr Trophy and a trip to the Ontario Hockey League finals after a 3-0 blanking of the visiting North Bay Battalion Sunday night at the Tribute Centre.

The victory, behind OHL Goaltender of the Year Jacob Oster’s 22 saves – and one shutout-saving block from Ben Danford (voted the league’s Best Defensive Player in the Coach’s Poll) –  gave the Generals a 2-0 lead after beating the Battalion 4-2 Friday night in the opener.

Oshawa now heads to North Bay for games three and four tonight and Wednesday.

The Generals scored a goal in each period with Oster earning his second shutout of the playoffs. Rasmus Kumpulainen scored on a point shot through traffic with 1:31 left in the opening period; captain Stuart Rolofs – the hero in game one with a pair of goals – found the back of the net with 2:35 to spare in the second and Beckett Sennecke scored into the empty net to seal the deal in the third. Calum Ritchie had a pair of assists for the second straight game.

Mike McIvor stopped faced 37 shots in the North Bay net as Battalion captain Liam Arnsby returned from a six-game suspension.

A capacity crowd of 6,016 was on hand at the Tribute Centre.

Photo William Balfour

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