Oshawa Generals blank Battalion; take 2-0 lead in OHL East final
Published April 29, 2024 at 8:48 am
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