Oshawa Generals turn to Jesus to get back in the win column after seven straight losses

Did Kingston rookie phenom Shane Wright and his five points get Oshawa Head Coach Todd Miller fired? Or did it simply mean that after seven straight losses – and ten in the last eleven – the team had tuned out their coach?

It’s a moot point now as the Generals were throttled 7-2 by Wright and the Frontenacs Friday night, Miller was canned Saturday – “our team is underperforming right now,” explained General Manager Roger Hunt – and the club had one last chance to right the ship before the Outdoor Showcase game tonight against the league-leading Hamilton Bulldogs at Tim Horton’s Field.

That last chance was against arch-rival Peterborough, no less and the Tribute Communities Centre was jammed Sunday night with more than 5,100 in attendance to see if the Gens – now led by the tandem coaching team of Kurtis Foster and Mike Hedden – could get back in the win column before the entire season slipped away.

Lleyton Moore had three assists in the Oshawa Genera’s 5-4 overtime win over Peterborough Sunday night

The club were hoping a little luck o’ the Irish would help as they were sporting their green St. Patrick Day jerseys but after falling behind 1-0 and 3-1, however, the Generals needed a spark, a hero and a saviour and got all three, with Oskar Olausson – who enjoyed a three-point night – and Stuart Rolofs scoring to tie the game at threes and give the club the spark they needed.

When Joe Carroll scored his second goal of the game for Peterborough with less than three minutes to play Oshawa needed a hero and got that too when captain Ty Tullio scored his 31st of the season with just 12 seconds left on the clock.

All that left was the saviour and for that Oshawa turned to Jesus himself – David Jesus, that is – who scored the winner 3:51 into overtime to give the club a massive, anvil-off-their-back victory.

Brett Harrison scored the first Oshawa goal in their 5-4 overtime win over Peterborough Sunday

Brett Harrison scored the other Oshawa goal, Lleyton Moore chipped in with three assists and Patrick Leaver made 35 saves in the Generals’ crease.

Wright, who had a hattrick and a career-best five points Friday night, led Kingston to their win in Miller’s last game as the Oshawa coach. Calum Ritchie and Ryan Stepien scored for the Generals.

Game time for tonight’s Outdoor Showcase game in Hamilton is 7 p.m.