Oshawa Generals win a pair on the road as league hits pause on season

Sunday home cancelled because of a COVID outbreak in Kingston? The entire season about to hit pause because of the spread of the new Omicron variant to dressing rooms around the league?

All the Oshawa Generals can do is face what’s in front of them and hope the rest eventually sorts itself out. And what was in front of the club on the weekend was a pair of road games against divisional rivals and the Gens did what they needed to do, winning both to vault into third place in the East Division at what the OHL is calling the ‘holiday break.’

Captain Ty Tullio was the star Friday night in Ottawa, scoring a natural hat trick – his first hattie of any kind – to lead his team to a 4-2 win. David Jesus had the other Oshawa goal while Brett Harrison had a pair of assists.

The next night the Generals entered the barn of arch-rival Peterborough and left with a decisive victory, doubling up the Petes 8-4. Tullio (1-3) and newly acquired Stuart Rolofs (2-2) both enjoyed four-point nights for the winners, while Lucas Marelli chipped in with three assists.

Calum Ritchie, Jordyn Ertel (with his first OHL goal), Dawson McKinney and Ryan Stepien had the other Oshawa goals.

The annual Teddy Bear Toss, originally scheduled for this Sunday’s game vs Kingston, will be held later this season after the league cancelled all games at least until December 28. The club made the decision to re-schedule the popular event, which provides stuffed animals and other toys for children at Christmas, as soon as capacity limits were reduced to 50 per cent.

Last year, with the season cancelled, the team held a community drive-thru event, collecting more than 700 bears, $300 in cash and gift cards and 1,246 pounds of food for the Durham Children’s Aid Foundation and Feed the Need Durham.

This season teddy bears will go to the Durham Children’s Aid Foundation, Boys and Girls Club, YWCA, The Denise House and Simcoe Hall Settlement House.