Generals secure semi-final berth with 5-4 OT win
Sunday May 24, 2015
Creating offence off faceoff plays is something the OHL Champion Oshawa Generals have frequented so far at the 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Having a guy like Cole Cassels in the circle certainly doesn’t hinder that endeavour.
Cassels snapped back a faceoff win from the left of Zach Fucale as defenceman Stephen Desrocher had a lane to the net and didn’t waste it. Desrocher snapped a wrister over the glove, off the crossbar and in with 1:53 left in overtime to send the Generals to the MasterCard Memorial Cup Semi-Finals with a 2-0 record after the 5-4 triumph.
“Great job by Cassels,” said a smiling Desrocher shortly after the goal. “He got us control and I had to work my way around one guy and I just shot it, I didn’t even know where it was going to be honest.”
The 50th shot of the game was the difference maker as Québec’s Zach Fucale was terrific once again, providing numerous big time saves to keep the Remparts alive.
The Generals effectively took a little energy out of a Colisée buzzing with enthusiasm in the opening shifts of the game. Michael McCarron continued his strong start to the MasterCard Memorial Cup, tipping home a Mitchell Vande Sompel point wrister at 2:18.
The ongoing trend of Québec’s defence factoring in offensively continued just over three minutes later as Raphael Maheux joined the rush to draw a hard NHL calibre feed from Anthony Duclair. Maheux finished the job, beating Ken Appleby inside the far post at 5:43 to tie the score at one. Maheux’s goal was the fourth of five Remparts goals in the tournament coming off the stick of a defenceman.
The game would open up beyond the midway point of the first, with the Remparts paying the price on a failed offensive attack. The Generals would come back quickly in transition to produce a two-on-one situation for McCarron and Michael Dal Colle. The former would dish to the latter as Dal Colle beat Fucale across the crease to give Oshawa a 2-1 lead at 12:40.
The Remparts finished strong in the first, hemming the Generals in on a few occasions, but the Oshawa defence led by Josh Brown and Chris Carlisle did an effective job taking away lanes and thwarting opportunities.
Oshawa charged out of the gate in the opening two minutes of the second, but big saves from Fucale off Tobias Lindberg and Matt Mistele gave the Remparts some time to get their legs under them.
Vladimir Tkachev was the catalyst behind Québec’s tying goal just a shift after Fucale’s big stops as he won a battle in the Oshawa zone before Marc-Olivier Roy found a waiting Ryan Graves beyond the top of the circle who blasted a hard slapshot past Appleby at 2:45.
All square at two, the remainder of the second period was a see-saw affair, with long stretches of uninterrupted play, once spanning a length of over seven minutes.
The Generals controlled the shot clock 20-11 after fourty minutes as the two clubs entered the third tied at two.
An early third period powerplay would give the Generals sustained control in the offensive zone for overage defenceman Dakota Mermis who would give them a 3-2 lead just as the penalty expired. Mermis was a marksman, picking his spot and hitting it at 2:34, reversing the momentum from what looked to be a big Remparts penalty kill.
Then, Timashov took over.
Crafty Russian winger Dmytro Timashov who led the club in scoring this season would raise the roof of the Colisée at 5:39 with a shot from a low percentage angle that snuck by Appleby. Just over three minutes later, he beat the Oshawa goaltender across the crease on a rebound off the end wall, ripping a quick release into the back of the net as the Remparts suddenly had a 4-3 lead.
The Generals would escape defeat though, capitalizing on a late powerplay goal off the stick of Ottawa Senators prospect Tobias Lindberg at 18:07. The Oshawa powerplay moved the puck around swiftly before Lindberg stationed himself in the high slot to hammer home a one-timer.
“I think we were starting to get a little nervous there,” said Stephen Desrocher of the tense moments late in regulation down a goal. “We saw the clock ticking down but Lindberg came up big. We got the win, we’re 2-0 and that’s all that matters.”
All square at four, the two clubs headed to an extra frame where Hunter Smith nearly put things away at the midway point, hitting the post on a rush down the wing.
Each team had its share of opportunities, with the Remparts offering lots of resistance a various points in the period.
The Generals though, would ultimately come away with the win, outshooting Québec 50-25 to overcome a boisterous pro-Remparts crowd of 10,970 at the Colisée.
Michael McCarron earned first star honours with a goal and an assist in the win while teammate Michael Dal Colle had a goal and two helpers to pull into the tournament scoring lead with four points in two games.
Oshawa is off until Tuesday when they’ll face the WHL Champion Kelowna Rockets at 7:30pm. The Generals could lock down a spot in the MasterCard Memorial Cup Final pending a Rimouski win in their matchup with the Rockets on Monday.
Québec is off until Wednesday when they’ll engage in a much anticipated President Cup Final rematch with the QMJHL Champion Rimouski Océanic at 7:30pm. Both games can be seen on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.