OHL Oshawa Generals

Gens Come up Short

Published on February 8, 2013 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Oshawa Generals News Release


Oshawa, Ontario - It was a tough night at the office for the Generals on Friday; Oshawa fell 6-4 to the Erie Otters at the GMC. Erie struck twice with the man advantage in the first period and never relinquished the lead. Connor McDavid scored his 22nd for the Otters while Matt Petgrave and Scott Laughton each struck twice for Oshawa in a losing effort.

In the first period, two power-play goals jump-started a 2-0 Erie advantage.

Connor McDavid came close to connecting right away, nearly scoring on a wrap-around attempt. Fortunately, Oshawa's Ken Appleby met the challenge, taking away time and space, and shutting the door.

Still, McDavid tallied his 22nd with the man advantage at 16:32, sifting through the neutral zone and powering around the defence, before banking the puck off of Oshawa's goaltender and in.

Penalty trouble made Oshawa's climb even steeper at 19:19. With seconds remaining in the period, Luke Cairns buried a blocked shot behind Appleby, putting Erie up by 2.

Matt Petgrave got the Generals on the board, scoring 2 goals in the second period, but the Otters countered with 3, escaping the frame with a 5-2 stranglehold.

The Otters knocked Appleby out of the game at 3:22, with Dane Fox scoring his 10th on a rebound short-side. Daniel Altshuller came on in relief, looking to swing the momentum.

Down 3-0, the Generals got one back courtesy of the power-play at 8:31. Scott Sabourin set the screen, and Petgrave delivered with his 6th of the season, a seeing-eye, point shot that snuck by Otters goaltender, Devin Williams.

The Otters retaliated immediately, as Stephen Harper wired his 14th off the post and in at 9:02. Now 4-1, Erie added their third power-play goal of the night when Spencer Abraham unleashed a bomb from the point with just over a minute left in the frame.

Remarkably, Petgrave returned the favour just 23 seconds later with a rocket of his own. Still, the Generals headed into the final frame down 5-2.

Hopes of an Oshawa comeback seemed remote when Harper scored his 2nd of the game, making it 6-2 Otters in the third period. To their credit, the Generals outshot Erie 16-6 in the final frame and made it a game.

Scott Laughton made things interesting at 3:32, wiring his 15th past Williams who was caught moving the wrong way.

Down 6-3, the Generals kept digging, with Laughton striking again at 10:48, wheeling a wrist shot by Williams from inside the right circle.

But that was as close as Oshawa would get, with ex-General JP Labardo putting the game on ice with a short-handed, empty netter at 19:06.

Shots favoured Oshawa, 46-33, in the loss.

Scott Laughton and Matt Petgrave picked up the second and third star selections.

The Generals travel to Niagara tomorrow night, Saturday February 9th, to take on the Conference rival Ice Dogs at 7:00 PM. The game can be seen live on Rogers TV Durham.

Oshawa's next home game is this Sunday February 10th when the Generals take on the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at the General Motors Centre. Start time is 6:05 PM.

For fans that were unable to make it to the game due to weather, the Generals are accepting exchanges on unused tickets from the February 8th game. Unused tickets can be redeemed to the February 10th or 22nd games, subject to availability. Please visit www.oshawagenerals.com to learn more.

Check out the Oshawa Generals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central