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Majors Take a 3-1 Series Lead

April 25, 2011 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors News Release


St. Catharines, ON - The Majors continued on the Road to the Cup this evening with game four of the Eastern Conference Championship series against the Niagara IceDogs. The Majors brought home a 6-1 victory and a 3-1 series lead, meaning the double blue has a chance to clinch the series tomorrow night at the Hershey Centre. Game five goes at 7:00 PM.

For the first half of the opening period, the Majors forced the IceDogs to play Majors hockey. Dictating the play paid off for the double blue as Mississauga put all kinds of pressure on the IceDogs early. Joe Cramarossa opened the scoring for the Majors with his first goal of the post season. Cramarossa got to the top of the circle and put a shot over Mark Visentin's glove to give the Majors the lead. Jordan Mayer and Maxim Kitsyn had the assists at 5:53. Late in the period, the momentum shifted to Niagara as the IceDogs started to put pressure on JP Anderson. The IceDogs tied it up at 15:09. Dougie Hamilton took a shot from the point, into traffic in front of Anderson. Johnson Andrews deflected the puck in to tie the game, his second goal of the playoffs. Both teams got their first powerplay opportunity of the game late in the first period with Stuart Percy heading to the box for the Majors at 16:24, and Billingsley heading to the box for the IceDogs at 18:48. Neither team could convert on the powerplay, and the period ended in a 1-1 tie. Shots on goal were 12-7 Majors after the first period.

The Majors pulled away from Niagara in the second period. After Dougie Hamilton went to the box for roughing at 5:10, Devante Smith-Pelly gave the Majors the lead when he scored a powerplay goal at 5:38, his sixth of the playoffs. Justin Shugg and Marc Cantin had the assists. At 6:32, the IceDogs got an opportunity with Corey Bureau going to the penalty box for high sticking. However, at 6:40, Joe Cramarossa took some of the life out of the IceDogs when he broke through the neutral zone with the puck, skated into the IceDogs zone and beat Visentin for a shorthanded goal and a 3-1 Majors lead. Cramarossa's second goal of the game was also his second of the post season, and was unassisted. While the Majors next goal took a little longer, they kept up the pressure. At 15:51, with several Majors trying to get a shot off on a rebound, Riley Brace banged the puck home for for his fourth goal of the post season, giving the Majors a 4-1 lead. Derek Schoenmakers had the assist. The Majors were not done as they extended their lead once more. Seconds after the Brace goal, Smith-Pelly scored his second of the period to give the Majors a 5-1 lead. The score stayed that way and the Majors headed to the locker room with a commanding lead. Anderson made 11 saves in the second period and several were big saves. Meanwhile, the Majors fired 16 shots on Visentin in the second period.

JP Anderson continued to be good for Mississauga in the final period, making several great saves to keep the IceDogs from mounting a comeback. While the first half of the third was relatively uneventful, the second half of the period was rough at times. The IceDogs had the majority of the chances in the final frame, outshooting the Majors 14-6, but they could not convert on any of them. Jamie Wise did add one more for the Majors, scoring at 17:52, to make it a 6-1 victory for the Majors.

JP Anderson recorded his 11th victory of the post season with 31 saves on 32 shots. Mark Visentin and Dalton McGrath combined for 27 saves on 33 saves in the loss. The games three stars were Cramarossa (3rd), David Pacan (2nd) and Smith-Pelly (1st),

The Majors will look to wrap up the Eastern Conference Championship tomorrow night at the Hershey Centre. Game time is 7:00 PM and tickets are available at the Hershey Centre box office, or through ticketmaster.ca.

MasterCard Memorial Cup individual game tickets are on sale now starting at just $45.00. 500 red level tickets have been released for each round robin game and the semi final, but tickets are going fast so get yours today. Order through ticketmaster.ca or visit the Hershey Centre box office.

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