Generals pull rank on Troops in 4-3 win
OSHAWA, Ont. Tyler Donati’s power-play goal at 14:48 of the second period broke a 3-3 tie and lifted the Oshawa Generals to a 4-3 Ontario Hockey League victory over the Battalion on Sunday night.rrJustin Donati, Brandon McBride and Chris Hulit scored the other goals for Oshawa, which won a second consecutive game and moved its won-lost-tied record to 4-1-0. Goaltender Ryan Gibb made 38 saves, including stoning Brock McPherson by stacking his pads in the sixth minute of the third period.rrRyan Oulahen, Aaron Snow, with his first OHL goal, and Tyler Harrison scored for the Battalion, which suffered its second loss in a row and slipped to 3-2-0. Daren Machesney faced 23 shots in goal for the Troops.rr”I thought we worked extremely hard tonight and deserved better than what we got, but their goalie played very well,” said Battalion coach Stan Butler. “I really like the work ethic we’ve shown so far and, if the guys keep working as hard as they have, we’ll be fine. We’re also getting contributions from our young guys.”rrJustin Donati opened the scoring at 11:55 of the first period when he broke in alone on Machesney and converted from the lip of the crease after Battalion defenceman Nick Duff was leveled by a check at the blue line by Brett Trudell.rrDuff received attention from trainer Brad Handley and was assisted to the dressing room. He did not return to the game.rrMcBride gave the Generals a 2-0 lead at 3:50 of the second period, sparking a run of four goals by both clubs in a span of 2:18, before Oulahen and Snow connected a minute apart to forge a 2-2 tie. Oulahen, positioned in the deep slot, redirected Phil Oreskovic’s shot from the left point at 4:54, and Snow scored from in front after a strong move to the net off the right wing by John Seymour.rrHulit beat Machesney with a slap shot from the right-wing circle 14 seconds later to give Oshawa a 3-2 lead before Harrison, on his third goal of the season, tied it again at 14:04. With the teams skating four-a-side, Wojtek Wolski fed Harrison the puck on a two-on-one rush after Oshawa defenceman Scott Todd fell just inside the blue line.rrTyler Donati’s club-leading fifth goal gave the Generals the lead for good on a four-on-three power play in the 15th minute.rrThe Battalion, which saw the Generals score on three of their four second-period shots, stormed the Oshawa zone virtually throughout the third period in an effort to get the equalizer. Jason Cassidy hit the post in the ninth minute, and Gibb robbed McPherson again in the 17th.rrTomas Stryncl, Graham McNabb, J.F. Houle and Scott Boomsma did not dress for the Battalion.rrJustin Wallingford was the lone scratch for Oshawa.rrThe Battalion is idle until Friday night when it visits the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Game time is 7:30 p.m.rrBATTALION NOTEBOOK: Attendance at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium was 2,159 Battalion rookie right winger Cassidy of adjacent Whitby was credited with an assist on Snow’s goal Luke Lynes fought Oshawa’s Mike Kavanagh in the second period Former Battalion left winger Robert Heickert, now playing with the Oshawa Legionaires of the Provincial Junior A League, took in the game Oshawa’s two Donatis are twins The Battalion and Generals will meet next at the Brampton Centre on Oct. 14 The game marked the first of three Sundays, two of them consecutive, during the season that the Battalion isn’t at home. After the game Friday night at Sault Ste.Marie, the Troops visit the Saginaw Spirit next Saturday night before hosting the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Monday. The third dark Sunday at the Bunker is Dec. 26.
