Gens Fall On Country Night

OSHAWA, ON – The Oshawa Generals dropped their second straight game on Friday night, 4-1 at the hands of the Ottawa 67’s.

Jaden Cholette got his first start for the Gens since the 6-0 loss to the Guelph Storm on September 25th.

Ottawa started veteran goaltender Jaeden Nelson, who was looking to bounce back from his last start, where he allowed five goals on 26 shots before being pulled against Sarnia.​

First Period

The Generals came out flying to start the game, creating multiple chances off the forecheck.

Unfortunately, the play in the defensive zone cost the Gens two goals, putting them behind the eight ball early in the game.

After a turnover along the boards, Chase Yanni took the puck and dished it to centre Nic Whitehead on a 2-on-1 from the top of the circles. Whitehead took the one-timer and rifled it past Cholette’s blocker to put the 67’s up just under six minutes into the game.

Just over a minute later, the Gens coughed the puck up twice in the defensive zone trying to break it out. Ottawa’s Colby Coombe was stopped by Cholette before Brayden Krawczyk jammed in the rebound for his first goal of the season.

With the Generals down 2-1, head coach Mario Pouliot called a timeout to let the group settle down.​

They responded well after the timeout and just over 30 seconds after the 67’s extended their lead, O’Donnell sniped to get the Gens back within a goal.

The O’Donnell – Rogowski – Cloutier line was stellar on the forecheck in the first period, and this time it earned them a goal. Rogowski stripped the 67’s defenceman of the puck in the corner before finding O’Donnell in the slot and sniping it over Nelson’s blocker.

After a back-and-forth 20 minutes, the Gens found themselves down a goal heading into the second period.

​Second Period

Like the first period, Oshawa came out ready to go, creating a lot of chances. Early in the period, Tyler Hinde created three chances for himself, including a breakaway and a one-timer.

Unfortunately for Hinde, Nelson stopped all three and Nelson denying the Generals would become the theme of the period. He made multiple big-time stops, including denying Sam Roberts on a one-timer alone in the slot.

With the 67’s holding the Gens at bay for the period, they headed to the power play with under three minutes to go in the second. After 67’s defenceman Ondrej Ruml fired one towards goal, it was blocked by Brady Murnane. The puck would bounce off Murnane’s leg and back into the high slot where Ruml stopped in and smacked a knuckle puck into the top corner past Cholette.

After not being able to capitalize on the multiple chances they created, the Gennies headed into the third period behind for the fourth straight game.

Third Period

Unlike the first two periods, the Generals came out flat and couldn’t seem to find their game.

Ottawa controlled the play for much of the third period, limiting the amount of opportunities the Gennies would create. Oshawa would get a couple of chances on the power play in the third period but really struggled to generate many opportunities.

Spencer Bowes would add the fourth goal for Ottawa on the empty net to wrap up the game.​

Postgame Thoughts

Ultimately, the game came down to the Generals not being able to finish the opportunities they generated in the first 40 minutes.

Hinde had three really good chances in the second, and others created a lot of good opportunities on the forecheck, but just couldn’t capitalize.

Another key to the loss was the difficulty the Gens had on special teams. They went five for six on the penalty kill, which isn’t bad, but the one goal put the game out of reach. The Generals have had a tough time staying out of the box this season, and it has really forced them to be perfect on the penalty kill.

The power play has now gone three games without a goal, and the last time they scored a goal was against the Barrie Colts, where they went one for eight.

Next up is the Sarnia Sting at the Tribute Communities Centre on Sunday night, with puck drop at 6:05. If you’d like to come cheer your Generals on, you can get your tickets here!