April Fooled Us
Brampton, ON- The Brampton Steelheads fell 7-5 to the Oshawa Generals after Owen Griffin brought home four points (3G, 1A) to come back and secure the win.
Round 1. Game 3. After coming off an electric win in Oshawa on Sunday night, the Steelheads returned home looking to continue that momentum in Game 3. Yet with unfortunate rebounds and long stretches of special teams, the game favoured the Generals.
From first puck drop, the Trout took control of the first and held an edge over the Generals. Jack Ivankovic continued his stellar performance between the pipes in the first to keep Oshawa at bay.
Getting the puck in deep, generating shots on net, and keeping things in control in the offensive end allowed the Steelheads to get the game’s icebreaker. Luke Misa got the play started with a pass up to Parker Von Richter at the point. Seeing the traffic out front, Von Richter fired it on net, but missed wide. Fortunately for the Trout, the puck deflected off the back boards right to Mason Zebeski out front, who tipped it in past Jacob Oster.
Zebeski’s first goal of the playoffs immediately changed the game as the Trout continued to control the pace. With energy at an all-time high, the Steelheads doubled their score with a great play from Gabriel Chiarot and MacGregor Richmond.
Chiarot had an initial shot on Oster on a breakaway but was covered off. He shortly redeemed himself by getting the Trout’s second goal of the game. Richmond picked up a loose puck and fired it towards the goal, but it deflected out front for an awaiting Chiarot. With Oster covered off on the glove side, Chiarot sniped it top shelf to get his first of the playoffs.
The Steelheads had a few close scoring chances in the remaining minutes of the first, especially when Andrew Gibson got consecutive penalties for holding and tripping. Unfortunately for the Trout, no scoring occurred during these special teams, but they would take the lead to end the period.
However, before the opening 20 minutes ran out, the Generals got one on the board to ensure they did not end the period scoreless. With less than two minutes to go, Luca Marrelli picked the loose puck up off the faceoff and found Calum Ritchie out front. While Ritchie fired on net, it was covered off by Ivankovic, but the rebound deflected wide for Marrelli to pick up and send into the open net.
Entering the second with the Steelheads up by one, the intensity increased as the teams went back and forth to either increase the lead or tie things up. Rebounds were an issue on both sides, as most of the goals scored in the second resulted from a deflected puck off the goal.
Similar to the first, the Trout got the period’s first goal, but this time on the power play. After Ethan Martin was called for tripping, the Steelheads immediately set up in the General’s zone. Jakub Fibigr passed the puck down low to Porter Martone, who got the initial shot on Oster. Picking up his own rebound behind the net, Martone sent it back out front for Carson Rehkopf, who beat Oster down low.
Following Rehkopf’s goal, Griffin got the Gens’ second goal off Colby Barlow’s rebound, which kick-started Oshawa to go three unanswered to tie things up and take the lead. Brooks Rogowski followed Griffin with a similar play to get Oshawa’s equalizer to end the period. Lauri Sinivuori got the initial shot, which Ivankovic blocked, but Rogowski caught the rebound and sent it into the open net.
With the game tied at three entering the third, it was anyone’s game, but an unlucky bout of special teams allowed the Generals to take the lead and the eventual victory. Griffin got the period’s first goal after picking up a deflected puck and finding an open slot to give Oshawa the lead.
Things went from bad to worse for the Trout after Rehkopf was given a double-minor for high sticking. Down a man for four minutes allowed the Generals to add two more goals to their tally as Calum Ritchie got his first of the playoffs, while Griffin got his third of the night to make it 6-3.
Yet, with half a period to go, it was not over for the Steelheads as Martone scored on the power play to make it within two. Rehkopf got the puck down in the corner before passing it out front for Zebeski, who fired it through traffic. With Martone waiting on the doorstep, he tipped it in past Oster.
The Steelheads’ battle back attempt was slightly interrupted as Matthew Buckley scored his first of the playoffs, but the Trout did not back down as another round of special teams gave them one last go at tying things up.
Tempers overflowed in the final five minutes of the third, leading to the Steelheads gaining a two-man advantage. After generating several shots on Oster, Martone fired it around the boards up to Rehkopf at the point. Using his speed, Rehkopf rushed towards the net before sniping it to make it 7-5.
Unfortunately, time was not on the Steelheads’ side as the remaining seconds of the third ticked down, leading to the Generals’ victory.
Brampton returns to action on Thursday as they host the Generals for Game 4 of the playoffs. For tickets, click here.
