Series HQ: Oshawa vs. North Bay

Game 7: Generals come back strong to win Bobby Orr Trophy
Oshawa 6 vs. North Bay 1 – Oshawa wins series 4-3

• New York Rangers prospect Dylan Roobroeck comes in clutch with a three point night (2-1-3) as the Generals capture their second Bobby Orr Trophy in franchise history
• Goaltender Jacob Oster came up big for Oshawa as well, stopping 24-of-25 and carrying a shutout bid into the third period
• David Bedkowski and Ethan Toms each scored their first career OHL playoff goals for the Gens
• Rasmus Kumpulainen and Connor Lockhart also had goals for Oshawa
• Calum Ritchie chipped in with two assists
• Jacob LeBlanc’s first playoff goal early in the third was the lone marker for the Battalion
• Oshawa outshot North Bay 33-to-25
• Connor Punnett returned to the lineup for Oshawa, while Beckett Sennecke and Matthew Buckley were both out with injuries
• Anthony Romani remained out for the Battalion
• North Bay overagers Paul Christopoulos, Justin Ertel and Liam Arnsby all appeared in their final OHL games
• 5,694 fans watched this Game 7 matchup live at the Tribute Communities Centre
• Oshawa moves on to face the London Knights in the OHL Championship Series, which kicks off Thursday in London

Game Centre & Highlights | Oshawa Post-Game: Laxdal & Lockhart | North Bay Recap | North Bay Post-Game: Oulahen & Arnsby

THE EAST RUNS THROUGH OSHAWA.#RedHot🔥 pic.twitter.com/HvSzlujNkz

— Oshawa Generals (@Oshawa_Generals) May 7, 2024

Game 6: Battalion win big at home to send series to Game 7
North Bay 8 vs Oshawa 1 – Series tied at 3-3

• The North Bay Battalion pick up their third straight win, coming back from down 3-0 to tie it and send the series to Game 7
• A four point night from Owen Van Steensel (2-2-4) led the way for the Troops
• Florida Panthers prospect Sandis Vilmanis scored a goal and added two assists; Vilmanis leads the OHL with 26 points so far this postseason
• Dalyn Wakely opened the scoring with his league leading 13th goal of the playoffs
• Brice Cooke, Liam Arnsby, Justin Ertel and Jacob Therrien also scored for the Battalion
• Mike McIvor stopped 35-of-36 to earn the win for North Bay
• Ben Danford scored the lone goal for Oshawa, ending McIvor’s shutout bid with 42 seconds remaining in the second period
• Noah Bender made his OHL playoff debut for the Generals, appearing in relief of starter Jacob Oster midway through the second period
• North Bay went 2-for-3 on the power play, while shutting down the Gens in their two attempts
• Matthew Buckley returned to the Generals lineup after missing Game 5 with an injury; Connor Punnett still remains out for Oshawa
• The Battalion was without Anthony Romani after he scored twice in Game 5
• A sold-out crowd of 4,204 packed the North Bay Memorial Gardens for this Sunday afternoon tilt
• Game 7 goes Monday night in Oshawa, with the winner capturing the Bobby Orr Trophy

Game Centre & Highlights | North Bay Recap | North Bay Post-Game: Oulahen & Van Steensel | Oshawa Recap | Oshawa Post-Game: Laxdal & Rolofs

A statement win by the @OHLBattalion to force a Game 7!

Owen Van Steensel scored twice and added two assists to force a Game 7 tomorrow night in Oshawa!#OHLPlayoffs | #OSHvsNB pic.twitter.com/CzGOMcoFrQ

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 5, 2024

Game 5: Nelson completes four-point effort in double-overtime
North Bay 5 at Oshawa 4 (2OT) – Oshawa leads series 3-2

• Seattle Kraken prospect Ty Nelson scored his second of the game almost five minutes into the second overtime to keep the Battalion alive and shift the series back to North Bay for Game 6
• Nelson also scored the game tying goal midway through the third, answering an Oshawa goal scored 19 seconds prior; He also added two assists to earn himself first star honours
• Top regular season goal-scorer Anthony Romani also tallied two goals for the Troops; Romani would leave the game early in the third period
• Dallas Stars prospect Justin Ertel scored the other Battalion goal while also setting-up Nelson for the game-tying marker
• Defenceman Lucas Rodriguez scored his first career OHL goal to open the scoring for the Generals
• Luca Marrelli and Luca D’Amato each tallied a goal early in the third to give Oshawa a 3-2 lead
• Luke Torrance scored his fourth of the postseason with nine minutes remaining in the third to round out the Generals scoring
• Mike McIvor made 41 saves to earn his second win of the series, while Jacob Oster made 42 saves in the Oshawa effort
• The Generals were without overage defenceman Connor Punnett, as well as Matthew Buckley who was injured in overtime of Game 4
• Oshawa didn’t surrender a single power play opportunity in the 85-minute contest
• A Friday night crowd of 5,981 packed the Tribute Communities Centre

Game Centre & Highlights | North Bay Recap | North Bay Post-Game: Oulahen & Nelson | Oshawa Recap | Oshawa Post-Game: Laxdal & D’Amato

THE MAN OF THE HOUR 🫡@SeattleKraken prospect Ty Nelson keeps the Troops alive, scoring the overtime-winner to push the series to Game 6 🎥#OHLPlayoffs | #OSHvsNB | @OHLBattalion pic.twitter.com/zX5sLU9E0c

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 4, 2024

Game 4: Vilmanis’ big night keeps Battalion alive
North Bay 5 vs. Oshawa 4 (OT) – Oshawa leads series 3-1

• Florida Panthers prospect Sandis Vilmanis scored the game-winner six minutes into overtime to cap off a four-point night (2-2-4) and to keep the Troops playoff hopes alive
• Paul Christopoulos would send the game to overtime, scoring the tying goal with only 1:09 remaining in regulation
• Liam Arnsby and Tnias Mathurin each sent the Gardens into a frenzy with their first goals of the playoffs for the Battalion
• Beckett Sennecke led the way for the Generals with two goals and a helper
• Dylan Roobroeck and Connor Lockhart also tallied goals for Oshawa
• Mike McIvor made 27 saves to earn the win for North Bay
• Jacob Oster earned third star honours, stopping 38 shots in the effort
• Anthony Romani picked up an assist in his return to the lineup; He had been out with an injury since March 28th
• Dom DiVincentiis still remains out for the Battalion
• 4,192 filled North Bay Memorial Gardens for this Wednesday night matchup

Game Centre & Highlights | North Bay Recap | North Bay Post-Game: Oulahen & Vilmanis | Oshawa Recap | Oshawa Post-Game: Laxdal & Ritchie

The @OHLBattalion scored late in the third and capitalized in overtime to force Game Five in Oshawa!

Sandis Vilmanis (#TimeToHunt) scored twice and added two assists to help the Battalion earn their first victory of the series. #OHLPlayoffs | #OSHvsNB pic.twitter.com/AIGtbTrNfw

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 2, 2024

Game 3: Generals persevere against Battalion to go up 3-0
Oshawa 5 at North Bay 2 – Oshawa leads series 3-0

• Colorado Avalanche prospect Calum Ritchie scored two goals and added an assist to give the Gens a 3-0 series lead over North Bay
• Connor Lockhart scored the game winner with a powerful wrist shot on the power play
• Beckett Sennecke showed off his skills, quickly dangling through the Troops to put Oshawa up 4-1
• Captain Stuart Rolofs also scored and added a helper for the Generals
• Owen Van Steensel opened the scoring for the Battalion with his fifth of the playoffs; Van Steensel almost scored to tie the game at 2-2, however it was waived off due to goaltender interference
• Sandis Vilmanis would add a second goal for North Bay two minutes into the third period
• Jacob Oster continues to be solid in net, stopping 39-of-41 shots that he faced
• Brice Cooke and Owen Van Steensel were each assessed a five-minute majors and ejected from the game
• The Generals lost blueliner Connor Punnett to injury
• Oshawa is a perfect 6-0 on the road so far these playoffs and have won their last eight games
• A standing-room only crowd of 4,200 packed the North Bay Memorial Gardens for this Monday night tilt

Game Centre & Highlights | Oshawa Recap | Oshawa Post-Game: Laxdal & Sennecke | North Bay Recap | North Bay Post-Game: Oulahen & Wakely

The @Oshawa_Generals continue to be hot!

Calum Ritchie (#GoAvsGo) led the way with a pair of goals & an assist to help the Generals take a 3-0 series lead!#OHLPlayoffs | #OSHvsNB pic.twitter.com/cCI3NB9CBG

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 30, 2024

Game 2: Generals neutralize Troops in 3-0 win
Oshawa 3 vs. North Bay 0 – Oshawa leads series 2-0

• The Generals had a goal in each period while Jacob Oster turned-in a 22-save shutout for his second of the playoffs
• Rasmus Kumpulainen scored on a point shot through traffic with 1:31 left in the opening period
• Stuart Rolofs found the back of the net with 2:35 to spare in the second
• Beckett Sennecke found the empty net to seal the deal on a 3-0 win in Game 2
• Calum Ritchie had a pair of assists for the second straight game
• Mike McIvor stopped 35-of-37 for North Bay
• Battalion captain Liam Arnsby returned from a six-game suspension
• A capacity crowd of 6,016 was on hand for Game 2

Game Centre & Highlights | Oshawa Recap | Oshawa Post-Game: Laxdal & Oster | North Bay Recap | North Bay Post-Game: Oulahen & Ertel 

The @Oshawa_Generals are victorious in their Sunday reds!

Jacob Oster stopped all 22 shots he faced to help the Generals take the 2-0 series lead!#OHLPlayoffs | #OSHvsNB pic.twitter.com/5KaI7OqrKh

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 29, 2024

Game 1: Rolofs scores twice as Generals rally from behind
Oshawa 4 vs. North Bay 2 – Oshawa leads series 1-0

• Sandis Vilmanis and Dalyn Wakely scored first period goals to put the Battalion up 2-0, before Oshawa rallied back with four unanswered
• Generals captain Stuart Rolofs scored twice to draw the score even prior to the midway mark of the second
• Draft eligible defender Luca Marrelli put Oshawa ahead 3-2 with a shot from the half-wall 1:54 into the third
• Connor Lockhart hit the open net as the Generals secured a 4-2 win
• Colorado Avalanche prospect Calum Ritchie had two assists for Oshawa as the Gennies outshot the Battalion 33-26
• Oshawa went 1-for-6 on the power play to North Bay’s 0-for-3
• North Bay captain Liam Arnsby served the final game of a six-game suspension
• A sold out crowd of 5,967 took in Game 1 at the Tribute Communities Centre

Game Centre & Highlights | Oshawa Recap | Oshawa Post-Game: Laxdal & Rolofs | North Bay Recap | North Bay Post-Game: Oulahen and Christopoulos

The @Oshawa_Generals score four unanswered goals to grab the Game One victory! #OHLPlayoffs | #OSHvsNB pic.twitter.com/ixqDAx5IkR

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 27, 2024

(1) Oshawa Generals (40-19-7-2) vs. (2) North Bay Battalion (39-20-7-2)
Oshawa Series Preview | North Bay Series Preview | Media Availability

With sights set on hoisting the Bobby Orr Trophy, it’s a battle for the East as the visiting North Bay Battalion take on the first-seeded Oshawa Generals, beginning with Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Friday at 7:35pm.

Despite their limited encounters this season with just two matchups resulting in a tied series, the Battalion and the Generals are gearing up for an unpredictable showdown. With both teams surging in the final stretch of the regular season and adding depth to their lineups at the trade deadline, the stage is set for an intense matchup. Their playoff history adds an extra layer of anticipation, having clashed only twice before, with each team securing an Eastern Conference Championship victory in 2014 (North Bay) and 2015 (Oshawa).

“Both teams added additions at the trade deadline and came out hard down the final stretch. Both teams are very structured, defend well, compete, and play hard. Facing each other early on in October and December, you saw familiar players, but with each team now having new players, it will add excitement to the series for those on the ice and all the fans,” said Generals head coach and recently-named OHL Coach of the Year Derek Laxdal.

Coming off an impressive 12-game winning streak to close out the regular season, the Generals charge into the Eastern Conference Final after defeating the Ottawa 67’s (4-0) and the Barrie Colts (4-2). Fuelling their success are standout players in 6-foot-7 New York Rangers prospect Dylan Roobroeck, whose commanding presence on the ice has propelled him to the top of the post-season scoring charts with 16 points (7-9-16) in 10 games played, while 2024 NHL Draft-eligible forward Beckett Sennecke has also showcased his ability to find the back of the net when it matters most, registering 15 points (6-9-15) in the playoffs.

Proving it’s not just their offence that sets them apart, OHL Goaltender of the Year Jacob Oster has been a rock-solid presence for Oshawa, ranking second in playoff goals-against with a 1.91 average and a .933 save percentage.

Despite being the youngest group remaining in the Playoffs, the Generals draw strength from their blend of young talent and seasoned veterans, all coming together in their quest to reach the OHL Championship Series as they look to lift the Bobby Orr Trophy in honour of Oshawa’s hockey legend.

“It’s every player’s dream to go on a long run and hopefully win a championship. I’ve had a great time this year and we have an amazing team, we’ve come a long way and grown a lot together. I think that’s been demonstrated so far in the OHL Playoffs,” said Generals captain Stuart Rolofs.

On the opposing end, the North Bay Battalion continue their legacy of consistency, riding the wave of a surprising four-game series sweep over the Sudbury Wolves, after a commanding 4-1 victory over the Kingston Frontenacs in the opening round.

No stranger to the atmosphere of the playoffs, the Battalion march into the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive season. A feat not achieved since the 2007-2009 Belleville Bulls, the Battalion look to conquer the title for the first time since 2014, after coming off Central Division championships in three consecutive years.

“I haven’t spoken much on it until now, but this team has been faced with a lot of adversity given the recent circumstances, and they’ve really come together as one and powered through it as you saw in the last round. The superpower of our team is that they’ve been together for so long. It’s going to be a fun challenge moving forward,” said Battalion head coach Ryan Oulahen, a former Troops captain.

Dealing with a string of unfortunate circumstances, the Battalion carry on without the contributions of key players. Winnipeg Jets prospect and former OHL Goaltender of the Year Dom DiVincentiis, along with top goal-scorer Anthony Romani, remain sidelined due to injury. Additionally, the absence of captain Liam Arnsby, serving a six-game misconduct, adds to the challenges they face. Arnsby is eligible to return for Game 2 of the series on Sunday in Oshawa.

Stepping up in their absence, veteran forwards Dalyn Wakely (11-4-15) and Justin Ertel (6-9-15) have emerged as pivotal forces for the Battalion, leveraging their playoff experience to propel the team forward. Both players continue to demonstrate their leadership on the ice, each amassing 15 points in nine games played. Ranking third among all playoff point-getters, Florida Panthers prospect Sandis Vilmanis (5-1-16) continues to lead the Battalion, tallying eight points in his last three games played.

Not to be overlooked, rookie goaltender Mike McIvor has been outstanding, posting a 7-1 record along with a 2.28 goals-against average, 924 save percentage and one shutout over eight outings.

Get your tickets to see who will be crowned Eastern Conference champions! You can catch every thrilling moment of the series by streaming it on OHL Live.

Gonna be a battle in the Eastern Conference Final.

Series Preview: https://t.co/02F15mvZKT pic.twitter.com/uBiXgGrTh3

— North Bay Battalion (@OHLBattalion) April 24, 2024

Series Schedule:
Game 1 – Friday, April 26th at Oshawa, 7:35pm
Game 2 – Sunday, April 28th at Oshawa, 6:05pm
Game 3 – Monday, April 29th at North Bay, 7:00pm
Game 4 – Wednesday, May 1st at North Bay, 7:00pm
Game 5 – Friday, May 3rd at Oshawa, 7:35pm*
Game 6 – Sunday, May 5th at North Bay, 2:00pm*
Game 7 – Tuesday, May 6th at Oshawa, 7:05pm*

*- if necessary

Season Series:
Series tied 1-1
Oct. 15 – NB 5 at OSH 2
Dec. 31 – OSH 4 at NB 3 (OT)

Playoff History:
This will be Oshawa and North Bay’s third meeting in the OHL Playoffs.
2015 OSH def NB 4-2– Conference Final / 2014 NB def OSH 4-0– Conference Final