OHL Playoff Roundup: Wednesday Night
Here are the results from Wednesday night action in the OHL playoffs:
Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 4 vs. Sudbury Wolves 3 OT
Derek Schoenmakers scored the overtime winner to complete the improbable comeback for the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors in a 4-3 win over the Sudbury Wolves.
The Majors erased a 3-0 Wolves lead in the third period to earn the win and a sweep of the second round series advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year where they will face the winner between the Niagara IceDogs and the Oshawa Generals.
After a scoreless first period, Wolves overager Eric O’Dell scored his seventh of the playoffs at 7:38 of the second period to give the home squad the lead. Buffalo Sabres prospect Marcus Foligno added to the lead at 16:43 with his second of the playoffs.
The Wolves seemed to be in control when defenceman Frank Corrado scored on a rush at 8:41 of the third putting a shot upstairs over JP Anderson’s shoulder.
Just like they did in Game two, the Majors put together a third period comeback starting with Rob Flick’s third of the playoffs at 10:47. Captain Casey Cizikas jammed home a puck in close at 14:45 to bring the Majors to within one, before Devante Smith-Pelly tapped in a Cizikas pass at the tail end of a two-man advantage at the 18:09 mark to tie the score.
The Majors scored at 2:20 of the extra frame when a Riley Brace shot off Alain Valiquette produced a rebound that Schoenmakers buried for the series-winning goal.
Anderson made 23 saves to earn his eighth straight playoff win, while the overage Valiquette made 24 saves despite the loss in his final OHL game.
Foligno, the Wolves captain and hometown hero, was named the game’s first star with two points.
Owen Sound Attack 4 vs. Plymouth Whalers 1
The Owen Sound Attack completed the four-game sweep with a 4-1 win over the Plymouth Whalers to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1999.
Brendan Childerley opened the scoring at 9:40 of the first with his third of the playoffs, and Cameron Brace followed it up with his first at 14:49 which held as the game-winner.
The Attack slowly pulled away in a tightly contested second period with Roman Berdnikov scoring his third of the playoffs to make it 3-0 with just 23 seconds to play in the middle frame.
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Jesse Blacker put the Attack in full control with his fourth of the playoffs just 53 seconds into the third.
Whalers’ overagers put their names on the scoresheet in their final OHL game with James Livingston scoring the lone goal at 18:55 assisted by Robbie Czarnik. Fellow overager Tyler Brown, although held scoreless in this contest, led the club in playoff scoring with 14 points in 11 games.
Scott Stajcer picked up his fourth straight win with 36 saves as first star of the game, while rookie Matt Mahalak got the start in net and performed admirably with 33 saves.
The Attack will host the winner between the Saginaw Spirit and the Windsor Spitfires.
Niagara IceDogs 6 vs. Oshawa Generals 1
Jason Wilson and Dougie Hamilton each scored twice for the Niagara IceDogs who lead the second round series 3-1 following a 6-1 win on Wednesday night over the Oshawa Generals.
First star Wilson netted both of his goals in the game’s opening 10 minutes at 5:52 and 9:28.
Hamilton, the top ranked North American defenceman for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, made it 3-0 after two periods with his second period goal at 11:29 on the power play.
Christian Thomas put the Generals on the board with his league-high eighth goal and 18th playoff point cutting the lead to 3-1 at 4:09, however the IceDogs’ Darren Archibald quickly matched Thomas with his eighth goal of the playoffs just 38 seconds later.
Ryan Strome also scored for the IceDogs with his fifth of the playoffs.
Mark Visentin made 30 saves to earn the win, while Peter Di Salvo took the loss also making 30 saves.
Game five of the series will be played back in Niagara on Friday night.
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