Tuesday Highlights: Otters execute

Tuesday April 28, 2015

The Erie Otters and the North Bay Battalion took home ice victories in conference final action on Tuesday. Here’s a look at how things unfolded.

ERIE 7, SAULT STE. MARIE 5 (Erie leads series 3-1)

The Erie Otters pulled out all the stops on another exciting night of OHL playoff hockey in Game 4 on Tuesday. Nick Baptiste enjoyed a career-high four goal night while Connor McDavid added four assists to his OHL playoff scoring lead as the Erie Otters took a 3-1 series lead over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds with a 7-5 win. Highlights / Post-Game Comments #SSMvsER

“Hats off to our entire team,” said Baptiste post-game. “The defence was steady, our goaltending was excellent and we made the most of our chances. It’s a great feeling.”

Otters Head Coach Kris Knoblauch shared his post-game observations.

“I was proud of how our guys overcame adversity tonight, bouncing back after allowing an early goal in the first period and continuing to excel on the penalty kill throughout the game,” he said. “It was nice to see some of our guys who haven’t been on the scoresheet as much as they’re used to in Baptiste (4G) and DeBrincat (2G) be rewarded for their hard work.”

Erie’s special teams executed as the powerplay went 3-for-4 and the penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5, paced by some big saves from goaltender Devin Williams who made 32 on the night.

The loss marks the first time all season that the Greyhounds have been defeated in three consecutive games.

The two clubs were tied at two after one period, with Sault Ste. Marie controlling the play and outshooting Erie 20-9.

Second period goals from Sault Ste. Marie’s Gabe Guertler, paired with Baptiste’s second of the night on the man advantage saw the score knotted at three entering the third.

After Jared McCann gave the Hounds a 4-3 edge on a nice feed from linemate Sergey Tolchinsky, the Otters responded with three goals in the next 10 minutes as McDavid set up Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat before Baptiste completed the hat-trick at 13:23.

Tolchinsky scored late to give the Hounds life, but Baptiste would hit the empty net in the game’s final minute for his fourth of the night to give the Otters the 7-5 decision in front of 5,903 at Erie Insurance Arena.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Sault Ste. Marie coach Sheldon Keefe. “On a few different occasions we had a chance to build on a lead and we let them back in it. It’s the result of a combination of a lack of focus and composure and failure on special teams.”

“Their best players have been very good and McDavid has carried the load,” he continued. “That’s not so much my concern as it is our team. We played a really good game in spurts, but ultimately lost our composure at key times and that cost us the game.”

The series shifts back to Sault Ste. Marie for Game 5 on Thursday as the Otters carry a 3-1 series lead north. Thursday’s game can be seen on Sportsnet 360 at 7:00pm.

 

NORTH BAY 2, OSHAWA 1 – OT (North Bay leads series 2-1)

Ryan Kujawinski is developing a knack for scoring big goals in the 2015 OHL Playoffs. The New Jersey Devils prospect lifted the Battalion to a Game 5 win over Barrie in the second overtime of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and replicated that clutch effort with an overtime winner on Tuesday to give the Troops a 2-1 series lead over the Oshawa Generals. Highlights / Post-Game Comments #OSHvsNB

Just like his overtime winner against Barrie in Game 5, Kujawinski benefitted from the presence of linemate Nick Moutrey who found him with a cross-crease pass to give the Troops a 2-1 victory on home ice.

“It was a nice pass from Moutrey so I have to give him some credit on that one,” Kujawinski said with a laugh after the game. “Scoring an overtime goal here is wild. The fans are crazy and it’s great to see everyone excited for what’s happening here.”

Battalion Head Coach Stan Butler spoke glowingly of the contributions from goaltender Jake Smith who made 34 saves in the win and is the reigning Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.

“I thought Oshawa came out playing really well and outcompeted us in the first period. Ultimately I think we need to give some credit to Jake Smith who kept us in the game until we got going and started playing better in the second. We got better as the game wore on and Jake’s strong performance was a big part of this win.”

While the Erie Otters excelled on the powerplay on Tuesday, the Battalion had a man advantage of their own, taking advantage of the ‘seventh man’ at the Memorial Gardens. The Battalion faithful were loud and proud from the drop of the puck to Kujawinski’s overtime winner.

After Oshawa’s Stephen Desrocher ripped a slapshot past Smith to open the scoring 11:57 into the first, the Battalion would counter on a goal by Ray Huether at 15:54 as Brett McKenzie set him up in the slot.

The game remained deadlocked at one into the second period when the fine goaltending of Jake Smith preserved the tie. Smith robbed Oshawa forward Cole Cassels alone on the doorstep, stretching his glove across to take away an empty net as the Gardens erupted with applause.

The Battalion outshot Oshawa 12-6 in the third frame but couldn’t beat North Bay native Ken Appleby in the Generals crease as overtime rolled around for the second game in a row.

After some key saves from Smith early in overtime, Moutrey managed to fight off an Oshawa check and push a rolling puck across the slot to a waiting Kujawinski who fired the puck past an outstretched Appleby 10:28 into the extra frame.

“Despite the loss, I thought that was our best game in the series to this point,” said Generals winger Michael McCarron. “I felt every guy in our locker room really gave their all tonight but the bounces didn’t go our way. Our top guys, myself included didn’t finish on our chances and that was ultimately the difference.”

Generals coach D.J. Smith echoed McCarron’s comments.

“We had more chances than they did tonight, we just didn’t bear down. Jake Smith took away three open nets from us. What more can you say? He put on a heck of a display. You just can’t afford to not capitalize on the kind of scoring chances we had tonight.”

The Battalion take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 of the series on Wednesday at 7:00pm. The game can be seen live on local Rogers TV and TVCogeco channels in addition to Rogers Digital Sports+ Channel 368/369.

 

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