London, Oshawa battle in pivotal Game 4 of OHL Final
Published
The Oshawa Generals look to even up the OHL Championship Series while the London Knights try to take a stranglehold of the final in Game 4 on Tuesday.
London took a 2-1 series lead after surviving a wild third period that eventually saw the Knights win Game 3 7-5 on Monday.
The Knights held a 5-1 lead entering the third period before Oshawa scoring three goals in a 5:33 span to bring the Generals within a goal.
London's Jesse Nurmi and Oshawa's Beckett Sennecke then traded goals late in the period before Easton Cowan sealed the victory for the Knights with an empty-net goal in the dying seconds.
"We know [Oshawa] is a good team and we know they score in bunches," Cowan told TSN after the game. "That's on us, but in the playoffs sometimes you have to sneak off with a win. We'll regroup and be ready for [Game 4]."
Cowan continues to run roughshod over the Generals with two goals and an assist in Game 3 and is now the Knights' all-time playoff scoring leader with 92 points.
The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect now has three goals and eight points in the series.
San Jose Sharks draft pick Kasper Halttunen also made his presence felt in the series, recording a hat trick in the win. The 6-foot-3 winger now has three career playoff hat tricks against Oshawa dating back to last season's OHL Final.
"Cowan showed off so many of the skills that is going to make him a good NHL player," said TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button postgame. "There's no question in my mind he'll be playing in the NHL next year. I know Halttunen had a hat trick, but it wasn't even close who the best player on the ice was."
Winnipeg Jets prospects Jacob Julien also scored for the Knights.
Ducks prospect Sennecke, Jets draft pick Colby Barlow, NHL Draft prospect Owen Griffin, and forward Luke Torrence each had a goal and an assist for the Generals.
Defenceman Luca D'Aamato also scored for Oshawa.
Generals head coach Brad Malone was not willing to give London credit for their fast start, instead laying into his team for not being ready.
"I didn't think [the Knights] had a great first period, I thought they were opportunistic," Malone said after the game. "We gift wrapped everything that they earned on five of their seven goals so we beat ourselves tonight."
Despite the loss, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Luca Marrelli made an impact with three assists on the night. The 6-foot-2 right-shot defenceman continues to lead the league in playoff scoring with six goals and 36 points
Marelli is now four points back of Chris Pronger for the most points during a single playoff run in OHL history. Pronger had 15 goals and 40 points in 21 playoff games during the 1992-93 campaign while playing with the Peterborough Petes.
Austin Elliot picked up the win for London, allowing five goals on 36 shots while Jacob Oster took the loss after allowing six goals on 26 shots.
The series shifts back to Canada Life Place in London for Game 5 on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT which can be seen LIVE on TSN1/4, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
The CHL on TSN continues on Tuesday with Gavin McKenna and the Medicine Hat Tigers taking on Berkly Catton and the Spokane Chiefs in Game 4 of the Western Hockey League Championship Series which can be seen LIVE at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on TSN1/3, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.