Oshawa Generals take two of three to stay alive in OHL playoff drive

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Published February 6, 2023 at 11:21 am

Oshawa Generals finished off a busy weekend with a 4-0 blanking of the Erie Otters to close to within one point of the Sudbury Wolves for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and just four behind Hamilton for seventh.

Oshawa has a game in hand on both clubs.

Barrie Colts erased an early 2-0 deficit Friday night to beat the Generals 4-3 but Oshawa bounced back against arch-rival Peterborough the next night with a 7-5 victory.

Jacob Oster stopped 37 Otter shots Sunday to earn the shutout, his third zero in his last four games for the suddenly red-hot Generals, who are 7-3 in the last ten games.

Ryan Gagnier scored twice, his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season to pace the Oshawa attack. Nikita Parfenyuk and Dylan Roobroek had the other scores.

Oster had to be busy Friday against Barrie, especially in the opening period when Oshawa took a 2-0 lead despite being outshot 22-7. Barrie then battled back with four in a row before rookie Bennet Sennecke broke a 13-game goalless drought with a goal with 23 seconds remaining to make the last moments of the game more interesting.

Cameron Butler and Stuart Rolofs had the other Oshawa goals. Rolofs enjoyed a five-point weekend to extend his points streak to seven games. He now has 39 points on the season, tying a career high.

Carter Bickle got the nod against Peterborough Saturday night and stopped 32 shots to help the Generals win in a match where the lead went back and forth three times before three unanswered Oshawa goals by Calum Ritchie (his 20th), Thomas Stewart and Butler (into an empty net) sealed the deal.

Roobroek, with a pair, David Bedkowski, with the first goal of his OHL career, and Matthew Buckley, with his first of the season, also scored for Oshawa.

Oshawa plays in Peterborough Thursday and in Kingston Friday before returning home Sunday for a crucial game dripping with playoff implications again the Sudbury Wolves.

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