The London Knights have taken a 3-0 series lead over the Oshawa Generals in the OHL Championship series after a miraculous comeback in the third period.
Credit: Wild Ave Photography
The Oshawa Generals started the game on fire as Calum Ritchie opened the scoring 12 minutes into the first period. The Generals kept the pressure on the Knights by scoring two more goals within the next minute and seventeen seconds as Luca D’Amato and Connor Lockhart scored to make it 3-0 for the Generals. Sam Dickinson got the Knights on the board with just three minutes left in the first period to make it 3-1 going into the first intermission.
The Generals extended their lead in the second period on the powerplay when Dylan Roobroeck scored to make it 4-1. It didn’t take long for the Knights to respond as Kasper Halttunen scored his fourth goal of the series and thirteenth of the playoffs just under three minutes later. Oshawa didn’t let that phase them as Connor Lockhart scored his second of the game just twenty-three seconds after the Knights cut the lead to two. Generals forward Luca D’Amato didn’t waste any time either as he also scored his second goal of the game just thirty-five seconds later as the Generals opened up a 6-2 lead.
Heading into the third period it seemed like the game was all but over, but a quick penalty by Calum Ritchie of the Generals thirteen seconds into the period gave the Knights life. Knights defenceman Oliver Bonk scored his seventh goal of the playoffs on the powerplay just a minute into the period. Ten minutes later, Kasper Halttunen scored his second goal of the game to bring the Knights within two goals.
The Knights seemed to have regained their confidence as they kept firing shots at Generals goalie Jacob Oster, and with seven minutes remaining in the game, Kasper Halttunen completed the hat-trick for the second game in a row to bring the Knights within one. The Knights continued their unrelenting pressure as the Generals were just hanging on by a thread for the remaining seven minutes of the game. With just under three minutes remaining in the game, Knights rookie Sam O’Reilly tied the game at six as he was able to barely sneak one past Generals goalie Jacob Oster.
After an evenly matched first overtime where the teams traded chances but nobody scored, the game was extended into double overtime. Just two minutes into double OT, the London Knights capped off their improbable comeback as Hunter Brzustewicz scored off a rebound in front of the net to give the Knights a 3-0 series lead in the Championship series.
Kasper Halttunen was the first star of the game scoring 3 goals and tallying 1 assist, while Toronto Maple Leafs prospect and Knights forward Easton Cowan tallied 3 assists. Game 4 of the championship series now gives the Knights the opportunity to complete the sweep and move onto the Memorial Cup. Game 4 will take place on Wednesday night in Oshawa.
