OHL Championship 2015: Daily Results and Analysis

Hockey playoffs are all the rage in sports right now. In addition to the Stanley Cup postseason going on, the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series is going on between the Oshawa Generals and Erie Otters.  

The OHL is a 20-team league comprised of clubs primarily based in Canada with three from the United States. Winners receive the J. Ross Robertson Cup, named after the man who served as president of the league from 1899-1905. 

Oshawa is looking for its first title since 1990 after leading the Eastern Conference with 108 points during the regular season. Erie won the cup for the first and to date only time in 2002 and is coming off a stellar 104-point season, though it finished second in the Western Conference because the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds had a league-high 54 wins. 

Here's a daily look back at how the series is unfolding before finding out which franchise will be crowned with a championship. 

Date	Matchup	Score/Start Time (ET)	Series Result
Game 1: Friday, May 8	Erie at Oshawa	Oshawa, 4-1	Oshawa leads, 1-0
Game 2: Saturday, May 9	Erie at Oshawa	Oshawa, 5-1	Oshawa leads, 2-0
Game 3: Monday, May 11	Oshawa at Erie	Erie, 4-3	Oshawa leads, 2-1
Game 4: Wednesday, May 13	Oshawa at Erie	Oshawa, 6-5	Oshawa leads, 3-1
Game 5: Friday, May 15	Erie at Oshawa	Oshawa, 6-2	Oshawa wins, 4-1

Game 5: Oshawa 6, Erie 2

The Oshawa Generals exploded for three goals in the second period of Game 5, which propelled them to a 6-2 win Friday night. As a result, the Generals move on to the 2015 Memorial Cup. Former Generals star John Tavares congratulated the team:

Meanwhile, the Otters suffered a rotten end to an otherwise great season. They didn't let Friday's disappointment cloud everything they accomplished this year:

Nick Betz gave Erie a brief lead in the first period with a goal 12:24 into the game. The Otters' advantage was short-lived, however, as Hunter Smith leveled the proceedings less than a minute later.

Then came three more unanswered goals for the Generals in the second period, as they grabbed a 4-1 lead. A goal from Darren Raddysh did little to quell Oshawa's onslaught. Bradley Latour's goal in the third period provided some insurance, and Aidan Wallace added another for good measure.

The Otters actually outshot the Generals 32-27, but Oshawa proved that efficiency will trump volume every time. Devin Williams only faced 13 shots but made just nine saves before getting pulled in the second period.

Despite the loss, Connor McDavid had reason to be happy Friday night. He earned the playoff's Most Valuable Player Award, which didn't exactly sit well with the crowd inside the General Motors Centre, per Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo Sports:

Steve Dangle Glynn of Sportsnet was impressed with McDavid's poise, despite what was obviously a heartbreaking night for the presumptive No. 1 draft pick:

The Generals did a great job of shackling McDavid in what proved to be the clincher. He was held without a goal or an assist and sported a minus-three in his time on the ice.

"It was a total team effort to shut down Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters," said Oshawa center Cole Cassels to Sportsnet 360 (via Yahoo Sports' Neate Sager). "I couldn't be more proud of this team. He's the best player in the world. We had to try to get in his grille and get him off his game."

Oshawa was the last domino to fall with regard to the Memorial Cup. The Generals will join the Kelowna Rockets, Rimouski Oceanic and hosts Quebec Remparts in Quebec City.

Game 4: Oshawa 6, Erie 5 (OT)

Give it to Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters, they made it a fight. But with a goal 8:19 into overtime, Cole Cassels gave the Oshawa Generals a 6-5 triumph and put them one win away from capturing the 2015 OHL championship.

Cassels' overtime goal capped what was easily the most thrilling matchup of these finals, a seesaw battle that saw both sides take and then give up momentum. Matt Mistele earned an assist on Cassels' goal and was the main offensive star for Oshawa all night, adding two goals. 

The Generals all evening made a habit out of building and blowing leads. They opened on a 2-0 run, with Mistele and Mitchell Vande Sompel getting things started in the first period. Nicholas Baptiste and Dylan Strome answered later in the period to tie the game at 2-2, each netting goals within less than a minute. 

Tied early in the second period, Mistele scored his second of the game to give Oshawa a 3-2 lead and Stephen Desrocher added another to send Erie to the brink. Jake Marchment and Darren Raddysh then got the Otters back into the game with quick-strike goals, and McDavid stepped up to give them their first lead of the game.

Given their first chance to mount a comeback, Josh Brown netted a shot with just a second remaining in the second period. And it was a good thing he did it then, too. 

After trading 10 goals back and forth in the first two periods, the two offenses went radio silent in the third. Ken Appleby and Devin Williams, who both looked hapless at points, turned on their jets for a series of close saves to send the game into overtime.

Nearly nine minutes in, Cassels put his shot through to give Oshawa a 3-1 lead heading back home for Game 5 on Friday, May 15.

Game 3: Erie 4, Oshawa 3

Sometimes all it takes is a little home cooking.

The Erie Otters climbed back into the OHL Championship Series Monday with a nail-biting 4-3 victory over the Oshawa Generals in Game 3. The Generals now lead the series 2-1, but Erie has plenty of momentum on its side, thanks largely to superstar Connor McDavid.

McDavid did not notch a single point in Game 2 for the first time in 16 contests, but he was the best player on the ice for extended portions of play Monday. He finished with a goal and an assist on the day and controlled the tempo of the game whenever the puck was on his stick.

McDavid assisted the first goal of the game on a beautiful pass to Remi Elie in the first period. Alex DeBrincat pushed the lead to two in the first period with an impressive goal of his own, and Oshawa goaltender Ken Appleby finally looked human for the first time in this series.

Appleby returned to form in the second period, but he was matched by Erie goaltender Devin Williams. Neither team scored in the second period.

The same could certainly not be said about the third period. 

McDavid scored Erie’s third goal less than six minutes into the contest, and the game appeared to be over. It was his 20th goal and 45th point of the playoffs, and Sportsnet Stats put his brilliance into context:

The game may have looked over, but the Generals bounced back when Tobias Lindberg buried a shot in the back of the net. The Otters pushed the lead back to three with Nick Betz’ goal, but Oshawa made the capacity crowd quite nervous in the closing minutes with a goal with less than four minutes remaining and another with less than two minutes remaining.

It trimmed the deficit to 4-3 for a tense final push, and the Generals pulled Appleby from net for an extra attacker. Alas, Williams stood his ground at the end, and the crowd exhaled in relief with the 4-3 victory. 

Suddenly, we have a series on our hands again.

Game 2: Oshawa 5, Erie 1

Sometimes the box score doesn’t paint the entire picture.

The Oshawa Generals beat the Erie Otters in Game 2 of the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series to the tune of 5-1. On paper, that sounds like a dominating performance—and it certainly was down the stretch and on defense—but the game was tied at one with less than eight minutes remaining.

The Generals defended home ice and now lead the series 2-0. Goaltender Kenny Appleby was the key with 32 saves on 33 shots, and the Otters failed to score more than a single goal for the second game in a row.

The Oshawa Generals official Twitter account passed along the three stars of the game:

While Appleby was brilliant, Anthony Cirelli scored the game-winning goal with less than eight minutes left when he buried a loose puck in the back of the net. The floodgates opened from there, and Oshawa scored three more times in the final seven minutes to easily put the game away. 

Sportsnet provided highlights for the second, third and fourth goals of the dramatic finish:

It is easy to get caught up in the offensive onslaught fans saw down the stretch, but the defense and Appleby deserve plenty of credit. 

Oshawa prevented Erie from scoring on all six of the Otters’ power plays, and superstar Connor McDavid failed to tally a point. The Generals pointed out that Appleby made a critical save before the finishing stretch from the Generals:

Oshawa parlayed the momentum from the power-play stops into those late goals and broke Erie’s spirit in the process.

Generals coach D.J. Smith discussed his team’s performance, per OntarioHockeyLeague.com: "We can play with anybody in this league. With that being said, they played us really hard tonight and that game could've gone either way. We have a tough task ahead of us trying to replicate this outcome in their building."

The series shifts to Erie for Game 3 Monday, and things will certainly become more difficult for Oshawa after two impressive wins.

However, the Generals proved they can shut down Erie’s powerful offensive attack and should have plenty of confidence on the offensive side after Saturday’s finishing stretch. What’s more, Appleby has been the best player of the series thus far, and that is a problem for an Otters’ attack trying to break through for a victory.

Sometimes a hot goalie is all it takes.

Game 1: Oshawa 4, Erie 1

Defense was Oshawa's hallmark during the regular season after allowing 157 goals in 68 games, 38 less than any other team in the OHL. That held up in Game 1 of the championship series, as the high-powered Otters were held to just one goal in a 4-1 loss. 

Generals head coach D.J. Smith told Brad Coccimiglio of SooToday.com prior to Game 1 that Erie was a unique challenge because of its aggressive offensive attack:

"

They’re a different team because they provide more of an offensive threat. In saying that, they play very good defence as well. When you’re trying to score, it opens you up defensively as well. We have to be prepared to play really tight defence but we’ve got to also try to score some goals. It’s a tough mix. They’ve got some special players.

"

Smith's compliments of Erie must have gotten back to his team, because Oshawa wasted no time in exerting its will in the series. The Generals used their size and power to dominate the quicker, finesse style that Erie utilizes. 

Otters star Connor McDavid has to be the best player on the ice at all times for his team to have a shot. He did manage to provide one of the night's highlights with this incredible assist (h/t DRL Productions) that closed the gap to 2-1 in the second period:

McDavid didn't have a chance to do much of anything else, because Oshawa used its size to keep checking him into the boards and wear him down. It's a testament to how well the Generals played that the 18-year-old superstar only got them for one point, as noted by Mark Zwolinksi of The Toronto Star:

"

McDavid is on quite a tear though, and his 2.8 points per game in the playoffs is way ahead of what Taylor Hall did (1.84) in winning two Memorial Cups with Windsor, and the 1.93 pace Patrick Kane had when he was with the London Knights.

"

Unlike Erie, which is so dependent on one player, Oshawa got offensive contributions from multiple options. Michael McCarron, Mitchell Vande Sompei, Michael Dal Collie and Hunter Smith all had goals in the victory. 

Per the Generals official Twitter, Oshawa outshot Erie by a total of 31-19 en route to taking a 1-0 series lead:

Erie's adjustments should have started sooner in Game 1, but Kris Knoblauch will have a quick turnaround that could gavor his team. The Otters can try to wear down Oshawa with their speed early in the first period, hoping to catch a goal before keeping up an exhausting pace in the final period. 

It wasn't a good performance by Erie, but hardly one that should discourage the team from believing it can compete on this stage. Oshawa is a deeper team overall, despite not having the best player. This team locks down on defense and will occasionally get the kind of offense it showed on Friday. 

 

Stats via OHL.com unless otherwise noted