Generals battling for playoff points against Knights
Posted March 2, 2012 9:10 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The playoffs are underway for the Oshawa Generals, who will look for a big two points against the Ontario Hockey League’s top team, the London Knights, on Friday Night Hockey.
Watch the game on Sportsnet East, Ontario and Pacific beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
The Generals have been playing playoff hockey for the better part of the second half of the season, but are far from a guarantee for hockey’s second season. Oshawa holds down the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference heading into the game, but is just one point up on the Peterborough Petes.
“We’re fighting for our playoff lives,” explains head coach Gary Agnew. “Whether it’s London or any other team, we got to be on our best behaviour and make sure we’re playing our best just to get the points.”
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Generals forward Christian Thomas. The son of former Toronto Maple Leaf, Steve Thomas, Christian began his career with the Knights four seasons ago. He was the centerpiece to the package which sent John Tavares to London in the 2008-09 season.
Now in his fourth and likely final season of junior, Thomas is trying to lead the Generals the same way Tavares did the Knights four years ago. The second-round pick of the New York Rangers leads his team in scoring with 60 points in 48 games.
The Knights are considered by many the odds-on favourite to win the league championship this season. With Thomas in his graduating season and his former team looking for a ring, he would have been quite the piece to London’s puzzle, had he not been traded in the Tavares deal. London assistant coach and assistant general manager, Misha Donskov, understands it’s simply the nature of the business.
“Thomas is an outstanding player and obviously our management team and our scouts knew that,” he said. “We knew that his upside is tremendous and he was going to be a heck of a player at the OHL level. That’s just the way it is and we wish him all the best.”
Can Michael Houser step closer to history?
True to form, the Knights are rolling predominantly with one goaltender this season. Houser is carrying the workload between the pipes and could soon set the single-season wins record, which is currently held by former Windsor Spitfire Andrew Engelage.
Houser is four wins shy of tying Engelage’s mark of 46, set four seasons ago. With nine games remaining in their schedule, Houser is well within reach of breaking the record. He will start against Oshawa.
“Housie’s been a rock for us all year,” Donskov said. “He’s a big reason why we’ve consistently been winning hockey games. He’s a great kid. He’s a character kid. He’s one of the hardest-working guys on our team and he loves to win.”
Although there are plenty of games remaining, the sooner Houser can break Engelage’s mark, the more rest he may get before the playoffs.
“We’ll give him every opportunity to (break the record), but at the same time be cognizant of the fact that we hopefully will have a long playoff run here, so he needs to be rested and ready to do when we do start the playoffs,” Donskov said.
Can Oshawa’s big three slow the Knights’ offence?
One thing was obvious at this year’s trade deadline: the Generals wanted to upgrade their defence. In two separate deals, they acquired a bit of everything with the former Owen Sound duo of Matt Petgrave and Geoffrey Schemitsch and Julian Melchiori from Kitchener.
Petgrave and Schemitsch’s experience on the Attack’s run to the OHL championship is just one of the intangibles they bring.
“Petgrave’s a great offensive talent,” Agnew said. “He skates well, he skates the puck out of pressure all the time and does a good job on our power-play. Schemitsch, for me, is just a really solid two-way guy.”
The Knights’ offence is the most potent in the league with an average of 4.3 goals per game. Each of their top three lines can produce, which makes for a difficult task in defending. Melchiori, a physical, defensive defenceman, will be one of the players in charge of neutralizing the attack.
“He’s big, strong and plays a mean, tough game,” Agnew said. “(London’s) depth is a big part of their strength. As long as we understand who’s on the ice and what their strengths are, I think we’ll be able to compete and get the job done.”
How vital is Austin Watson’s defence?
The former Pete will be more than familiar with the Generals and their group of forwards. Watson was perhaps London’s biggest acquisition at the deadline since he provides dependable defensive play and a fearless approach to blocking shots. He’s also strong on the draw, which could be a key to the game.
“He’s an elite player in this league,” Donskov said. “He’s really made a big impact on our hockey club and has really fit in nicely.”
Oshawa’s offence is perhaps its biggest strength with Thomas headlining a group that also includes Vancouver Canucks first-rounder Nicklas Jensen and Canadian world junior forward Boone Jenner. Watson will be a matchup dream for the Knights.
“We count on him heavily to be a leader and to help us win hockey games,” Donskov said.
Will special teams prevail?
Both teams are about as close as they can be in terms of special team percentages. The Knights are marginally better with the man advantage at 19.8 per cent, ahead of the Generals’ 19.7 rate of efficiency. Neither is particularly strong down a man with London at 79.7 per cent on the penalty kill and Oshawa at 78.9.
“When you’re down shorthanded, you got to make sure that you’re doing the right things and you’re competing for those pucks,” said Donskov, whose team studied Oshawa’s two units with video sessions this week.
“When you’re in playoff mode like we are, special teams and goaltending are key,” Agnew said, while acknowledging he’s happy with his team’s recent work on the power-play. The Generals have plenty of practice on the penalty kill as they’ve been down a man the third-most times this season.
“We really have to be blocking shots and making sure we win faceoffs and clearing pucks,” Agnew said. “I think special teams and goaltending is probably what’s going to tell the tale of the tape.”
