No love lost in this OHL set

By Amanda Zurkowski
March 31, 2017
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Oshawa Generals rookie forward Danil Antropov may have said it best when asked for his thoughts heading into Game 5 of the first round, Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference playoff series with Sudbury Wolves.

“These are two teams who really don’t like each other,” was Antropov’s quick reply.

To sure, that was very evident during Thursday’s Game 4 in Sudbury, which Oshawa won 4-2 to even the best-of-seven set at 2-2.

Tensions boiled over in a big way, and when you have to rely on special teams for most of the game, it’s a tough way to win a hockey game.

I’m going to go beyond the taboo of not talking about the officiating, because I understand, just like this is a development league for hockey players, it is the same for the on-ice officials.

However, when you feel that you absolutely must have a police presence to leave the dressing room and walk out of the building, it becomes something to talk about.

There were a lot of calls last night, many warranted, no question, and don’t get me wrong, the officiating did not cost the Wolves the game — that can be put on Generals goalie Jeremy Brodeur, who had a brilliant 41-save performance.

In my view, there were a number of blatantly-missed calls, many of which would have been directed to the Oshawa bench.

Twice in the first period there should have been calls against Oshawa for too many men on ice but none were made. Sudbury however did get one.

At any rate, following Game 4 and heading into Game 5 tonight in Oshawa, I did speak with Wolves overage defenseman Aiden Jamieson and asked him about what is now a best-of-three series.

“I think everyone still feels good, the mood in the room is still good. No one is hanging their head, so at this point everyone is just excited and eager to get back out on the ice and try to take one from them in their barn,” Jamieson summed up.

Game 6 in the series is slated for Sunday back in Sudbury.