The Ontario Hockey League Championship Series resumes tonight with Game 4 of the Robertson Cup Final at North Bay.
The Guelph Storm lead the best of 7; 2 games to 1 after a heart-stopping 4-3 win last night in Game 3 at the amped up Memorial Gardens
North Bay never trailed in the game last night, leading 1-0, 2-1 & 3-2 going to the last minute of play.
With the Storm net empty, North Bay scored, but the play was offside.
Next North Bay missed the empty net and were called for icing.
And then it happened………Zack Mitchell tied the game with 29 seconds on the clock with a deflection, and on the ensuing shift, Brock McGinn pounced on a loose puck to score the winner for Guelph with just 10 seconds remaining.
The fact that the series stands at 2-1 Guelph is quite surprising to me. and for that surprise, I fully credit the Battalion.
Whenever a broadcaster talks about the OHL ” experts ” in quotations not giving North Bay much, if any, hope, they may as well mention me by name.
First, by any measurable category, Guelph was considerably superior to not just North Bay, but virtually everyone they played.
The Storm’s level of ability and experience is almost impossible for anyone to match, plus, their second year center, Robby Fabbri has been fabulous, my candidate for the Gretzky MVP award.
Plus, the Storm have history on their side.
Since 2002, the Western Conference Champion has won the OHL title, every year, except for 2006.
Now in 2014, I certainly didn’t anticipate the Battalion would buck the trend, but depending on what transpires tonight at North Bay, the Battalion might prove me wrong.
I’m Fred Wallace