OHL Roundup: Opening round nearing completion

A third team had officially advanced to the second round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs after action on Thursday night.

In Saginaw, Remi Elie had a pair of goals as the London Knights completed a four-game sweep of the Saginaw Spirit thanks to a 6-2 win. Max Domi added a goal and an assist in the win. Olli Maatta, Seth Griffith and Bo Horvat also scored in the win. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz stopped 25 shots for the Knights in the win. Eric Locke and David Perklin scored for Saginaw in the loss.

In Guelph, Joshua Leivo’s power play goal midway through the third period held up as the winner as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Guelph Storm 2-1. With the win, the Rangers take a 3-1 lead over the Storm in their Western Conference quarter-final series. Radek Faksa had a goal and an assist for the Rangers. Goaltender John Gibson stopped 40 shots in the win. Zack Mitchell had the lone goal for the Storm in the loss. Garret Sparks stopped 30 shots for the Storm.

In St. Catharines, the Oshawa Generals took a 3-1 series lead over the Niagara IceDogs thanks to a 4-1 win. Scott Laughton led the way with two goals and two assists for the Generals in the win. Matt Petgrave and Bradley Latour also scored in the win. Generals goaltender Daniel Altshuller stopped 28 shots. Anthony DiFruscia had the lone goal for the IceDogs.

In Sudbury, Dominik Kubalik scored at 14:45 of the first overtime period to give the Sudbury Wolves a 5-4 win over the Brampton Battalion. The Battalion erased a 4-1 deficit in the loss. With the win, the Wolves take a 3-1 lead over the Battalion in their Eastern Conference quarter-final series. Mathew Campagna had a goal and two assists for the Wolves in the win. Nicholas Baptiste scored twice for the Wolves. Chad Thibodeau also scored for the Wolves. Dylan Blujus and Blake Clarke had a goal and an assist each for the Battalion in the loss. Brandon Robinson and Matt MacLeod also scored. Barclay Goodrow had two assists in the loss.

Friday night’s schedule includes:

• Brampton vs. Sudbury (7:30 p.m.)
• Kitchener vs. Guelph (7:30 p.m.)
• Owen Sound vs. Sault Ste. Marie (7:30 p.m.)
• Oshawa vs. Niagara (7:35 p.m.)