2025 OHL Championship Postgame Roundtable - Game 1: Oshawa 4 London 2 - OHL Overtime - The Armchair GM's Sports Network

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Shaired GM Sports Network.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
This is Jim Joker's voice of the Cakes to bron Next,
you're listening to OHL Overtime and in depth interview show
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(00:48):
Armchair GM Sports Network. Here's your program host, Brandon Computer.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Welcome into our first to OHL postgame Posse roundtable right
here on OHL Overtime and a part of the OHL
and sixty podcast right here on the Armchair GM Sports Network.
Brandon putto live here from Canada Life Place. We're gonna
break down Game one of the OHL Championship Series between
the Oshawa Generals and the London Nights. Thank it everybody
this tuned in live on our Armchair GM Sports Network

(01:20):
YouTube channel and those listening to the next day on
your favorite on demand audio platform. Oshawa Generals take down
the London Nights for their first defeat in the OHL Playoffs,
now falling to twelve and one on the playoffs thanks
to a four to two win from the Oshawa generals,
please to welcome on the Posse here with reesea Media
and Colin Ward from the Ohl and sixty podcast, as
well as Joel Vanderlina contributor for us here on the network. Gentlemen,

(01:45):
I'll start off thanks a lot for joining us and
first of many on this channel. I know you guys
have some some thoughts, So first off, I'm gonna start
off with Reese on this one. Reese, thanks for joining us.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Hey, it's thanks for having me. It's it's gonna be fun,
you know, to get the real roundtable going after every
game in the HL Championship Series. I think I think
it's gonna be fun and it's not gonna be a
four game sweep like it was last year, So that'll
give us a ton of opportunities to share our opinions
on thoughts and thoughts on each game. So no, I'm pumped.

(02:17):
This is gonna be fun.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
Joe Vanderlin, you're trenting Goldenhawks are doing good things right
now as well, but appreciate you being able to cover
and fall along with the OHL stuff as well.

Speaker 4 (02:28):
Yeah, thanks for having me. Really excited to get this
going with you guys, and if game wons any any
indication of what the series is gonna be. It's it's
gonna be a fun ride for all of us.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
Last, but not least, Colin Ward, never a man short
of words, Colin, I know you have a lot to
say and look forward to getting your thoughts tonight.

Speaker 5 (02:46):
Yeah, thanks, Brandon, appreciate it. Yeah, it's reached. It's very
nice to be a part of a good roundtable. We
got a seven game series here. This is going seven.
What a game one? Undisciplined from the night side. But
you give a team nine power plays and like especially
a team like a oshwa are the best player, who
has the best player in the league in Calum Richie

(03:07):
and arguably the second best and Beck at Seneca, especially
in this postseason, how good they've been. It's tough to be.
They're a tough team to be when you give them
nine power play opportunities.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
So this is going to be a very informal chat, guys.
It's not going to be like our normal game recaps
that you've kind of listened to all season long and
throughout the playoffs. We do have postgame audio from both
sides with Dale Hunter and Casper Halton in from London
side in the Nashua side with Brad Malone as well
as Andrew Gibson has scored two goals in this game.
But it's going to be just a general sort of
discussion and we'll play the postgame interview whenever we get

(03:38):
around to it. But you know, uh, Reece, let's start.
Let's start there, and I'll kind of let you guys
just kind of open it up like a like an
open debate that you'd see in politics, which thank god,
we're not doing a political debate on tonight's show. But
you know, Reese, what were your initial thoughts on Ashwa
being able to come out here and do what they did, knowing,
you know, the wounds that they licked after last year's

(03:58):
final go and lose and then four games and it really,
you know, wasn't very competitive in all the four games
with the bright lights of London and with TSN covering
the games, and you know, a team that had a
lot to prove as the underdog in their last two
series against Branford and Barry. What were your thoughts on
the way Oshawa came out tonight.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
If we did a political show, we'd be canceled in
five minutes after we got on the air. No, no, yeah,
it's probably probably a good thing, but yeah, no, it's
you know what, I think what's more impressive is the
fact that they came into the third period trailing by
a goal and they scored all three in the final frame.
I think that speaks volumes to the Oshawa Generals and

(04:37):
kind of the difference between last year and this year.
Obviously we're not talking about the same team. You don't
really have to be an expert to to say that,
but you know, I think I think when the Generals
look back at that series, yeah, they take a lot away,
But also I think it's a situation where you just, Okay,
it happened, we got our Bobby or trophy, all right,

(04:58):
let's chase it, let's run it back next season. And
they're in that exact position right now, and they're one
game better than they were a year ago against the
London Nights. So no, I thought it was an all
around great road game from the Oshawa Generals, you know it.
If there was gonna be an I think I'm safe
to say that it would be an upset with the
Oshawa Generals if they were to represent the Ontario Hockey

(05:19):
League at the Memorial Cup in Ramouski that they they
were gonna have to take one in London. I mean,
that's common sense. If it goes seven, you obviously have
to take one on the road, but you know, to
take one of the first two I think is a
really huge step to where the Generals want to get
and and where they wanted to be last year. And
that's that's at the top. That's with an OHL championship,

(05:42):
another banner hanging at the at the Tribute Community Center,
and and some more rings around the fingers of the
players and the executives in Oshawa. So great third period
by the Generals, uh took advantage of of the opportunities
when they got them in that final frame. And you
know when you score four on Austin Elliet the way
the way he's played all season long since coming over

(06:02):
from technically Barry. But in terms of on the ice
at Saskatoon, you're gonna win more nights than not. So
so the Generals with a great third period, played an
overall great road game.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
Anybody can jump in all right.

Speaker 4 (06:19):
When you look at Oshawa too, you kind of see
that the maturity of Beckett Senek, he Ben Damford. Last
year they were they were seventeen year olds. Now they've
taken that that leap and they both played huge minutes
tonight for Oshaua. And then you look at at their
acquisitions throughout the season.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
How big was Gibson tonight with two goals?

Speaker 4 (06:39):
How big was Kobe Barlow with two assists?

Speaker 3 (06:42):
So they're not as kind.

Speaker 4 (06:44):
Of to Reese's point, they're not the same team though
was here last year. And it's a credit to their
management staff. It's great to these players for how they've developed,
how they've grown, and how they've come together.

Speaker 5 (06:56):
I I echo both you guys, Satury. I mean, you
look at the maturity level of their game tonight. They're
ready to go. They had to think about that all
all season this year. They were playing for this moment
as much as London's trying to play for the mem
Cup Final where they were last year Oshawa.

Speaker 6 (07:13):
It feels like all season long, and you see.

Speaker 5 (07:14):
This year at the Eastern Conference and every single time
you watch them play, you see that, you see that
what they were playing for and they're playing for this
moment that they're in right now. And we saw that
first hand tonight in Game one of the HL final.
You see the you see the maturity level of their
game Buckley as well, guys like that Torrance with the
big hit on sim early on in the game, like

(07:35):
those moments like that.

Speaker 6 (07:36):
Last year, they didn't get those moments. They didn't get
the big hit.

Speaker 5 (07:39):
You know, they had a couple of big moments throughout
the season against London in the head to head, but
they didn't get those big moments last year in the finals.

Speaker 6 (07:45):
Now they got that. Jacob Auster, he knows what it takes.

Speaker 5 (07:49):
Now that's the big one last year and you heard
that and you're gonna hear that soon like Jacob Austro
last season in the OHL.

Speaker 6 (07:55):
I mean, you looked out of gas in the finals.

Speaker 5 (07:58):
That's a long run for Oshawa and Eastern Conference where
it was like who's gonna Who's gonna have to play
four games or possibly five games with the London Knights.
Last season it was Sagana or London, whoever won that
conference final was going to the Memorial Cup, and it
felt like the Eastern champion, you're gonna get the Eastern
Championship banner. But that's it. This year, it feels like
there's a there's a purpose in the East. The East

(08:19):
was the beast of the East this year, and I'm
not as surprised that we saw this. And then going
back to the twenty twenty two finals for Reese and
I at the Bulldogs. You see the twenty twenty two
finals Game one where Windsor came out and punched him
in the mouth, you know they're ready for that. And
I think that with Oshwaller an older team, Seneca never
got to play last year in the finals. And when
you look at that, and when you look at Danford

(08:40):
as a captain who blocks a ton of shots, I
mean I kind of like six block shots tonight, just
alone on the couple of power play opportunities by the Nights.
Like when you look at the maturity level to their game,
they've improved a ton In Jacob Auster, I mean it's
at first hand this season in Round two when Oshua's
up against the wall, Jacob Auster is perfect. And I

(09:02):
don't think it's a surprise for how good he's been
in his career and how much he's overcome adversity throughout
his career.

Speaker 6 (09:07):
But we saw that.

Speaker 5 (09:08):
Tonight in game one where Jacob Auster when he has
a moment when they need him, most two minutes left,
after they score a goal the end on an empty net,
he'll make a couple of big saves in front of
the generals. I mean, I was really impressed, and like
you said, Joel, with their general manager Roger Hutt making
those moves right, you see their veteran guys that were
on last year's team, that were young kids that got
that experience. Then they step up this year. You see

(09:31):
them have a bit a pivotal role tonight in Game one.
And then then you see the Gibson ad, you see
the Barlow ad, and also you see the Noma Powell
ad and you and then the point streak wasn't there,
but you see those guys get better, and you see
what Griffin's doing. I mean, the kid's got his draft
stocks going up a ton, not very big, but I mean,
if you're gonna keep on putting up points like that,
and you're gonna keep on getting the good spots on

(09:52):
the ice, you're gonna get you're gonna have success at
the next level and you're for sure gonna get a look.
It doesn't matter what your size is nowadays with the
y'all and the way the players are built.

Speaker 3 (10:02):
Yeah, go ahead, Yeah, And to your point calling with
with Jacob Boster specifically, and again you'll hear Brad Malone
and what he had to say. But you think back
to last year and I don't want to say they
were three unnecessary games because well, I guess technically four
against the North Bay Battalion where the Oshawa Generals were

(10:22):
in complete control the Eastern Conference Finals, blow the three
nothing lead and then they have to play a game
seven and end up winning. Whereas this year, you know,
obviously on the Barry side, you've got van Steen, so
you've got Wakely, You've got Romany who you know, have
an understanding of how to come back down three nothing
because they did it the year before, right, there's something
a little bit of revenge there. But then you can

(10:44):
look on the other side with the with the Oshawa Generals,
like maybe those four games, four extra games or three
extra games against the North Bay Battalion last year kind
of hurt them even though they got the win. Whereas
this year they have discipline, they have the understanding, you know,
they have the maturity where you know what, we don't
want to play a seven game series. While London sits

(11:06):
at home and hangs out, so let's let's close it
out now. And they had that extended break here before
this year's final.

Speaker 6 (11:13):
A hundred percent. You get the extra and you get
the extra video session.

Speaker 5 (11:15):
I mean we all know about this covering our teams, guys,
video and I know the hands on stuff for the
on ice stuff is what it is.

Speaker 6 (11:23):
But the video sessions nowadays are so important. They're so crucial.

Speaker 5 (11:26):
I mean, you learned a lot right from last season.
How much you see from video. Obviously London have a
lot to show for it either, but you see a
lot throughout and the Oshawa Generals are arguably the best
team that the London Knights are played.

Speaker 6 (11:37):
And I mean it's well deserved for the finals.

Speaker 5 (11:38):
I mean Oshawa is a beast and you look at
their playoff run so far this year. We talked about
this off air before, guys. With the defensive course that
the Oshawa Generals have went against in this postseason, you're
looking at guys like Lescovar and Connor Smith, and Connor
Smith is probably the unit of the Atario Hockey. You're
not gonna meet a tougher defenseman the Ohldon Connor Smith
in just round one, and guys, we all know how

(12:00):
much of a gauntlet the postseason is. I mean, the
postseason's tough, and you're gonna meet the big the physicality.
Round one when you get that from a Brampton team.
Round two you get Branford with what they have to
offer with the buttons to Homers a year at Chexa Pratz.
And then you look at round three. I mean with
Barry Eliason's a big, strong defenseman out.

Speaker 6 (12:19):
Of Ottawa, and I mean you got some big, tough guys.
Is that tough run?

Speaker 3 (12:23):
That was it?

Speaker 5 (12:23):
They've had to earn this run and that's why maybe
is better prepared for London, then London's prepared for Oshawa.
And I know that's kind of a hot take, but
I think in round one we definitely saw that.

Speaker 1 (12:35):
So I'll kind of I'll kind of lead you guys
into the next thought. Here, we're gonna get to the
post game here and just a little bit, but people
are gonna look at the box score, guys, and they're
gonna see that Oshawa had nine power plays to London's three,
including two double miners that were handed out to the Knights.
Joel will start with you do you think that London

(12:55):
was just undisciplined tonight. Did you think that they were
off their game. Do you think Oshawa and the way
that their guys are able to kind of drop penalties,
or do you think the officiating new coming in that
they would have to call it tougher knowing that London
has some guys that try to get under the other
team skin, like the Layden Sims and the Ryder Boltons
and things like that.

Speaker 4 (13:14):
Yeah, I think it was a little bit uncharacteristic. I mean,
you look at the sim cross checking penalty on Danford.
That's a penalty that can't happen. Bonk a little careless
with his stick on Seneke there, and that's the double
minor that helps get Austro back into the hockey game.
So it's I don't think you can point it at
the rest. I think those were penalties, and for the

(13:37):
most part, it was a well called game. So I mean,
you're gonna look at it's gonna be kind of eye
poppy nine power play opportunities, but a lot of those
were penalties. A lot of it was kind of, like
we said, things that can't happen in a game of
this magnitude.

Speaker 1 (13:52):
And it costs them tonight, Levin minors rees, were you
shocked by that for London Side or even the goalie
interference challenge as well?

Speaker 3 (14:04):
Yeah? Yeah, you know what the the eleven miners is
what it is. I thought two of them were just
I don't know why the referees even put their arm
in the air, but I mean, wow, that takes you
down to nine miners. I mean so so really, you know,
and even the power plays you take the two away
that I thought, we're a little if he it's still
seven so that's not ideal, right, But in terms of

(14:27):
the goalie interference, that one's tough. You know. Initially, I'm like,
are we seeing a replay of what Simon Wang did
in round two against the Bulldogs where he just I
can't remember who the bulldog was, but but he just
he shoved him right into Jacob bost Or for no
reason whatsoever. And Colin and I can have an hour
chat Nick grisetto, yes, thank you, but Colin, you and

(14:49):
I can have a chat about how stupid we think
it is do you push a guy into your own goalie?
But but for this one, it was a little more.
Cowen was already there, there was a little bit of contact.
It looked like the stick got into Austin. Maybe he
caught a piece of his blocker as well. And then
and then obviously uh he was he was shoved in there.

(15:10):
But you know, at first, I'm like, that's probably should
be a goal. But when then then you look at
the overhead and you're thinking, calling the ice is no goal.
They're probably gonna go with no goal just because he's
in the blue. Maybe there was a little contact. So,
I mean, other than two calls, the first penalty to
London that I don't know what that is. We're playing hockey,

(15:32):
but and one more, I mean, I thought it was fine.
And I know people are going to overreact because it's
the OHL Championship series, but Joe, I think you said it.
You said it perfectly. I thought it was a well
called game, minus two calls.

Speaker 6 (15:46):
Colin.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
We had a lot of fights, especially on London side,
in the first three series they played. We know that
they like to set the tone with that. Do you
think Oshawa came out and knew that they kind of
had to stay away from that or do you think
that that was just kind of how the game played out,
that the London and really want to get the crowd
going with a couple of tilts.

Speaker 5 (16:04):
It's interesting because London's been a team that's throughout the years.
I mean I've been growing up, grew up around London Nights.
I mean every single team they have a tough guy.
Every team they have a person that can play on
the lot, play on that line, that fine line that
we talked.

Speaker 6 (16:17):
About, and they can cross to that times. But they
play that line.

Speaker 5 (16:20):
And I mean they their head coach played that way
and it had a very successful career at the next
level playing that way. So They've always had that guy
on the team. I'm not surprised by that. And also
Oshawa is a team that can play on that line
as well. There's some guys and there's some big name
guys on oshawats. So I'm looking at Lant and sims
role right and Land and Simms role in this series
is so crucial to the London Night's success. You can't

(16:42):
have him in the box. He's a guy that's gonna
be in the box. He's gonna draw guys with him
to the box, which is crucial about him. But when
I look at this series and I see this the
way that's playing out when I see Land and Simms
role and he's played this role now for three seasons
now with the London Knights, and it's always been I'm
going to take the other team's best player. That's my

(17:03):
guy that I watch. In this case, I think it's
Calum Richie, Beckett Seneca.

Speaker 6 (17:07):
First off.

Speaker 5 (17:07):
I think those are the two guys that sim has
to be out on the ice here against. When you
get out against Beckett Seneca, I think his role is
you got to know where Seneca is. Seneca is a
guy that plays on the line. He's not afraid to
go to the penalty box, and that's a matchup that
London needs to go after. It just never worked out
that well and Hey prompts them beck at Seneca the
only time in the box. It caught me if I'm wrong,

(17:29):
But with Tiason Cowan on the goalie interference, it shouldn't
have been a Goali interference, but it wasn't an Goali interference.

Speaker 6 (17:33):
But anyway, I.

Speaker 5 (17:34):
Think that's the only case that with sim it just
didn't go his way tonight.

Speaker 6 (17:37):
And I mean it's a tough role. Oshawa knows that
this might that might be.

Speaker 5 (17:40):
A role too later on in the series, when you're
really gonna notice that the grueling part of the series,
when you get to know each other a little better
and you get that fun in the workplace. Guys, we
all know what it's like and we get to work
with somebody we don't like who all of a sudden,
hey Day three comes by and all of a sudden,
we really don't. We voice our displeasures. And that's what
happens on the ice as well. And I think that's
what's gonna happen sim In Beckett Seneca. I think those

(18:01):
are two guys they're really going to go at it.
And I think that's part.

Speaker 6 (18:04):
Of Seneca's or sims role.

Speaker 5 (18:06):
He's got to be out on the ice when Seneca's
out on the ice, because Seneca is a game changer.
And we see and we saw that in Game one
and we sat throughout the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (18:13):
Quickly go over the goals. Here Van Bommel takes the
pass from Noah Reed and that was with four to
five mark of the second period, so no goals in
the first period. London got off to that lead with
the fourth line. You're thinking, Okay, you know, that's a
good start for them. Andrew Gibson comes back just a
bit later on the power play evens it up at
the ten oh eight mark, and then we had Casper

(18:33):
Halton and giving London the lead late at the end
of the second period. To give London the lead there
heading into the third one, they're one of their only
power play goals of the night before three straight goals
by Oshawa to eight eighteen mark sixteen thirty five and
then the empty netter by Matthew Buckley Gibson with another
power play marker. All three of their goals for Oshawa
were on the power play before they got the empty

(18:55):
netter from Buckley, two from Gibson and then one from
Callum Ritchie. Joel, what were your thoughts on you know,
London having a two to one lead going to the
third period, You think that's almost automatic with the Dale
Hunter team, you know, start the bus that they would
like to say even though they're at home here, but
you know what I mean by that, But regardless, like
the way that they're able to break you down defensively

(19:15):
and just really give you nothing. For Ashua to be
able to score two in the third and then the
third with the empty net or that's something you don't
see against London a lot.

Speaker 4 (19:24):
No, And I think to your point, right, you think, Okay,
London's in control of this game, they have last line change,
They're gonna kind of slowly leave this game away. But
those panalties creep in and Ashwall get some life, and
Gibbs and Richie, these high end star players get Oshawa
back into the hockey game and from there they're able

(19:45):
to te it with Matthew Buckley's So I think you
probably feel pretty good with that late power play goal
from Casper Halton and going to the intermissions taking Okay,
if we play our game here, stay out of the box,
we probably win this hockey game, or have a very
good chance to win it. But those those penalties really
came to bite them in the third there.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
Greece, what did you think of three unanswered by Oshawa
against this night's team.

Speaker 3 (20:11):
Yeah, stay out of the box. You win that hockey game.
You know, every goal that beat a goaltender was was
a power play goal. You know, I thought London played
really well five on five, to be honest with you, Like,
those those penalties just killed any momentum they arable to
build five on five, And you know, again credit to

(20:31):
the Generals. They really, I don't want to say chase
the game, but they they were really defending a lot.
When when it was five on five, I thought the
London Knights really did a nice job controlling the pace
five on five. But again, you kill yourselves by taking
those penalties two hundred feet away from your own net
that are that are completely unnecessary. And yeah, like I said,

(20:53):
you play five on five the entire night, you win
the hockey game. So you know, I thought penalty killed
a It's good in the first for the Nights, but
after that, you know, the Generals started to understand how
the Knights were going to defend them and and they
figured out a way to move the puck round and
beat Austin Elliott. So you know, again, you score three

(21:13):
goals at any period, you have a pretty good shot
to win. But to do it in the third after
giving up one with a minute three left in the
second period, it is huge. And it was it was
the stars putting on a show, you know. Gibson, ritchie Morelli, Powell,
Tomato obviously have the empty ntter with Buckley and Barlow,
but the stars really shine bright for for the Oshawa generals,

(21:36):
and they did a really nice job responding after a
late goal from the London Nights in the second colin.

Speaker 1 (21:41):
We talk about London takes away something that you're really
good at, you know, it's an old adage in football,
taking away something that the opposing offense is good at
and make them beat you. With other guys. It seemed
like tonight Oshawa came into this game knowing that London
was going to play them a certain way, and they
tried to kind of turn the tides on them, knowing
how good they are and the penalty kill, how good
they are on the faceoff dot, how good they are

(22:03):
at drawing penalties, and it seemed like Oshawa tonight was
able to play the Knight's game in almost a role
reversal of what you would expect coming in and maybe
what they saw last year in the final.

Speaker 5 (22:12):
One hundred percent and Oshwa does a really good job
recent I saw this in round two. Oshwa does a
really good job getting behind the opposing defense in the
ozone on top of the other team's goalie. They really
get on top of the opponent goaltender, They get behind
the defense, They get the defense in awkward situations guys
like back at senecause they're so big, right, like these
are sides so well and they go to the net
and it feels like they don't pass up shots. And

(22:34):
when you do that, the game moves quick and it
can speed the game the mental process up for the
oppe for the opponent.

Speaker 6 (22:41):
And that's what happened to night for the Knights.

Speaker 5 (22:43):
The game moved faster than it did throughout any playoff
game for the London Nights this season. I'm sure it
would have been interesting to actually get a decent response
in the post game tonight, because if we got that,
I'm sure that would have been admitted. The game process
with the Oshawa Generals, it's it's than any other team
in the league.

Speaker 6 (23:01):
It's similar to a lot of Knights.

Speaker 5 (23:02):
Actually, those two teams both play the same process where
the game can move so fast and it's hard to
get mentally up there and the game just moves too
fast for you. And I feel like that's what happened.
They do a good job drawing penalties, for sure. They
I mean, I think part of it it's not diving.
I think they just get behind the defense, they get
on top of the goalie, they get them in vulnerable
situations and that's how you drop penalties. And I mean

(23:24):
when this series, guys, let's be honest, this series is
gonna be what stars take games over compared to what
the other team stars take games over. And tonight the
Oshawa General Stars took a game over where a lot
of Knights stars did not. And that's what the game
is gonna come down to. That's what the series is
gonna come down to. I mean goaltending. You look at
the goaltending in the series. You look at the defense
in the series. I mean, look at the forwards in

(23:46):
the series we got. We have at least six guys
in this series. They're gonna play NHL Hockey games possibly
next season.

Speaker 6 (23:54):
Like this is a series, this is NHL hockey right now.

Speaker 5 (23:56):
And I feel like when you get those opportunities, that's
how you're gonna in the game. And I think tonight's game,
the Oshawa General's played their role to a t. How
when we see the Oshawa Generals play throughout the season, Guys,
when they're most successful, they really get to the net.
They come at you in waves and they shoot the park.
They're they're a team that's not afraid to shoot the pocket.
I think that kind of caught London off guard tonight, other.

Speaker 1 (24:16):
Than the penalties, because we can obviously talk about that
all night long, and that wasn't the only thing that
we should talk about in this game. I know there
were a couple of breakaways on each side of Beckett.
Seneca had had a breakaway, Easton Cowen had a short
handed breakaway. Was there any sort of moments or takeaways
from the game that you thought were, you know, a
momentum changer or something that's not going to show up

(24:36):
on the box score. Joel will start with you anything
catch your right tonight?

Speaker 3 (24:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (24:42):
I think Jacob Austro, especially early in the games, some
of the staves he made just to keep asway in it,
keep them close. And you can say the same about
Austin Elliott. Really, I thought both boys were really good tonight.
Obviously Elliott doesn't even get beat five on five, so
I think both go always really stood out to me.

Speaker 1 (25:03):
Twenty four game unbeaten streak for Austin Ellia comes to
an end Reece.

Speaker 3 (25:07):
Uh Yeah, it might have gone overtime if Easton Cowen
scores on a penalty shot.

Speaker 1 (25:12):
Uh too.

Speaker 3 (25:14):
Yeah, that's a big one for me. You can you
can talk about the breakaways, of course, but you get
the penalty shot and and I'm not saying it's an
automatic goal for Easton Cowen. We all saw what he
did with his point streak over to over two different seasons,
and we know he can score. But that was a
big moment in the game, whereas you know, if if
Austar doesn't make the save and and you know, Easton

(25:38):
Cowen finds the back of the net, that's you know,
at that point, I'm just trying to do math. It's
very hard for me. It would have made it two
one at that time. Yeah, it was a tough subject
in school, but you know, at the time makes it
two to one. Halton In's goal makes it three to one,
and you head into the third period up two goals,
and you know you can play a little bit more

(25:58):
of a defensive game compared to two to one, where
you know, two goals really isn't enough to win to
win in the playoffs. So not to say that they
would have played it safe that way if it was
three to one, but you know, you look at that
moment in the game and Austar keeps it tied you know,
just four minutes after Andrew Gibson tied the game, So
that was a big moment. Ultimately, London was able to

(26:19):
score the next goal anyways, but to keep it two
to one through through two periods, that save really really
jumps out. And you know, if and again, who knows
where we'd be in that moment, if Eastern Cowen scores,
if we'd be in overtime, if London would have kept
on the gas pedal, and we would have seen four
or five goals from the night twoos. But in that moment,

(26:41):
Jacob Aster really did a nice job of making a
save when he had to. And and we talk about
that a lot with goaltenders is you know, especially if
you lose. Oh, you know, we didn't get a save
in the big moment where you'd really like to get one.
The General's got one there from from Jacob.

Speaker 1 (26:57):
Ast any thoughts calling no, one hundred percent agree with
both you guys.

Speaker 5 (27:01):
Jacob Ouster, I have written down here five breakaway saves
and a penalty shot saved tonight.

Speaker 6 (27:06):
That's six point blanks.

Speaker 5 (27:07):
Jacob Ouster made the save on the penalty shot that
Austin Elliott didn't tonight with the goal from Andrew Gibson.
I think that's a goal you want back, if you're
Gibson to be or if you're Elliott, to be honest,
just because you're not squared up to the shooter there.
You gotta square up to the shooter on those ones.
Gibson's a guy that's notoriously famous for those goals. When
he gets down loweler on the goal line like that,
he'll throw it up top top corner.

Speaker 6 (27:26):
He scored like that twice this year against the Bulldogs.

Speaker 3 (27:28):
First hand and.

Speaker 5 (27:28):
For me in person this season, I think that those
are goals that got to be eliminated by goalies. As
a goaltender, I always used to hate those, right, like
you gotta square up.

Speaker 6 (27:36):
Those are goals that are preventable.

Speaker 5 (27:37):
And I feel like the Aushawa General's got the big
time save in the big moment that the London Knights
just didn't. And that was a big time moment in
the game when we look back at it, where it's like, okay,
if Elliott stops that puck, if it just hits him
in the glove, it's a routine glove save.

Speaker 6 (27:52):
He makes a stop there.

Speaker 5 (27:53):
All of a sudden, Jacob Ouster is saved doesn't mean
as much, right and looking back at it, Easton Cowen
penalty shot. Probably if it goes the other way, we're
in and overtime right now. And that's probably the way
the game ended. And I think that's the biggest moment
of the game. I mean, that was the decider. I
think you look at the two sides, they got the
big Oshawa got the big Staves. A lot of nights
didn't end that one moment, and it's just one moment
in a game. But hey, let's be honest. So that's

(28:14):
a playoff game. You're only gonna in the game like this,
the margin of area, there's only gonna be like one
to two moments in a game. It's like trying to
tackle Saquon Barkley Joel in the open field if you're
gonna miss that tackle and he's gonna go seventy five
yards a touchdown like he did against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nice job in the Super Bowl Chiefs, go Broncos. You're
not You're not gonna win those games. You're not gonna

(28:34):
win those games. And that's why, in my opinion, didn't
win the game tonight. Just like well, I was in
nine power plays.

Speaker 1 (28:42):
I was just gonna quick, Reese, I have nothing good
to say. I was just gonna say, just like at
the end of a game, when your entire kick blocking
team just lets the offensive line just hey, rush through.

Speaker 5 (28:51):
Next question, Next question, what happened in the last week
of the season, and hey, the Falcons did get against
the Broncos this year, be cap Reese.

Speaker 1 (28:58):
What were you going to say before interrupted?

Speaker 7 (29:02):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (29:02):
No, just as Colin was going through it, I started
to think about some of the other saves that Jacob
Boster made. And there's there's a two on one early
in the game that that London had going down on
Jacob Boster where it was a little bit of a
breakdown defensively from the generals and and really from the
top of the circles in the London Nights had a
two on one and and Austar slides across to make

(29:23):
a save. So you know, even even there, we played
through a scoreless first period that we shot. We saw
only eight shots combined, and when you look at the
block shots you can understand why. But but out of
those eight shots, that was probably the most dangerous one
for either side. So you can look back at that
along with the penalty shot. You know, if London scores
won nothing that early in the game, who know again,

(29:44):
who knows? Who knows if if that goes in. But
he made the save and he came up big again
another situation where you just need a save to keep
the crowd sort of mellow, not quiet but not loud,
kind of in the middle.

Speaker 6 (29:58):
How big?

Speaker 5 (29:59):
How big are those saves guys like that in reacent
Glad you mentioned that two on one because if that
goes in, think about the doubt then all of a sudden,
possibly creeps into the Oshawa general's mind. I'd like to
here we go again, exactly, here we go again. We're
back where we were last year. Right, he's when it
rains at poorse.

Speaker 1 (30:16):
And that was Van Bommel and read again who ended
up connecting later on.

Speaker 5 (30:19):
Yeah, like how like that's so important, right, like you
got it, like that saved he So I'm glad you
mentioned that because those two on ones like that, it
settles the nerves a little bit. It settles the defensive approach,
and you know, and you give up the first goal
of the game, and that's tough, but you found a
way to respond and that's how you gotta win road games.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
Auster was first start tonight. Joel, give you final thoughts
before we go to the postgame interviews.

Speaker 4 (30:41):
Yeah, I think it's like what recent Collin said, a
lot for Jacob Austro. You look at last year in
the finals, he gave up seven goals in every game
he gave up eight and the other So it for
him the confidence to get the first Star honors, to
build off a game like this, it's it's it's gotta
be huge for him after last year and kind of

(31:01):
they like, you don't want that doubt creeping into your teammates.
I know they have full confidence in him, but you
start to think back to that and it's huge that
he was able to pull up that performance and kind
of put that behind him and put that too bad.

Speaker 1 (31:15):
Let's go to the Oshawa General side first, with head
coach Brad Malone as well as two goal scorer in
this game and Andrew Gibson's here what they had to
say following the big Game one victory.

Speaker 8 (31:25):
We the Gools game covered Game ONEHL Chamionship series.

Speaker 6 (31:29):
Yoshwa Generals wore two winners.

Speaker 8 (31:31):
Tonight, joined by General's head coach Brad Malone along with
defense but Andrew Gibson, and we'll welcome those twoing in
tonight live across the OHL's ASSOCIALDIA platforms, UH coach bait.

Speaker 9 (31:43):
We just started.

Speaker 8 (31:43):
Perseverance seemed to be a theme for your team tonight.
Some opportunities in nearly going didn't go your way, but
you guys certainly didn't quit.

Speaker 10 (31:52):
Yeah, certainly. I think that's it's been the story all years.
Just continue to push, continue to believe. Good team on
the other side, really good goaltender or so just tried
to stay consistent, not get frustrated and just looking for
a full sixty minutes and trying to get that result.

Speaker 8 (32:08):
Andrew defenseman two goals CHLD Championship final game. You can
talk a little bit about how that feels and being
able to contribute.

Speaker 9 (32:15):
Yeah, yeah, it feels good, especially in the finals.

Speaker 11 (32:17):
You know, but I can't thank the guys around me enough,
you know, setting me up for those and you know,
the guys played really well all around, and you know,
I got the bounces tonight, and you know we'll see
wh gets the bounce in the next game.

Speaker 8 (32:27):
So maybe you know, as the guy who plays in
front of him, just a quick word for your goaltend
or penalty shots saved tonight's big stop start leap.

Speaker 11 (32:34):
Yeah, yeah, Ozzie was huge, you know, a couple of
breakaways in the penalty shot like you said, but yeah,
he played unreal for us, and you know, I think
he's the reason why we we.

Speaker 9 (32:42):
We kept going and we were in that game still
and why we won.

Speaker 8 (32:45):
Take questions, please just wait the mic to come, guys.

Speaker 12 (32:55):
Brad that he was, you know, on the HL picks
they have on their team and they were they were
invwelve in all what what does it mean?

Speaker 10 (33:04):
It means we won game one of the series. All year,
it's been about us. Obviously, a ton of talent, ton
of bright futures over there on the other side, but
message all years just to continue to focus on ourselves.
And we had a good week to get prepared and obviously,

(33:24):
like Gibby said, we were fortunate tonight. We got some bounces,
we got some big saves.

Speaker 12 (33:29):
He Andrew, You've played here a lot and it's not
many times to get nine.

Speaker 3 (33:32):
Power plays against the Night's.

Speaker 12 (33:33):
But how did the power play evolve? Knew you had
a good win, but how did it evolve tonight? From
the earliness is to to cash.

Speaker 11 (33:41):
Yeah, obviously we didn't capitalized in the first couple, but uh,
you know, I think it brought the momentum to our team,
and you know, I think we built off of it.
And you know, like you said later in the game,
we started capitalizing on those plays.

Speaker 9 (33:50):
We'd started taking advantage of those.

Speaker 11 (33:52):
So uh, yeah, it's usually have those power plays and
you know, we had a lot of skill on our
power play.

Speaker 9 (33:56):
So, uh, it's looking good.

Speaker 1 (33:58):
As you talk about, you've been able to win the
first game on the road the last series. How big
is that, you know, for or a team that doesn't
have one ways advantage in the series to win one
of the games on the road quickly.

Speaker 9 (34:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (34:11):
Again, it's just been our focus obviously worried about game one,
worried about the preparation, the details, the focus. To be honest,
all year we had we had a hard.

Speaker 9 (34:21):
Time on the road.

Speaker 10 (34:23):
It's been one of the things that kind of caught
us off guard a lot. We'd show up, have a
bad start or give something away late. It's been a
point of emphasis. We started, you know, trying to tweak
it certain things in terms of routine, just to try
and find the right groove, and you know, since playoffs, certainly,
I think we found that.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
Andrew, like what you mentioned earlier when you were playing
with you played against London a lot. Was there anything
that you talked to the guys about about playing in
this building because it can be an intimidating thing with
nine thousand in the building. Was there anything that you
kind of showed the guys in your experience of playing
here and against this team. How do you think that
helped you tonight?

Speaker 9 (34:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 11 (34:58):
I think just having confidence. You know, any scene can
be beat on any given any given day. And you
know last year in the suit we locked out. We've
won three out of our four games against them, So
you know, I had a lot of confidence coming tonight,
and I you know, I kind of shared that with
the guys, and you know, we were just on our game.

Speaker 9 (35:13):
We weren't worried about them, We were worried about ourselves.

Speaker 12 (35:15):
So yeah, right, you weren't here last year, but I'm
sure you looked at the numbers of the scores last year.
How about Jacob aust would you know come rebounding from
that coming back.

Speaker 10 (35:28):
To Yeah, I'm it's it's been a conversation about Ossie
all year. There was an opportunity, probably eight or nine
games left in the season. He was trying to go
for the all time regular season wins in Ashwa General's history.
We had some pretty hard conversations in the back room
about running him through to give him a full opportunity

(35:50):
to get to that. At the end of the day,
he fell short and then we were able to rest him.
I think last year, just based on conversations, I think
they were I'm pretty hot all the way in kind
of came in a little bit not physically fit last
year in the in the final series, so, you know,
just sharing, sharing the wisdom of last year, learning from

(36:13):
you know, the mistakes as a whole as an organization,
and just tried to learn from it. And very fortunate
that he's he's healthy and he's feeling good, and obviously
we've touched.

Speaker 9 (36:22):
On it here tonight.

Speaker 10 (36:23):
He's he's the reason why we're you know, talking about
a win here.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
There was head coach Brad Malone as well as defenseman
Andrew Gibson following their four two win in Game one
of the OHL Championship against the London Knights. A lot
of good stuff to unwind there, gentlemen will start with
Reese and then go to Colin and Joel Reese over
your takeaways from what was said there.

Speaker 3 (36:45):
Yeah, I mean, first I want to mention, I want
to go back to Joel's point before and we're going
to continue on the Oscar train and why not he
was all he was also pulled in game one, if
I'm not mistaken correct last year. Yeah, So, I mean
that's another thing to look at the fact to you know,
the performance that he put on after getting pulled in
game one last year, I think is something to to

(37:06):
sort of celebrate, kind of as like a small victory.
I'm sure it's not going to look back on that,
but kind of like that small victory within the victory
of you know, it is possible. You know, when I'm
fully healthy and I can fully play my position without
any worry it it it means a lot and it
pays off. So so I just wanted to mention that.

(37:28):
But in terms of in terms of Gibson, you know,
the two goals, I think I think when you get
that secondary scoring from defenseman. It's not to say he
doesn't score goals, but I think when you get into
a series against team like the London Nights, you can't
just rely on your forwards to score all your goals,
even if it is Colby, Barlow Beck and Seneca Callum, Ritchie,

(37:49):
Owen Griffin. Even if you do have those guys up front,
you still need to have those those two to three
guys that are producing those points from the back end.
And and again whether they're goal, whether they're assists, I
don't think the coaching staff is gonna really give a crap.
But as long as you're getting that production, you have
a really good shot to win this series and bring
home a championship. So I think I think for Gibson

(38:12):
it's out. He sounds very confident the way he spoke.
He sounded very confident about his game and his team's games.
So that's that's that's really exciting to hear because there
wasn't a lot of that last year. So and I'm
sure Gibson wants his own revenge on the London Nights
for for when he's with Sue, but just sounds very
confident and and sounds like they are ready to roll

(38:34):
and trying trying to bring home another championship. To Oshaua.

Speaker 5 (38:38):
Colin, Yeah, no, reachwell, said, I mean Brad Malone handles
himself really well that press conference.

Speaker 6 (38:45):
In the whole.

Speaker 5 (38:45):
I mean, it's only won game one, you know, and
know every game gets harder to win.

Speaker 6 (38:50):
Every wins harder.

Speaker 5 (38:52):
They've hit adversity throughout the playoffs and overcoming Oshawa. I
mean you can tell their battle tested, and you hear
that in the unit post game. I think that to
business trip and I really got the sense from their leadership.
I mean, Brad Malone, you would think it's your eight
in the Andario Hockey as a coach, not year one.

Speaker 6 (39:07):
I thought he was incredible.

Speaker 5 (39:09):
I thought it was a really good press conference from
Brad Malone and Andrew Gibson.

Speaker 6 (39:12):
I mean what we heard from there, they're battle.

Speaker 5 (39:15):
Tested, and I think that it's I'm honestly very excited
to see what the Oshawa generals can do because Game
two could be very interesting, Joel.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
It's early on, but it seems like this is going
to be a completely different series. Obviously, Oshawa winning a
game more than he did all last season in the
championship series, but it's got a different feel to it
that this isn't just going to be the London Show
all over again. Oshawa and you heard them in that
post game they they are very confident right now.

Speaker 4 (39:42):
Yeah, I think both both Colin and Reeves kind of
hit the nail on the head there with the confidence
that's coming from that group. And Andrew Gibson, he's played
in big games, he played at the World Juniors, he's
been in the OHL now. So Brad Malone won want
to call their cup with the Bakersfield as a player.
So it's it's not a shell shock time for them anymore.

(40:04):
It's Okay, this is how we're gonna approach this. We've
been in this and you learn from your mistakes and
you continue to grow from that. And I think that's
what Ash has done and tonight was a common example
of that.

Speaker 1 (40:17):
Anybody got any more comments where we hit two London side,
because I know Colin's got a lot to say after that.

Speaker 3 (40:21):
One, I had a lot to say. Does that mean
he's going first?

Speaker 1 (40:24):
Oh yeah, Colin's definitely going first for the London. But
do you have any do any final thing from Oshawa
or no?

Speaker 3 (40:31):
I just think I just think that it's it's it's
been a productive trip so far, you know, I think
with with a lot of the predictions out there, and
I'll say it. You know, I've picked London to win
this series. But I'm I'm pretty sure Asha was just
taking the the side of Okay, cool, we we don't
care what you think, but we're just gonna go out

(40:51):
and play. And and that's worked to their advantage both,
you know, against Brampton, against Brantford, against Barry, Like, they
beat two division winners to get here, in the Bulldogs,
in the in the Colts. So just to just to
hear it didn't sound like there was a sigh of
relief or a weight off their shoulder. That's not really
the right way to say it, but you can tell

(41:12):
that they're they're here and and you know it's it's
not the Generals, it's the Oshawa Generals and we're we're
gonna fight the London Knights for this championship.

Speaker 1 (41:23):
Yeah, they definitely don't seem like they're they're backing down.
And Roger Hunt talked about that, Uh, it didn't matter
who they were going up against. Uh, they were confident
in whoever they would face. And again that's the kind
of the attitude that they have to have in a
series like this against a juggernaut team that was twelve
and oh coming in so let's get to London Night's
side with head coach Dale Hunter. It's gonna be a
quick one and forward Casper Halton and but we got

(41:43):
a lot of reaction to it. So here's what they
had to say following the game.

Speaker 8 (41:46):
With more postgame coverage of Game one of the OHL
Championship series by one A Knight's head coach Dale Hunter
along with forward Casper Halton and coach and the third
was the lead tonight, but it wasn't to be. Maybe
you can just share your thoughts on the game.

Speaker 6 (41:58):
Yeah, they you know, we had some good looks and
uh we didn't score and and uh they had a
couple of good looks too, and and it's opportunities and
they got him in.

Speaker 8 (42:09):
Casper Gold to Night. Not too often the WoT the
nice to lose a game, but uh, but you've been
part of this team to you know, periods where you've
had to bounce back from adversusy.

Speaker 9 (42:18):
Maybe would you share.

Speaker 8 (42:18):
The the move and the room right now and how
you guys are gonna turn things around?

Speaker 7 (42:23):
You know, I think this could be a good thing
for us now kind of finding through adversity here and
you know, uh, it could be a really good thing
for us.

Speaker 12 (42:31):
Now take questions, guys, do all the Powers Power players
were nine to three in.

Speaker 9 (42:42):
Your view of the game.

Speaker 12 (42:43):
Did you feel that discrepancy was warranted?

Speaker 6 (42:46):
Well, you know, you can't talk about the referee and right,
they did a great job.

Speaker 9 (42:52):
What was there?

Speaker 12 (42:53):
Uh you've challenged for goo uh t to knock out
the goalie interference on calendar? What was their explanation after
they had the.

Speaker 1 (43:01):
Longer view for they said they made contact first he
did got in it?

Speaker 9 (43:07):
Do you did you see it that way? They see
it different than I did. M Casper.

Speaker 1 (43:13):
What did you think tonight's though when you scored that goal?

Speaker 9 (43:16):
You know nine thousand uh in the building?

Speaker 1 (43:18):
Uh, getting uh getting off their feet.

Speaker 3 (43:20):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (43:20):
You know in the Oaitro Championship three years in a row,
in front of this crowd. Uh you know what does
that mean to you?

Speaker 3 (43:24):
Oh?

Speaker 9 (43:25):
It means a lot. I mean coming in here every night.

Speaker 7 (43:28):
Uh, you know, in front of the fans, it's you know,
unbelievable and something that you just you know, as ah
as a young kid.

Speaker 9 (43:33):
Then Theyle just able to score a big cold for us.
It was Uh, it was a lot of funny.

Speaker 1 (43:37):
And coaches, Ow do you keep the guys focused there?
You know, when you getting a lot of penalties and
the guys get frustrated, how do you kind of keep
them grounded and keep them uh, you know going out whatever.

Speaker 9 (43:45):
You ever shift after. No, they're good.

Speaker 6 (43:46):
They just they gotta they just go play the game.

Speaker 12 (43:51):
You preach discipline all year with these guys, what was
Were they undisciplined or.

Speaker 6 (43:56):
Was it just it was just one of those games sometimes?

Speaker 12 (44:03):
Do you remember how you scored on Jacob Aost last
year or the the the the the rules were pretty big.

Speaker 9 (44:08):
What what'd you think of?

Speaker 12 (44:09):
Hey, he was good, Casper.

Speaker 1 (44:13):
What do you think is a difference from the team
you saw last year in the finals to this year? Uh?

Speaker 9 (44:17):
You know, I upping the uping your game annoying.

Speaker 1 (44:19):
It's not gonna be as easy as a series this
time around.

Speaker 7 (44:23):
Yeah, they have a good team, really good team, and
uh we gotta respect that. But I still think, you know,
we didn't give our best tonight, and uh we can
be better and we can beat those guys.

Speaker 12 (44:34):
Good, Casper.

Speaker 10 (44:35):
I would just like to ask you about the play
of uh Joah Reid and Rene Vambamble big goal there.

Speaker 4 (44:40):
What can you say about those guys in the role
they play on this team and then stepping.

Speaker 7 (44:44):
Up in the moments they have It's it's huge those guys,
you know, uh when when they're at the rank, you know,
always smiling and uh, you know, doing everything they can
for the team, and uh you know now that they
were able to score a big goal for us get
us going though.

Speaker 9 (45:00):
Those kind huge and I'm having for them.

Speaker 1 (45:04):
There were head coach Dale Hunter and Casper Halton and
on the post game from London side, Colin out You've
been waiting an hour and a half. You're fired up
about this and I'll just leave it to.

Speaker 6 (45:13):
You, all right.

Speaker 5 (45:14):
One, there's a reason why to be a coach and
professional ranks. To be an NHL coach, you have to
be able to handle media and there's a reason why.

Speaker 6 (45:22):
Uh that's not coming anytime soon.

Speaker 5 (45:24):
But from what I just heard, I mean, you have
a person that's covered the team for twenty years and
that's what you want to get. So I I mean,
I just think that's not a very professional conduct of interview.
I really liked Casper Halton's interview though. That was pretty good.
That's a pro. That's a pro.

Speaker 6 (45:40):
At least you got pro answers there, Brandon.

Speaker 5 (45:43):
But I'll just leave it at that. I don't want
to get in too much trouble. But uh yeah, I
can't believe that. I could not believe that. And I
honestly we hear you look around social media. You hear
so many tough answers. You see so many tough questions.
I mean, Hacker at Toronto, I mean you look, you
imagine he didn't Craig Beruby doesn't hear that.

Speaker 6 (46:02):
Like, I don't know.

Speaker 5 (46:03):
Like I say, I have a lot I have a
lot of respect for Dale Hunter, but I didn't like
I don't have a lot.

Speaker 6 (46:08):
Of respect for that interview.

Speaker 5 (46:09):
You're gonna take time out of your day, you can
give an effort to cover the team, and that's what
responsor going to get. Don't like that, I I really don't.
I don't have a lot of respect for that gets
the blood going. But hey, Casper Halton and Hack of
an interview, way to teach, way to be a coach.
That's why you'll be in the in the pro ranks.
Being handling the media is part of a pro job.

(46:30):
So I'll just leave it at that.

Speaker 6 (46:34):
Not much. I mean not much.

Speaker 5 (46:37):
Uh, you didn't have to use a shot clock brand
and so that's good in the interview. Sometimes when the
big when the big person loses a game, they take
their ball and they go home. And that's what we
got in the post game. We really honestly, boys, you
guys can cracking if I'm wrong, But what do we
get out of that? I mean, I wish that there's

(46:58):
a little more. I wish that just some of the answers.
The questions were great, but the answers I mean got like,
I don't know, like I was disappointed by that.

Speaker 6 (47:08):
I expected more.

Speaker 5 (47:09):
You lose your first time in the post for the
post first time in the postseason, Brandon, You've been covering
it all playoffs in London, I mean, Ryan Piatt's been
there for twenty season, like twenty years. Those you guys
have put your work in. I mean I expected more
for you guys. That's I like I said, that's why
my blood's boil. And I mean I really feel bad

(47:31):
for you guys that put your time and effort in
for that, and that's the response you get. I know
for a fact that if Oshawa lost that wouldn't have
been the case. And I like I say, it sounded
to me now into the hockey process, what I took
from that interview, it sounded like they London wasn't prepared
for Oshawa. That's what that sounded like. They weren't prepared
Teck nine penalties right.

Speaker 1 (47:52):
Reese and again based off of Collins point there. And
can't disagree with anything that he said. And I know
call and respects Dale Hunter a lot, and we all do.
But it's hard to go out there after a loss,
and you know, after a lost, Dale isn't going to
give you a lot. And I also know that he
doesn't want to have to get a fine or anything
if you start talking about officiating, but if you've seen
other coaches getting things like that as well. But I

(48:14):
think there's a fine line there. Rees. I don't know
if you got any comments there.

Speaker 3 (48:18):
Yeah, I mean it was pretty clear what his thoughts were.
I know he said he thought it was great, but
I think we can read between the lines and kind
of understand what he was saying. He kind of had
a few hand gestures and nothing nothing offensive obviously, But
they showed on on television a few few times with
the with the hand about the dive. But you know,

(48:41):
it was nice to get the explanation at least what
the officials saw on the on the goaltender interference. I
kind of thought that's what they'd say, that Kwan made
contact first, and they were right, you know, it just
it was it was a lot closer than I thought
it would would be. I thought I had a better
chance to get overturned. Obviously it stayed no goal. But
but I I digress, But I mean from from Halton

(49:04):
in he said it first, first time facing adversity, and
it might be a good thing. And and if they
were to get past the Oshawa Generals and get to
the Memorial Cup, it's not gonna be a cake walk.
Obviously you've got Monkton and Ramouski who have their tickets
book for the Memorial Cup, and then it'd be either
Spokane or or Medicine Hat. I'm really pushing for Medicine Hat.

(49:26):
I kind of want to see Gavin McKenna play in
the Memorial Cup. But it's not gonna be a cake walk. Like,
as much as you could sweep your way through the
Memorial Cup, it's possible, but it's it's not it's not
gonna be easy. You're not gonna be able to do
it just by showing up. So I like that he
said that he understands that. You know, this isn't the

(49:50):
Owen sound attack, it's not the Eerie Otters. You know,
as good as the Kitchen Rangers were, London still was
able to win that one in four games. So they
they've they've got a they've got hard work ahead of them.
And uh, you know it's only one game. Obviously, the
next one's at home, so if you get a split,
now you have to steal one in Oshawa. So yeah,

(50:12):
there's uh, you know, I'm sure they found positives, but
we really didn't get a whole lot of positives or
negatives out of that out of that press conference.

Speaker 1 (50:20):
Joel Halton and basically said, you know, maybe we needed this.
And again, when you're you're riding high and you haven't
lost a whole game in the entire playoffs, it's a
good thing, but can also be something like they ran
into tonight where they just haven't been in a lot
of those scenarios, having the goal he pulled on their
end and trying to get a late goal to tie it.
So what did you think of what Casper Halton and
said there and what do you think that that message

(50:42):
kind of goes through the room.

Speaker 4 (50:44):
Yeah, I think I like a lot of what he said,
and I agree right it's there hasn't been a ton
of adversity for them, maybe adversity in some games, but
like they haven't lost. So I think what you'll see
from this London team is going to clean up a
lot of those little mistakes, a lot of the undisciplined play.

(51:06):
They're going to bounce back from this. They're gonna learn
from this, and they're going to give their best best
shot Saturday night and we're gonna see how they handle this.
And I think to another point is they don't have
Denver Barkie, Who's who's the sounding board for that team.
He's the captain of that team, and I think you
can kind of see maybe that's creeping into their game

(51:27):
a little bit, not having him now out and uh
ankle sprains that are not easy to come back from.
So we'll see how hopefully he can get back in
this championship series, but if not, I think you kind
of see them missing him tonight a little bit.

Speaker 1 (51:43):
Great point, Joel Off the ice. Barquie still doing what
he can as the captain, but when you're not on
that bench and you're not be able to, you know,
direct things as the captain, it's a little bit more difficult.
They did get Evan van Gorp back tonight, but again
still without Denver Barkie as as Joel mentioned there calling
you know, yeah, I know you're still fired up from
that press conference, but I'll try to wrangle get back here.

(52:06):
You know, with Barkie winning the Humanitarian Award for the
OHL this year and everything he brings off the ice,
but his on ice presence is something that is sorely
missed too, even though they do have twelve other NHL
prospects well one.

Speaker 5 (52:19):
Hundred percent could Joel said, he's a lifeline to that team.
I mean, he's a voice that's the captain of your
team for a reason. Right when you have the captain
of the London Knights to an historic organization, it's a
big deal to be the captain a lot of Knights,
and I think that when you look at Barkie, he
brings the table on the ice with that veteran presence.
You know, maybe a game like tonight when they get

(52:40):
a power play. I mean one for three on the
power play, I mean that's all. That's fine, But maybe
you go two for three with a guy like Barki.
You know, the opportunity's five on five when you look
at how good London was five on five, right, you
throw Denver Barkie out there with Eastern Cowen, maybe there's
another opportunity shorthanded the c COLG lanes as well. He's
just showed so shifty Barkie is, and he's he's such
a dynamic player, right, he makes such a big difference

(53:02):
off on the ice for them as well, not just
off the ice, and I think that, yeah, you obviously
miss him.

Speaker 6 (53:06):
He's your captain.

Speaker 5 (53:07):
And I think that with Barquey out, with Barki out,
you need someone to step up. You're asking more out
of the third line player, your fourth line. I mean
you look at the fourth line, right, you look at
guys like Reed, those guys played a lot tonight for
a game one. Maybe if Barkie's playing right, that's one
last shift in the fourth line. Not that that was
a fault, but you know, you look at the opportunities
right there, given there, and someone's gotta step up in
a bigger role, and with Barkie out of the lineup,

(53:30):
you lose that, you lose that trust that you built
in your captain, which is obviously tough to miss out on.

Speaker 1 (53:37):
So final thoughts from everybody. I know, it's only one game,
but it's a big momentum boost for Ashua in the
series as the road team, as I mentioned in the
post game there where they were able to take game
one on the road and Barry, which Barry had lost
a home game in the playoffs until that point, and
then Ashwa obviously you know, wins both on the road
and then goes home and wins both at home. So
for them to take one here at Canada Life Place,

(53:59):
resent know, you hate the old out of Joe. You're
not bad until you lose at home. Well, if that's
the London Knights, then they're obviously a little bit concerned
knowing that, you know, technically for the time being they've
lost home ice. But again if they win it right
back with the next game with the next win. But
you know, final thoughts on uh Oshawa trying to build
some momentum going into game two because you know that

(54:19):
London's gonna bring their best effort after their first loss
of the entire playoffs.

Speaker 3 (54:24):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, you're right. I hate that stupid saying.
I think it's dumb. Yeah. I mean for the Knights,
like you just have to went on on the road,
you know, it's they're they're undefeated on the road in
the in the playoffs. Obviously they are undefeated until this point,
right And and I mean for the Generals, they've won
for road games in a row, going back to Game

(54:44):
five against Brantford. Uh, and then you take to two
and Barry and then one here, so they're they're kind
of humming right now. I think for for the Knights,
if you can find a way to get on the
board early in game number two, I think you do
yourselves a really good job of a keeping building in it,
but but also getting out to a lead and and

(55:05):
maybe not having to, you know, worry so much about
taking penalties. Obviously you don't want to, but it's not
as big a factor if you get a multiple goal leads.
So I think I think for the Nights they'll be fine.
I expect them to make their adjustments and and come
back hard for game number two. And and again you

(55:26):
can it sounds simple, it's not. But for them, a,
you have to take game two, that's number one. They're
not even thinking about game three and four right now.
But if you take game two, okay, you just got
to take game three or four then then you're back
in the driver's seat. So I think they'll be fine.
It just they got to tighten some things up, don't
take stupid penalties, and and they'll be fine.

Speaker 1 (55:48):
Joe, your final thoughts heading into Saturday.

Speaker 4 (55:51):
Yeah, I agree with a lot of what rees said.
I mean, they don't lose very often. They definitely don't
lose back to back often. So I think, like what
Reeve said, you score early, you get the crowd into it,
and clean up a little bit of that undisciplined play,
and I think they're back to being the old London Knights.
And not to say that Austra was not gonna reinvent

(56:13):
a little bit of what they did and come up
with an even stronger game plan. So I think it's
gonna be a chess match. It's it's gonna be a
long series. And I think that's the exciting part about
this all.

Speaker 1 (56:25):
Calling like a good closers pitching motion, take us home,
all right.

Speaker 5 (56:29):
I think that the power play. Obviously, you can't give
them that much chances. In Game two, I think London's
gonna come out very hard. They're a responsive team. They've
responded all year when they've had it respond a few
times they have, they mean they've dominated. When they lose one,
that means they have to go on another twelve game
winning streak. We've saw this all year and I think
that you just gonna get your confidence. By getting confidence,
He's gonna have a couple good ships.

Speaker 3 (56:50):
You gotta get rewarded.

Speaker 5 (56:51):
I mean, Jacob Osher is gonna make those extra saves, right,
and you're just gonna come out.

Speaker 6 (56:55):
You gotta have a good start.

Speaker 5 (56:56):
You gotta dictate the play and you can't take penalties.
If London Knights don't take penalties, they probably win the game.
And I think five on five they showcased they were
the better team. Just I mean, penalties are a part
of the game, and it's a big part of the games.
Power plays win you games. Penalty kills can lose you
games in the postseason. That's what happened tonight. I think
you gotta clean up the special teams. You gotta limit
the opportunities by a lot and if you can do that,

(57:17):
you'll be successful and expect five on five then to
have a hard start similar to tonight. I expect to
see a hard start. We'll see what happens is I
don't know about the adjustments of London will be too adjustable,
but I expect they'll be more around the net and
they'll have a really hard start. So I'm excited to
see the start in game two. Oshawa has a very
good opportunity and they're not gonna go down lightly. Another

(57:40):
side note, I just want to mention guys, the Meme
cup patches are gone, right think of that?

Speaker 1 (57:47):
Yeah, man, I like one hundred and thirteenth j Ross
Robertson cup logo that you guys mentioned in the OHL
and sixty.

Speaker 5 (57:54):
That was nice logos. Great logo is great, But the
no mem Cup patch. I mean, that's the first time
as a lot I can remember in my lifetime, and
so it's kind of weird.

Speaker 6 (58:02):
That's all. Watching the game, you.

Speaker 3 (58:05):
Know what, I will, I will say, thank God we
don't have those stupid electronic things inside the blue lines
like the NHL does, and it's actually hitted on the ice.
Looks way better. Lovel still does that.

Speaker 1 (58:17):
Take notes NHL and put put NHL playoffs back in
the blue lines. That's unbelievable too, yes, but yes, yeah,
So Austin Elliott suffers only a second loss the entire
OHL season and the Oshawa Generals take a one nothing
lead in the series. Well see how the London Nights respond.
They know how this game and the series is going
to be officiated now, So London's got to be smarter
with some of the little stuff that they like to do,

(58:40):
you know, in between plays and trying to keep it
more disciplined going into Game two here on Saturday at
Canada Life Place. We'll be live with you guys once
again for that game. Colin, Joel Reese, thanks so much
for joining us on a late night with TSNs broadcast,
going a little bit late with the extra commercials and
the postgame and everything like that. I know you guys
all work in the morning, so I always appreciate the time, no.

Speaker 3 (59:03):
Problem, Thank you, Thanks Brandon, Joel.

Speaker 4 (59:06):
Thank you really appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
YEA.

Speaker 4 (59:09):
Looking forward to doing this a couple more times. We'll
see how long it goes, but hopefully we get to
do this at least a few more times.

Speaker 1 (59:17):
So that's gonna wrap up our OHL Postgame Posse roundtable
right here live on the Armchair GM Sports Network by
OHL Overtime and the Ohl and sixty Podcast with our
collaboration here for Game one of the old Championship series
between the London Nights and the Oshawa Generals. Oshawa taking
this one for two. Thank you everybody that tuned in
live on our YouTube channel those listening the next day
on your favorite on demand audio platform. So for Joe Vanderlin,

(59:39):
Ristamani and Colin Ward, my name is Brandon Puta, will
be back with you for Game two of the OHL
Championship Series. Have yourself a great night

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2025 OHL Championship Postgame Roundtable - Game 1: Oshawa 4 London 2 - OHL Overtime

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}2025 OHL Championship Postgame Roundtable - Game 1: Oshawa 4 London 2 - OHL Overtime