A 4-2 win tonight at home, including a hat trick from Cole Cassels, was enough to send the Generals to round three of the 2015 playoffs. The Generals went into tonight’s game with a 3-1 lead on the series and were able to take game number four to eliminate the IceDogs.

Although it was the IceDogs with the first scoring opportunity, the Gens opened the scoring as Cassels fed Matt Mistele who beat Hope up top for his fifth of the playoffs. Michael Dal Colle also picked up an assist, giving him his 20th point of the playoffs. The Gens were sent to the penalty kill first as Dal Colle was whistled for holding on Carter Verhaeghe. Chris Carlisle pumped the crowd up on the penalty kill after a huge hip check on Josh Ho-Sang, sent him flying over Carlisle. Oshawa finished the period on the power play with Alexander Mikulovich was called for high sticking. The period wrapped up with the Gens up 1-0 and shots almost even at 11-10 for Oshawa.

The Generals were impressive on the penalty kill tonight, specifically in the second period. Stephen Desrocher was called for slashing roughly five minutes into the period. Niagara had some good scoring opportunities but blocked shots by the D and big saves by Appleby kept the Gens ahead by one. Even-strength didn’t last long as Michael McCarron received two minutes for roughing. However, the penalty kill for the Gens continued to be strong and Oshawa was able to get their chance on the man advantage as Aaron Haydon sat for roughing. This time Mistele fed Cassels on the power play and put the Gens ahead by two goals. Mitchel Vande Sompel also picked up an assist giving him his 10th point of the playoffs. With just 2:19 to go in the period, Ryan Mantha put Niagara on the board as he slipped the puck by Appleby. It was a 2-1 game after 40 minutes, with the Gens outshooting the IceDogs 23-20.

It was an intense third period as the Gens looked to hang onto the lead, and the IceDogs were fighting to stay in the series. Johnny Corneil came close to scoring for Niagara but Appleby made another tremendous stop to keep his team ahead. The pressure continued by Oshawa and resulted in a power play as Mantha sat for hooking. Just 21 seconds into the man advantage, Cassels scored his second of the game and third point of the night to make it 3-1 for his team. Tobias Lindberg was credited the assist on Cassels’ second goal, after putting the initial shot on Hope. The two-goal lead didn’t last long after Brian Brosnan scored 7:29 into the period. The fun began for Oshawa as Cassels found the net for the third time securing the hat trick and giving his team the 4-2 game and series win.

As the boys move towards the Eastern Conference Finals, they will match up with either the Barrie Colts or the North Bay Battalion. Stay tuned for confirmed dates, but you can buy your tickets ahead of time as of tomorrow at 12p.m. by visiting the GM Centre Box office, calling 1-877-436-8811 or online here.

Thanks for another great series, fans!

Shots on goal: Generals (37) IceDogs (31)

Molson Canadian Three Stars: Cassels (1) Mistele (2) Lindberg (3)

Final score: Generals (4) IceDogs (2)