Not much rattles goaltender Garrett Sparks.

Even giving up a goal just 13 seconds into the game, like he did on Sunday night, doesn’t phase the 18-year-old, who plays for the Guelph Storm.

“I’ve let in opening shift goals for as long as I can remember. It happens, but you can’t let one hiccup effect you for the next 60 minutes because it will destroy your game,” said Sparks, Toronto’s 8th choice (190th overall) in the 2011 draft. “You have to get over it quick and make the next save and give your team every chance to win.

“It was a textbook way for a goalie not to start a game.”

But Sparks played flawlessly the rest of the way as the Maple Leaf rookies defeated their Pittsburgh Penguin counterparts 5-1 to remain undefeated in the four-team NHL rookie tournament at Oshawa’s General Motors Centre.

Coach Jim Hughes called the victory a “character win” because the team was forced to play short-handed for much of the game due to injuries to defenceman Stuart Percy, the Leafs’ 2nd choice (25th overall) in the 2011 draft, and forward David Broll from the Erie Otters, the team’s 6th pick (152nd overall.)

“It was a terrific effort,” Hughes said. “The character and compete level of our players was phenomenal.”

The victory sets up the junior version of the “Battle of Ontario” on Tuesday night when the rookie Buds play the also unbeaten Ottawa Senators, who scored a 6-5 victory in the day over the winless Chicago Blackhawks.

As for Sparks, Hughes was impressed.

“That was something, what did they score, 12 seconds into the game?” Hughes said. “He just closed the door after that. He was busy all night long and made some fantastic saves. He was a big factor in our win.”

The Leafs also got a big game from Erie Otters star forward Greg McKegg, their 2nd pick (62nd overall) in the 2010 entry draft. The 19-year-old forward scored on a breakaway with 8:46 to play, taking a pass from linemate Tyler Brenner and then deking Pittsburgh goalie Maxime Lagace.

“It was at the end of a shift and they were changing and we ended up on two-on-one,” McKegg said. “Brenner made a good pass and I had a step on the guy and tucked it back in. It was a really good pass.”

McKegg had three points on the night, earning two assists on goals by Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades and Mitchell Heard of the Plymouth Whalers. Brenner banged in a pass from Jamie Devane and Sondre Olden with 2:32 to go to end the rout.

“You can see his (McKegg) skill set,” Hughes said. “He puts some big numbers up in the OHL. He wasn’t as anxious as he was on Saturday.”

McKegg scored 49 goals and 43 assists for the Otters last season, where he’ll return for another year and hopefully crack the word junior lineup.

“It’s every Canadian kid’s dream to play in that tournament at Christmas,” he said.

Brampton Battalion forward Sam Carrick put Toronto up 3-1 just seconds after they killed off a penalty to start the second period. Carrick, the Leafs’ 5th choice (144th overall) in the 2010 draft, then fought Pittsburgh’s Jesse Astles four minutes later before wrestling the Pittsburgh player to the ice.

Sparks made several clutch saves, including a sprawling glove stop on Paul Thompson and a toe save on Tom Kuhnhacki in rapid session midway through the second and then robbed centre Brian Gibbons from close in a few minutes later.

The Leafs led 2-1 after the first period on goals by Nicholls and Heard, an undrafted home-town favourite from nearby Bowmanville. McKegg dug out the puck from behind the net and slipped a quick pass to Nicholls, who fired a nice backhand past Lagace at 7:47. Heard then ripped one past Lagace at 14:09 after taking a cross-ice pass from McKegg during a 4-on-3 power play.

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Winger Brandon DeFazio staked the Pens to 1-0 lead when he scored just 13 seconds into the game following a goal-mouth scramble.

“It was just a bad bounce,” Sparks said. “As a goalie, you sometimes realize that you can’t do anything about it. I actually got a piece of it. I kind of punched it back into traffic and then lost it again.”

After stellar performances in their 4-2 win over Chicago in the opening tournament game on Saturday night, the Leafs didn’t dress defenceman Jake Gardiner (two goals) or centre Kenny Ryan (one goal). Also watching from the sidelines were highly regarded winger Matt Frattin and defenceman Jesse Blacker.

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