Kujawinski gives Battalion first-ever double-OT home win, and 3-1 series lead: OHL post-game questions

North Bay's January adds authored the winner, with Ryan Kujawinski one-timing Nick Moutrey's cross-ice pass for the double-overtime winner, opening a 3-1 series lead over Barrie. Oshawa also moved to matchpoint  with Michael Dal Colle running roughshod.against Niagara.

On with the post-game questions:

Eastern Conference

North Bay 4 Barrie 3 (double overtime; Battalion lead 3-1, Colts host Game 5 on Saturday) — Has Kujawinski's form been assumed by former Troops talisman Barclay Goodrow? One who hadn't seen Kujawinski and Goodrow in the same games at points over the previous three seasons could be forgiven for thinking so. The Battalion are a little more balanced than the 2014 iteration that Goodrow, who made it up to the San Jose Sharks this season after being an overage free-agent signing, willed to the league final. Kujawinski, a New Jersey Devils signing who's also a 6-foot-2 forward with a booming left shot, might not have seen an every-night force the way Goodrow was 12 months ago, but he's been versatile and valuable.

The fourth-year OHLer's game-winner might have been a goal in many higher leagues; it also wiped away the memory of a pinged post early in the first OT session. Kujawinski was also automatic at the dot all night; TV Cogeco North Bay's stat guys had him at 14-of-15 in the third period.

Kujawinski's winner, which came after an offensive-blueline Barrie turnover and quick pass up to Moutrey for a 2-on-1, gave the Battalion their first double-overtime home win in their 17-season history. Their only other multi-OT home game was a loss to Barrie in 2007.

How will the Colts get off the mat for a do-or-done game at home? Barrie is a bit of a hurting unit. It couldn't break through Battalion coach Stan Butler's {ixnay on the raptay) structured system regularly, with regular-season 100-point men Joseph Blandisi, Kevin Labanc and Andrew Mangiapane each getting shut out. The trio haven't had any space to manoeuvre laterally.

The 19 shots on goal that Barrie was credited with in the first four periods might have been a hometown counting fudge. Barrie was outshot, but not that widely.

"We were almost counting the shots they didn't put up," Colts coach Dale Hawerchuk told Rogers TV Barrie. "It's like they do that on purpose.

"We just need to get that energy," Hawerchuk said in reference to Game 5. "You get to that point now, down 3-1, where you have to take it one shift, one period at a time. You just need that one game to turn momentum."

The Colts might still have some fight left, but overage centre Garrett Hooey was shaken up after being ploughed by Battalion captain Marcus McIvor during a goalmouth pileup late in the first OT. Going to one overtime, never mind two, was a function of Mackenzie Blackwood being sharp in goal while fellow 18-year-old Roy Radke (2G, +2) conjured up two third-period goals while his team had little pressure. Radke, a grinder, was able to break through North Bay's defence.

Hooey takes a lot of faceoffs for Barrie, so any compromising injury could affect Barrie's possession time on Saturday.

Oshawa 7 Niagara 4 (Generals lead 3-1, host Game 5 on Friday) — What chance is there of seeing 'Dogs defenceman Vince Dunn on Friday? Talk about your 'the higher you climb, the more you expose' stories. Dunn, after a night of being a marked man in his return from a two-game slew-foot suspension, injured his left leg moments before the Gens slid in the empty-netter.

Dunn was knocked down by hulking Hunter Smith as the puck came out to centre ice. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Smitiwthh was then pushed over Dunn, whose leg bent in a way it is not designed to. With the quick turnaround for Friday's elimination game, it might be tough for Dunn (2A on Thursday) to recover. The 18-year-old defenceman was worked over all night and had a giveaway that led directly to the 3-on-1 rush that Michael McCarron (2G-2A, +2) converted for the 5-3 eventual game-winner with 6:54 remaining.

As a skilled player, Dunn is used to such treatment. It just so happened that it affected the course of the contest.

How driven does Michael Dal Colle appear to be in this round? One underdiscussed Generals intangible for the  is that their three best forwards all missed out on the world junior experience. Dal Colle (2G-3A, +3, tying him for second in the playoff point race with 19 in nine games) was a final cut of Team Canada and missed out on a chance to play in his hometown. McCarron, a U.S. national development team program grad who eschewed college to come to major junior, was cut from Team USA. Vancouver Canucks prospect Cole Cassels (1G-1A, +1) had an OHL suspension affect his suitability to wear the Stars and Stripes.

There's no hard-and-fast rule about whether a junior might see the WJC a a peak of his young life and find it hard to ramp up for his final half-season, especially when there's the dangling carrot of a call-up for the Stanley (or Calder) Cup playoffs. It's an individual choice. That trio didn't get that and seems to be on a mission.

Dal Colle, in particular, couldn't be suppressed on Thursday as he kept his teammates' plates piled high with passes. The New York Islanders' No. 5 overall pick was a matchup nightmare. The Gens having a dozen veterans and a now-or-never imperative organizationally what with having traded so many future high picks has had a lot of play. That element should be mentioned, too, 

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.