Canucks prospect Cole Cassels scores hat trick, Oshawa Generals off to Eastern final: OHL post-game questions

What would the end of a series be without some controversy involving Josh Ho-Sang? The most interesting young man in the OHL was whistled on a soft call for goalie interference with fewer than three minutes left in a one-goal game. Cole Cassels scored his hat-trick goal 25 seconds later and that was the series, with Oshawa stamping a ticket back to the Eastern final.

North Bay, up 3-1 against Barrie entering a road Game 5 on Saturday, has a chance to complete the final four.

On with the post-game questions:

Oshawa 4 Niagara 2 (Generals win 4-1) — Did Ho-Sang deserve that goalie interference penalty? Anyone who believes the call on the New York Islanders first-rounder with 2:42 left was not a Round 2, third round, elimination game call might have a beef. Ho-Sang bumped Generals goalie Ken Appleby's crease and the two became entangled and fell. That warranted a call, although the goalie really sold it. Off the ensuing generals  rush, Cassels (3G-1A) scored the sealer.

In the final seconds, IceDogs interim coach Dave Bell restrained Ho-Sang, Niagara's playofff scoring leader with 16 points in 11 games, from going on the ice. The 18-year-old even had both legs over the boards when he was pulled back.

The IceDogs took two penalties during an all-important third period. Both led directly to Cassels goals.

How hard is it to believe that Cassels doubled his playoff goal output with his hatty? The Vancouver Canucks signing draws more diffficult defensive assignments in order to free up Michael Dal Colle (2A) and his linemates. Yet a letter-wearing 19-year-old centre is generally expected to have more than one goal per series.

Cassels factored into both goals as Oshawa opened a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. In the third, while matching up against Toronto Maple Leafs-signed centre Carter Verhaeghe, Cassels buried a rebound for a 3-1 lead after Ottawa Senators prospect Tobias Lindberg manoeuvred around Niagara D-man Aaron Haydon to win a puck race. Then Cassels scored again.

"It's one of the bigger games of my life for sure,"  Cassels told Rogers TV Durham. "Credit the guys for getting pucks to the net."

Oshawa was overwhelmed in last spring's Eastern final against North Bay. It's more mature this time.

"We're looking for redemption," Cassels added. "It would be nice to get North Bay and have some payback on them."

How ready is Appleby to make Round 3 saves? The 19-year-old goalie got some stress testing against the potent IceDogs and a mercy pull in Oshawa's lone loss of this round. Overall, though, Appleby has a 2.32/.918 slash line in the playoffs and has seldom allowed the knee-buckling bad goal. He came up with a huge save against Niagara's Johnny Corneil in the third to preserve a one-goal advantage.

Appleby hails from North Bay. Hello, storyline.

How does Niagara put the loss in perspective? In 2011, the 'Dogs had the pace dictated to them in a five-game conference final loss to another team that grinded on opponents, the Dave Cameron-guided Mississauga Majors. Niagara went to the final next season before being beset by a blocked-shot brigade from London.

Niagara will likely turn over at least six everyday players, including Verhaeghe and the overages, wings Billy Jenkins and Cody Payne and goalie Brandon Hope. Ho-Sang, with further physical maturation, and Brendan Perlini could be a lethal 1-2 punch, while Vince Dunn could be a blueline cornerstone. Fine-tuning their defensive game as Dunn, Haydon, Aleksandar Mikolovich, Blake Siebenaler and New York Rangers pick Ryan Mantha enter their age-19 seasons will be an X factor.

Dunn, on crutches, was unable to play Friday. After the final buzzer, Generals defenceman Mitchell Vande Sompel made a great gesture by skating over to speak with Dunn. The two were in each other's faces for much of the series.

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