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Storm pull win from the fire, Knights accused of diving: OHL post-game questions

Bertuzzi had 98 points in the regular season (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)
Bertuzzi had 98 points in the regular season (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)

Four of five games were one-goal contests on a thrilling first Sunday of the playoffs, which also included a highlight howitzer from Habs prospect Michael McCarron. On with the post-game questions:

Western Conference

Guelph 5 Owen Sound 4 (in OT, tied 1-1, Attack host Game 3 on Tuesday) — How is redemption spelled in Guelph for the next 24 hours? B-e-r-t-u-z-z-i and M-a-r-c-h-e-s-e, as two seasoned Storm wings who have had uneven fortunes of late came up big in a game Guelph could ill-afford not to win.

Detroit Red Wings prospect Tyler Bertuzzi, with his hat trick, matched his goal output from his final dozen games of the regular season, when a snakebitten stretch cost him a shot at the magic 50. Bertuzzi also had a bad giveaway that led directly to a go-ahead Attack goal, but scored twice in succession to re-stake the Storm to a lead.

In overtime, overage wing Chris Marchese, who often plays with star centre Robby Fabbri but had been moved to the third line, scored the game-winner. The goal came on a 2-on-1 that took form thanks to a big open-ice check by Marc Stevens on Attack defenceman Chris Bigras.

What positives can the Attack glean from the first two games as prepare to host the next two? Owen Sound scored 10 goals across six periods and change at the Sleeman Centre, seizing on Guelph goalie Justin Nichols being at less than peak form. The Attack, who had multi-point efforts on Sunday from Daniel Milne, Edmonton Oilers prospect Kyle Platzer and overage Erik Bradford, also had stretches in each game where they really put heat on the callow Storm back end.

Guelph dearly missed defenceman C.J. Garcia, who didn't play Sunday due to illness.

London 6 Kitchener 2 (Knights lead 2-0, Rangers host Game 3 on Tuesday) — How likely is it that Troy Smith was trying to take heat off his team? There might some trace elements of deflection, but the Rangers coach was also still in the heat of the moment when he averred that the Knights were flopping worse than Jupiter Ascending (well, not in those words, but it's all about capturing the spirit of the thing). The Rangers got an 11-9 edge in power plays across the two games at Bud Gardens, but London outscored them 5-3 on special teams and 4-0 at even strength.

"It's unfortunate that there is that kind embellishment going on out there," Smith told the Waterloo Region Record. "It's not fair to the officials. It's not fair to the fans. It's not fair to anybody. It needs to be called.

"It's just too difficult a game when they're diving all over the place. It has been going on all year with that team. The officials need to look at it and deal with it.

"At the end of the day, I feel if those calls were made, it would be a little bit of a different game."

A Dale Hunter-coached team engage in gamesmanship? Never.

What brought out the best in Mitchell Marner? The OHL points runner-up seemed to hit a wall for a span of late February and early March, but has a playoff-high five goals after two games. The simplest sweeping generalization is that the super sophomore, as sometimes happens, got to that false sense of security/taking success for granted stage. Then the scoring title got away from him in the final two weeks.

"Him not winning, it kind of lit a fire in his belly," Marner's linemate, ex-Ranger Josh Sterk, told the London Free Press. He’s probably playing the best hockey he has all season when it’s hard to do and everything’s so much tighter. We’re facing a heck of a goalie [Kitchener's Jake Paterson], but he’s been unbelievable right now

Erie 6 Sarnia 5 (Otters lead 2-1, Sting host Game 4 on Tuesday) — Will the Sting be able to get the game back to their preferred tempo? As the scoreline indicates, Erie's transition game was back in full force as their attacking was, as per coach Kris Knoblauch, "a lot better than the first two games." Los Angeles Kings draft pick Jake Marchment ended up as the designated scorer du jour with a hat trick that included a short-hander set up by one Connor McDavid.

The Sting are unlikely to hang in for too many high-scoring games against Erie. The Otters, with McDavid and Dylan Strome each enjoying two-point nights, overcame being 2-0 in the first period and weren't fazed by a 5-2 edge evaporating. McDavid got the winner after escaping from his shadow, overage defenceman Josh Chapman. The two had a run-in after a whistle in the third period.

“I love to shadow that guy and get in his face all night long,” Chapman told the Sarnia Observer. “You can tell he's getting a little bit frustrated. That's what I'm going for, I'm going to keep it up. As long as he gets frustrated and angry and upset, then I'm doing my job right.”

Eastern Conference

Oshawa 2 Peterborough 1 (Generals lead 2-0, Petes host Game 3 on Tuesday) — How much did the score reflect the Gens scuffling and the Petes' pride coming to the fore? Give some regard to the latter and make the split 55/45. Oshawa, after rolling in the opener, seldom seemed in danger, but it didn't exert a great amount of pressure on Petes goalie Matt Mancina, who was named first star inside the General Motors Centre. They were off, yet still won.

The decisive moment came after veteran Petes forward Greg Betzold was called for slashing 6:30 into the third. Nineteen seconds after Peterborough killed off the penalty to return to full strength, Michael McCarron went into beast mode.

The Petes goal, from 16-year-old defenceman Matthew Timms, came on a faceoff play. Prior to that late tally, perhaps the best chance the Petes had all night came in the second period when another 16-year-old, Jonathan Ang, carried in on a 3-on-2 and drew in the defenders, leading to an open shot and a juicy rebound.

That segues right into addressing the silver lining for the Petes. Whether it's those two ballyhooed members of GM Mike Oke and his scouts' 2014 priority selection class, or 17- and 18-year-old defencemen Matt Spencer and Kyle Jenkins, the younger Petes are getting a baptism by fire against a top team. That might not attract the casual fan dollar to Game 3, although the Petes are expecting a decent turnout.

North Bay 3 Kingston 2 (Battalion lead 2-0, Frontenacs host Game 3 on Tuesday) — What is the stat of the series thus far? Try the Battalion having 18 points from the older guys (19-year-olds and overages) and Kingston having one, a goal with 5:17 left from defenceman Evan McEneny that led to North Bay sweating out the final minutes (and only temporarily quieted the Memorial Gardens crowd). Sam Bennett showed up in force for the Fronts with primary assists on both their tallies, and the Frontenacs are a better team at home, but the gap in experience might lead to this being a shorter series than many anticipated.

The Battalion got away with giving up nine power plays, weathering eight.

Was anyone confused by Kingston waiting to pull the goalie? On the road, down a game in the series having had few opportunities in the third aside from McEneny, the Fronts got a gold-plated opportunity when Nick Paul was gated for tripping with 2:13 left. First-year head coach Paul McFarland didn't go 6-on-4 until 1:13 remained. Sure, the risk of an empty-net goal is higher when the other short-handed opponent won't be called for icing, but another skater is benefit. Just second-guessing.

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