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London Knights, Saint John Sea Dogs one win each from Memorial Cup: Wednesday’s 3 Stars
No. 1 star: Michael Houser, London Knights (OHL)
Houser was a wall yet again as London took a vise grip on the championship series by stifling the Niagara IceDogs 4-1 to take a 3-1 lead in the series. The goalie from Wexford, Pa., moved closer to perhaps completing the never-done-before OHL goaltender of the year/outstanding player/playoff MVP trifecta by stopping 36-of-37 shots, ensuring London could look completely in command even while it was being outshot on the night.
The 19-year-old netminder made a dozen saves in the first period, helping London get out of the first frame with a one-goal lead despite mustering just four shots on goal. Houser just got better after that, moving well side-to-side and trapping nearly every shot to keep the IceDogs from getting any rebound opportunities. His best stops including moving to his left to stop an Andrew Agozzino rocket and also thrusting his left arm out to deny Niagara's Steven Shipley even while he was down and out. Houser has stopped 151-of-160 shots in the series, good for a 2.01 average and .944 save percentage. The Knights' defensive commitment is helping him greatly, of course, but that's some pretty scintillating work between the pipes. The IceDogs didn't even beat Houser with a single shot on Wednesday, since Myles Doan's third-period goal bounced in off his leg.
No. 2 star: Ryan Rupert, London Knights (OHL)
The 17-year-old Grand Bend, Ont., native had a multi-point night in St. Catharines, Ont., for the second time in the series. Rupert (1G-1A) opened the scoring 3:31 into the game on a breakaway after Max Domi poked the puck by a defenceman at the IceDogs blueline, giving Rupert enough time to make a grocery list as he bore down on Mark Visentin (four goals on 17 shots) and tucked home a backhand. Rupert, who played his typical rambunctions game, also had the primary assist when his twin Matt Rupert scored the clinching goal with 12:41 remaining. That was just 56 seconds after the IceDogs broke Houser's shutout bid and were starting to get hope.
Nine of the 13 Knights goals in the series have come from players aged 16 or 17. Not only that, but the Ruperts' and Chris Tierney's tallies on Wednesday were each set up by a rookie or sophomore. Andreas Athanasiou, dressing for the first time in the series, set Tierney up with a sweet feed.
Meantime, on the Niagara side of the ledger, Ryan Strome still hasn't scored in the series. He does have company in that distinction, though.
No. 2 star: Danick Gauthier, Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)x
The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect scored two goals, each the second of quick two-goal outbursts, to help Sea Dogs outlast Rimouski 6-4 and take a 3-0 lead in the President's Cup final. Talk about using the momentum
Gauthier's first goal came late first in the first period, 33 seconds after Stephen (Birdman) MacAulay put Saint John ahead for good. Jonathan Huberdeau forced a turnover and fed Gauthier, who deked Jacob Chouinard to open a 3-1 lead.
Rimouski stayed close after that and forced Sea Dogs coach Gerard Gallant to line-juggle, splitting up Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips, the top two scorers in the Q playoffs. That paid off in the first 91 seconds of the third period. First Phillips' new linemates Stanislav Galiev and Tomas Jurco combined on a goal that restored a two-goal margin just 17 seconds after Rimouski had scored. Less than a minute later, with the teams playing 4-on-4, Coyle coaxed a Rimouski cough-up and fed Gauthier, who finished five-hole for the eventual winning goal.
Honourable mention: Petr Straka, Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
The Columbus Blue Jackets second-round selection tried in vain to keep Rimouski from falling into a 3-0 series hole vs. Saint John, creating numerous chances and scoring his 10th goal of the playoffs. Straka, a 19-year-old right wing, had a team-high four shots for the Océanic, all counted as dangerous chances. His goal with 8:57 left gave Rimouski hope of a comeback. They actually got within one with 3:55 remaining before Detroit Red Wings second-rounder Tomas Jurco sealed the win with just fewer than two minutes remaining.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.
