The Big Rig comes up huge for Oshawa in Memorial Cup win over Rimouski

QUEBEC CITY — It’s with good reason that Hunter Smith has earned the nickname Big Rig. At 6-foot-6 and 215-pounds, the Oshawa Generals forward cuts an imposing figure. His thick, full beard makes him look more like Paul Bunyan ready to cut a swath through the forest than a 19-year-old Calgary Flames prospect.

“He’s a pretty big guy so he’s pretty hard to contain,” said teammate Michael Dal Colle. “Getting drafted in the (NHL’s) second round proves that he’s not just a guy who’s going to hit you. He can also score goals and he has a great shot.”

On Saturday afternoon Smith showed that offensive touch by scoring the game winner to give the OHL-champion Oshawa Generals a 4-3 victory over the Rimouski Oceanic, the QMJHL champions, at the Memorial Cup.

With the game tied 3-3 halfway through the third period it was Smith who went out looking for redemption. Earlier in the period he had taken a tripping penalty on which the Oceanic capitalized to tie the game on the power play.

“If we lost that game I probably would have taken that right on my shoulders,” said Smith. “A bad penalty in the third allowed them to tie it. The response was to get a goal and kind of pick myself back up there.”

Smith put a shot on net from just outside the Oceanic blueline and then the Big Rig bulldozed his way through the high slot to the front of the Rimouski net. Smith picked up his own rebound to beat Oceanic goalie Philippe Desrosiers.

“I was going to do whatever I had to, to put that (puck) in,” said Smith.

On his way to the net outmuscled a pair of Oceanic players – defenceman Simon Bourque and forward Alexis Loiseau – to give the Generals a lead they would not relinquish.

“He’s a big guy that works hard,” said Loiseau, Rimouski’s top scorer in the playoffs. “He just went to the net and it was a goal that we’re not supposed to give (up) at this level.”

Oshawa coach D.J. Smith said he wasn’t surprised by the way his hulking forward rebounded to help lead the Generals to victory.

“He’s done that all year,” said D.J. Smith. “He’s one of those guys that when we need something big or a big hit, whatever the case may be, he’s done that all year. I didn’t know it would be him tonight, but it’s great to see it because he certainly wears his heart on his sleeve.”

The game was a highly anticipated meeting of two of the biggest and most physical teams in the tournament. It didn’t disappoint. The second period featured a bout between two 19-year-old giants, Oshawa’s Mike McCarron (listed at 6-foot-6 and 225-pounds) and Rimouski’s Samuel Morin (6-foot-7 and 225-pounds).

“He’s a tough customer,” said McCarron, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, of Morin. “The boys weren’t going 100 per cent at that time in the game and I thought a little boost would help them.”

It worked as the Generals took the lead some eight minutes later on a goal by Stephen Desrocher.

“Fights are pretty rare here,” said Smith of the CHL championship tournament. “That kind of jump started our bench obviously - it was 2-2 at that point – and we got a goal right after. It was great to see because that’s how hard he plays.”

Although they were able to successfully play catch-up, the Oceanic never held a lead in the game. The QMJHL champions got off to a slow start finding themselves down by two, 10 minutes into the game. With moments ticking down at the end of the game, the Oceanic took a penalty for too many men on the ice when there was a miscue on the bench as Desrosiers was leaving the net.

Despite negating their advantage, the Oceanic still created a scoring opportunity in the dying seconds of the game, as Oshawa goalie Ken Appleby caught a piece of Loiseau’s last-ditch shot.

“It’s really disappointing,” said Loiseau. “We were ready for this game but we didn’t show it in the first (period) and they had the lead all the way in this game.

“We were running after the puck all game long.”

The Oceanic will face the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets (0-1) on Monday, in a critical game for both teams. The Generals get back-to-back matinees playing against the host Quebec Remparts (1-0) on Sunday afternoon. The winner of the game will guarantee itself an automatic berth in the Memorial Cup semifinal.

“We need to get regrouped here,” said McCarron. “We’re going to have to bring a lot more against Quebec because they’re a really fast team, so we’re going to have to match that speed and play tougher against them.”