Joel Vanderlaan
@jovanderlaan
The Oshawa Generals took a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series with a 7-5 come-from-behind win over the Brampton Steelheads on Tuesday night at CAA Centre.
The Steelheads wasted no time tallying in front of their home crowd, as Mason Zebeski and Gabriel Chiarot both found the back of the net to give Brampton a 2-0 lead before the midway point of the first period.
Late in the frame, high-scoring defenceman and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Luca Marrelli answered for Oshawa, cutting the deficit to one heading into the intermission.
Carson Rehkopf restored the Brampton two-goal advantage early in the second stanza, building on his 42-goal regular season.
The Generals answered back, with Owen Griffin and Brooks Rogowski each scoring to send the game into the final frame tied at 3-3.
Early in the third, Griffin struck again with his second of the night before Calum Ritchie added insurance with his first goal of the postseason, continuing his point streak in the series.
Griffin, a 2025 NHL Draft prospect, continued to impress completing his hat trick. The scoring continued as Zebeski responded for the Steelheads before Matthew Buckley made it 7-4.
Rehkopf cut the deficit to 7-5 with his second goal of the game at 18:47 of the third, but Brampton couldn't close the gap any further.
Jacob Oster made 23 saves in the victory, while Jack Ivankovic was the busier of the two goaltenders, facing 42 shots in the Steelheads crease.
Game 4 goes Thursday night from Brampton's CAA Centre, where the Steelheads will look to even the series on home ice.
