Oshawa earns spot in Memorial Cup semifinal

Defenseman Stephen Desrocher, a prospect for the 2015 NHL Draft, scored at 18:07 of overtime to give the Oshawa Generals a 5-4 victory against the host Quebec Remparts on Sunday at the 2015 Memorial Cup, played at Pepsi Colisee in Quebec City, Quebec.

Oshawa's Cole Cassels (Vancouver Canucks) beat Quebec's Kurt Etchegary on a faceoff on the right side of the Quebec zone, winning the puck back to Desrocher, No. 145 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2015 draft. Desrocher gloved the puck, dropped it on his stick, cut around a rushing Etchegary and found space in the right circle. His high shot beat Quebec goaltender Zachary Fucale (Montreal Canadiens) under the crossbar, past his glove.

"All the boys played a great game, and I guess I was the lucky guy to get the final one," Desrocher said, according to The Canadian Press. "I knew I didn't have a shooting lane at first and I tried to get around a guy and just tried to get it on net and it went in."

Michael Dal Colle (New York Islanders) had a goal and two assists for Oshawa, the Ontario Hockey League champion. Tobias Lindberg (Ottawa Senators) and Michael McCarron (Montreal Canadiens) each had a goal and an assist, and Dakota Mermis scored a goal. Goaltender Ken Appleby made 21 saves. Oshawa outshot Quebec 50-25.

The win guaranteed the Generals (2-0) a spot in the semifinals Friday. They'll earn a spot in the championship game May 31 if they can defeat the Western Hockey League champion Kelowna Rockets (0-1) on Tuesday.

Dmytro Timashov, No. 92 on Central Scouting's final ranking, scored two goals, Ryan Graves (New York Rangers) had a goal and an assist, and Raphael Maheux scored a goal for Quebec (1-1). Fucale made 45 saves.

Timashov's two goals in the third period gave the Remparts a 4-3 lead at 8:48 of the third, but a penalty for a check to the head on Guillaume Gauthier late in the third period gave the Generals a power play, and Lindberg took advantage of it. Dal Colle worked the puck to Cassels in the left circle, and Cassels one-touched it to Lindberg in the slot for a one-timer.

"We were playing well 5-on-5," Quebec coach Philippe Boucher said. "Even if they had 50 shots, the score was close, and we had a chance to win. I wish we were more disciplined. But it's not the end of the world. We'll come back strong."

Mermis' goal 2:34 into the third broke a 2-2 tie, but Timashov, who led Quebec Major Junior Hockey League rookies with 71 assists and 90 points, turned the 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 Quebec lead with two goals in a 3:09 span later in the period.

Timashov's sharp-angled shot from the right side beat Appleby at 5:39 to tie it. Adam Erne (Tampa Bay Lightning) missed the net with a shot off the rush, but the carom bounced off the wall to Timashov, who one-timed it past Appleby at 8:48 to put Quebec ahead.

Appleby recovered to make a few big saves later in the period, including a save on Etchegary on a 2-on-1 with 7:52 left and a big stop on Vladimir Tkachev in front with 5:43 remaining.

"I think we were starting to get a little nervous there," Desrocher told the Memorial Cup website. "We saw the clock ticking down, but Lindberg came up big. We got the win, we're 2-0, and that's all that matters."

The QMJHL champion Rimouski Oceanic (0-1) play Kelowna on Monday.