Taylor Hall scores in overtime as Windsor beats Brampton to claim OHL crown

WINDSOR, Ont. - The Windsor Spitfires won the Ontario Hockey League championship Friday on a goal that Taylor Hall couldn't believe was real.

Hall scored on the power play 2:09 into overtime as the Spitfires beat the Brampton Battalion 2-1 to win the OHL final 4-1.

Hall, widely considered to be a top prospect for the 2010 NHL draft, didn't initially see his championship-clinching goal go in.

"I just swiped at the rebound and I didn't see the puck go in right away," he said. "It was all a blur . . . I had to look a second time before I finally saw the puck in the net, and I still couldn't believe it for a moment."

The Spitfires followed up a league-best 57-10-0-1 regular season with a 16-4 mark in the playoffs, including four overtime wins over the London Knights in the OHL's Western Conference finals.

After a scoreless first period, Dale Mitchell scored on the power play for Windsor 13:06 into the second, tapping home a Hall rebound past Brampton goalie Thomas McCollum

Matt Kang scored for the Battalion at 16:14 of the third period from Thomas Stajan to set the stage for Hall's heroics.

With Brampton's Matt Duchene in the penalty box for checking from behind, Hall beat McCollum to send Windsor to the Memorial Cup, which begins May 15 in Rimouski, Que.

Hall, who scored 16 goals and 20 assists in 20 games to win the OHL playoff scoring title, was named the winner of the Wayne Gretzky Number 99 Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.

"There are a lot of great players who would have been great choices for this award, including a few on our own team too," said Hall. "I'm thrilled and honoured to win the award."

Andrew Engelage made 37 saves for the Spitfires while McCollum made 34 at the other end.