Smith-Pelly’s Hat-Trick Powers Majors 7-3 over Attack

Mississuaga, ON., — Devante Smith-Pelly had three goals and an assist powering the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors to a 7-3 win over the Owen Sound Attack.

The line of Smith-Pelly, Majors’ captain Casey Cizikas and Justin Shugg combined for five goals and five assists in the game. Maxim Kitsyn and Rob Flick had the other two for the Majors.

Jarrod Maidens, Keevin Cutting and Robby Mignardi replied for Owen Sound.

With the win the Majors now lead the Ontario Hockey League’s J. Ross Robertson series 3-2. Game six is Thursday night in Owen Sound.

Flick opened the scoring at 6:57 of the first thanks to some strong forechecking. Flick laid out the Attack defender allowing Riley Brace to pick up the loose puck and pass it out front to Flick. With half an empty net to shoot at Flick put the Majors up 1-0.

Just over two minutes later, while the Majors were benefiting from a Liam Heelis penalty, Justin Shugg beat Michael Zador. Stuart Percy started the play in the Majors zone making a nifty pass to Cizikas.  The captain was able to find a breaking Shugg for his ninth of the playoffs.

Zador was pulled in favour of Scott Stajcer after allowing two goals on six shots.

At 12:25 still in the first, once again on the power play, Michael D’Orazio’s point shot would miss the net but the puck would find the stick of Kitsyn at the side of the net making it 3-0 for the Majors.

Three minutes later Cizikas and Smith-Pelly broke in on a two-on-one. Cizikas elected to shoot. Smith-Pelly was right there to clean up the rebound with his 12^th of the playoffs.

The Attack finally got on the board at 17:07. Heelis with some strong work down low managed to get the puck back to Jesse Blacker at the point. Maidens was waiting in front and tipped in the Blacker point shot.

With the momentum swinging in the Attacks favour, captain Garret Wilson found a pinching Cutting who buried it past JP Anderson at 19:08.

That’s the way the score would stay until 1:19 of the third period with the Attack benefitting from a four-on-three power play Mignardi got his stick on another Blacker point shot making it 4-3.

Shugg would seal the game at 11:46, on a breakaway beating Stajcer backhand, five-hole, with his second of the game.

Smith-Pelly would add two more insurance markers to complete the hat-trick. That line has now accounted for 60 per cent of the Majors’ goals in the series.

Robby Mignardi continued to find a way to score. He has now scored in every game of the series and has points in 10 straight games.

Andrew Shaw was assed a match-penalty for sucker-punching Chris DeSousa at 17:49 of the third. The punch split DeSousa open. Shaw gets an automatic one-game suspension with further review.

Final shots were 35-30 in favour of the Majors.