Majors Edge Gens
October 12, 2003


Story by: Armando D'Andrea

TORONTO - Coming into Sunday's game against Oshawa, having lost their last three, the Majors did what struggling teams are supposed to do. They looked to their captain to show them the way.

And Majors captain Tim Brent did just that, scoring two goals including the winner with two minutes left in the game, to lead his team to a sorely needed 3-2 win over the Generals Sunday afternoon. Keeping true to their renewed commitment to team defence the Majors killed off six penalties and refused to fold despite having Oshawa come back to tie the game up twice.

Head coach Dave Cameron was pleased with the result and gave credit to his captain and his inspiring performance.

"I though this was a big win. We've been struggling a bit lately and this was one of our better games in a while. Tim had a great game today. He was our go to guy last year and it's the same thing this year. How we go all depends on how he's going."

The game was marked by some chippy play at both ends. Two vicious hits were laid out by Oshawa forward and Phoenix Coyote pick Ben Eager, who, in the eyes of many irate fans, was a bit liberal with his elbow in knocking Majors forward Darryl Boyce out for the game.

Brent, who himself was crashing into every white shirt in front of the Generals goal most of the afternoon, said that the Majors weren't put off by those antics.

"We're not the biggest team in the league, but nobody is running us out of our own rink", said the Anaheim Mighty Ducks draft pick. "We know how to take care of ourselves fine."

Aside from Brent's individual performance the entire team did indeed take care of itself. Along with suffocating the Generals powerplay St. Mike's allowed a meagre 21 shots on net, none of which were particularly difficult, with goalie Justin Peters putting in a quiet day at the office.

"This was a huge character win for us," said the seventeen year old goalie, now the number one netminder in place of the departed Penguins pick Andy Chiodo. "We needed this to get back on track. Defence is a big part of our game, and it's always great when we put in this kind of effort."

St. Mike's drew first blood midway through the first when Nathan McIver and Brent roared in on Generals goalie Ryan Gibb. Brent tried to slide it across the crease and banked it off the goalie's pads, making it 1-0 St. Mike's. Oshawa tied it in the second with Justin Donati replying for the visitors, but minutes after that the Majors' Greg Foster pounced on a loose puck in the slot and buried a wrist shot past Gibb to pull St. Mike's ahead again.

Tampa Bay Lightning Pick Paul Ranger tied it for the Generals in the third after taking a sharp pass from Donati, but with two minutes remaining in the game Brent took the puck off a faceoff deep in the Generals end, skated into the high slot and blasted a shot behind a screened Gibb to ice the win.

Testament to the faith the team puts in its captain, Brent stayed on the ice the rest of the game to preserve the victory.

"Any good player knows how to play under pressure," said the team's leading scorer of his responsibilities as the on-ice general. "We know we get looked at when we're losing, but there's a sense of pride when we're winning. We just have to keep it up".

The win improves St. Mikes' to 3-6-0-0 record on the season, while the Generals drop below .500 at 4-5-0-1. The Majors next play another GTA rival in the Brampton Battalion on Thanksgiving Day at 2:00 p.m.