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Appleby has something to prove in Conference final rematch

Ken Appleby has quietly put together one of the most impressive Ontario Hockey League seasons for a North Bay area player in more than a decade. Appleby sports a 8-2 playoff record for the Generals, along with a 2.32 goals against average and a .


Ken Appleby has quietly put together one of the most impressive Ontario Hockey League seasons for a North Bay area player in more than a decade.

Appleby sports a 8-2 playoff record for the Generals, along with a 2.32 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.   During the regular season, the 6’4” netminder led all OHL goaltenders with a 2.08 goals against average, a 0.924 save percentage and was second in wins with 38.  

Oshawa Generals Goaltender Kenny Appleby will be returning home for the Conference finals but don’t expect the hometown fans to celebrate his success this week as the Generals and Battalion square off.  

The former North Bay AAA Trappers goalie was in goal for the Generals last season when Jamie Lewis scored the biggest goal of the season for the Battalion, putting the Gardens into a frenzy and sending the Gens packing in a four-game sweep. 

“Playing against the hometown team means a lot, not only because it is of course my hometown and all of my family and friends that will be at the games but also because of what happened last year,” Appleby told BayToday Wednesday night, relating to the disappointment of the sweep last season.

Generals Head Coach D.J. Smith put Appleby in a challenging spot last year.  With his team down 3-0 in the series, the weight was put on the local boys shoulders to keep the Generals season alive.  While it didn’t play out the way the Generals would have hoped, Smith is glad Appleby got in to that series. 

“I think it was important that Kenny got into game 4 and he got to get at least one feel of it,” said Smith during the OHL Eastern Conference media call on Wednesday afternoon. 

“He’s been these guys’ goalie right from the get go since I took the team over here, he was in as a rookie and he’s become best friends with all these guys and he’s been their guy wire to wire so it’s good to see him have the success he’s had this year. He’s grown up with these guys and, like I said, they are a tight group and he’s been their guy. It’s good to see he has played as good as he has, in saying that, in order to get past this round he’s going to have to be even better.”

That means Appleby will have to outplay Battalion star goaltender Jake Smith who put together another solid season as the Battalion workhorse.   

Smith leads all OHL playoff goaltenders with a 2.03 goals against average and a 0.923 save percentage and a stellar 8-1 record. 

So it’s pretty safe to say that the goaltender that stands out the most in the Eastern Conference Final will be the one who leads his team to the OHL final. 


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Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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