Easton Cowan celebrating during the series against Oshawa last season [Kalvin Taylor/Goodall Media].

The game between Oshawa and London on Sunday was the final meeting between the two teams this season unless they run into each other in the finals of the OHL Playoffs.

It was a rematch of last year's championship series, a clash between two of the top teams in the league and a game where pride was on the line. It also featured the first hat trick of Easton Cowan's OHL career. 

In almost all aspects this game was an even contest. Each team got four powerplay opportunities, and ended up scoring three goals at the end of regulation. 

London outshot Oshawa 41-33 by the end of the game, though at the end of regulation the shots were 35-32 in favour of the Knights.

Winnipeg Jets' prospect Colby Barlow, Luca D'Amato and Owen Griffin scored goals for Oshawa while Noah Read picked up a goal and Cowan scored two in regulation. 

The tension in the building was palpable with the game tied at three heading into overtime.

With just over a minute remaining in overtime, Sam O'Reilly sprung Cowan for a breakaway. A quick forehand to backhand move and Cowan shoveled the puck over Jacob Oster's pad winning the game for London.

It's stunning to think that the Toronto Maple Leafs' prospect who has scored 202 points in 168 OHL games had never recorded a hat trick until last night. 

Of course, most people are well aware of Cowan's historic 65-game point streak that straddled the last two seasons.

However, he also was named OHL MVP last season and later Playoffs MVP after he led the playoffs in goals (34) and assists (24) during London's championship run.

Given all of these achievements it's natural to assume that a player of Cowan's caliber would have registered a hat trick somewhere along the way.

When you look at Cowan's last two years, what jumps out is that he is a model of consistency. He consistently picks up one to two points with highs of three points. 

This goes somewhat against the usual pattern of star OHL forwards having burst games of four or five points interspersed with more games of a couple or no points.

Whether you're a fan of Cowan or not, it cannot be denied that he shows up when the Knights need him most. In this instance his hat trick splits the season series with Oshawa and avenges their loss earlier in the season. 

Only time will tell whether we get a rematch between Oshawa and London. At this point it can only happen if both teams come out on top of their respective Conferences in the playoffs. 

If that rematch does arrive though, the high stakes game we saw last night has set the stage for an amazing playoff series.