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Knight Watch: London heads north for three games in three days, including rematch of shootout win vs. Sault Ste. Marie; Knights’ penalty kill best in OHL; Goaltending tandem getting it done — and then some; Wassilyn impressing with new club.
The London Knights are back on the road, this time heading north.
This weekend, they’ll play three games in three nights, first in North Bay Thursday, then in Sudbury Friday, and finally in Sault Ste. Marie Saturday, the second time in less than a week the Knights and Greyhounds will have met.
That first contest was one of London’s two wins last weekend when they took advantage of a pair of home games, beating Owen Sound 5-2 Friday and then edging Sault Ste. Marie, 3-2, in a shootout two days later.
London has won four of their last five games — and they’ve lost just four times in their last 17. That has helped propel the green and gold into first place in the Midwest Division, one point up on Owen Sound and two points ahead of Kitchener.
Special teams has been a big driver of London’s success — especially their penalty kill, which is best in the OHL. Prior to allowing a powerplay goal in the second period of Sunday’s win over the Soo, the Knights had successfully killed off 22 straight penalties.
Goaltending has also been tremendous. In London’s last 13 games, a goalie has given up more than three goals just twice. Sebastian Gatto secured his second shootout victory of the season Sunday, stopping all five attempts against him. Aleksei Medvedev, meanwhile, is once again among the league leaders, posting the third best save percentage and fourth best goals against average in the league. He’s tied for eighth with eight victories on the year.
Braidy Wassilyn has provided the scoring punch London needed when they acquired him from Niagara in late October. He has six goals and 11 points in nine games since the trade (he’s been held pointless just twice since joining the Knights, both times in losses).
Jaxon Cover certainly seems to have found his footing in the OHL. The first-year forward had his fourth multi-point game of the season, and he’s up to five goals and 16 points through 20 games, the sixth highest point total among rookies.
London won two of three games during their eastern road trip two weeks ago. This weekend will be the first time this season that the Knights will play three games in three days.
Henry Brzustewicz missed both games last weekend with an undisclosed injury. Head Coach Dale Hunter was also absent from the bench on Sunday due to an illness.
UPCOMING GAMEDAYS
Thursday (Nov. 20, 7:00pm) @ North Bay Battalion (11-9-1-0, 5th in Eastern Conference)
It’s a tale of two penalty kills in this one, as the Knights have the top PK at 87.3%, and the Battalion have the second worst at 72.8%. North Bay has won three straight on home ice. Third-year import forward Ihnat Pazii is on pace to eclipse his totals from the last two seasons combined. He leads the team with 15 points. Parker Vaughan, from nearby St. Thomas, has four goals and nine points with the Battalion this season. North Bay gets its offence by committee, as 17 players have scored two or more goals this season, including 10 who have at least four.
Friday (Nov. 21, 7:05pm) @ Sudbury Wolves (5-15-1-0, 10th in Eastern Conference)
The last-placed Wolves have a league low five wins, 91 goals against (tied for second most in the OHL), and only 54 goals for (tied for second fewest). The Wolves snapped a seven-game losing skid on the weekend, which was their second such streak of the season (they dropped their first seven games). Nathan Villeneuve and Kieron Walton (Winnipeg Jets) provide a bulk of the offence for Sudbury. They have 24 and 23 points, respectively, nearly double the team’s next highest scorer. There are a pair of locals on the Wolves roster: London’s Ethan Dean and Ilderton’s Liam Ladds.
Saturday (Nov. 22, 7:07pm) @ Soo Greyhounds (14-8-1-1, 3rd in Western Conference)
Dating back to the 2023-24 season, the Knights have won six straight against the Greyhounds — though the most recent wasn’t an easy one. London won 3-2 after a shootout last Sunday. The Greyhounds have scored the fourth most goals in the OHL this season. Chase Reid is second among OHL defensemen with 27 points. Landon Miller (Detroit Red Wings) is among the league’s top netminders, and he showed last Sunday he’s capable of being a game changer. Team captain Brady Martin (Nashville PRedators) has 11 points in 10 games after starting the season in the NHL. Former London Junior Knight Brodie McConnell-Barker has returned to the Soo lineup after missing the first 18 games of the year recovering from mono.
KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS
22 – The London Knights had successfully killed off 22 straight penalties before allowing a powerplay goal against the Greyhounds on Sunday. That’s helped the team’s penalty kill climb to an OHL-best 87.3%.
5 – Sebastian Gatto has been perfect in the shootout, stopping all five attempts in a pair of shootout victories over Owen Sound and Sault Ste. Marie.
9 – Sunday’s shootout win over the Greyhounds was the ninth time this year that London has been tied through regulation: they have two shootout wins, four overtime wins, and three overtime losses.
1 – Mikhail Zakharov is the latest Knight to score his first OHL goal, as he did so last Sunday. Maksim Sokolovskii is now the only active Knight without an OHL goal. He’s played in just 11 of London’s 21 games so far.
A LOOK AT THE LOCALS
– Peterborough’s Brennan Faulkner recorded his second two-goal game of the season. He’s now up to eight goals and 12 points on the year.
– Aylmer’s Cameron Reid recently saw his 10-game point streak come to an end. It’s the second longest point streak by a defenseman this season.
– Guelph Storm captain Jett Luchanko had a four-point effort on Friday, the second time he’s recorded three assists in this season.
AROUND THE OHL
– Following a 6-10-3-1 start, and the possibility of missing the playoffs for the third straight season, the Sarnia Sting have parted ways with head coach Al Letang. No replacement has been named at this time.
– The CHL is expected to announce the host city for the 2027 Memorial Cup later this week. The finalists are Kitchener and Guelph.
– Twenty-one games into their season, the Brantford Bulldogs have yet to lose a game in regulation, boasting a record of 16-0-4-1.
– Brantford Bulldogs forward Caleb Malhotra has been named captain for Team CHL at the upcoming USA/CHL Prospects Challenge.
