|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Knight Watch: London will see plenty of Guelph (three times) in their final eight games; Trio have a chance at 20-goal seasons; Knights won’t win Midwest Division for first time since 2018; Midweek contest Wednesday, then home-and-home vs. Erie.
For the first time in several years, the London Knights won’t finish atop the Midwest Division.
With London’s loss Sunday, the Kitchener Rangers clinched their first division title since 2018 — which was also the last time the Knights didn’t win the Midwest.
London did, however, continue its streak of playoff appearances, and the club can extend its stretch of 40-win seasons by finishing the season strong.
The Knights have eight games remaining and can finish no lower than fifth in the Western Conference. But they still have a chance of catching the Soo Greyhounds for fourth place. The Knights and Greyhounds will meet in the first round of the playoffs, but home ice is yet to be decided.
Assistant coach Rick Steadman says that with the boost the Knights get from the home fans at Canada Life Place, earning home ice is something they’re certainly shooting for.
“Especially when things are so tight in the playoffs, you try to get any little bit of an edge where you can,” Steadman said. “You look at the fans here with 9,000 every night, that definitely gives us a boost at home, so we’re looking to finish strong here and earn home ice.”
Saturday’s game in Brampton was London’s final meeting with an Eastern Conference foe this year. So, all eight of their remaining games will come against in-conference opponents. And they have a good opportunity to earn some points with just three of those games coming against teams ahead of them in the standings — one versus Flint and two against Windsor.
Sebastian Gatto recorded his third shutout of the season last weekend, only having to make 11 saves to do so. The first year netminder has been a pleasant surprise this year for the Knights. He is fifth in the OHL in shutouts and third in both save percentage and goals-against average.
London currently doesn’t have a 20-goal scorer in its lineup, but that could change as soon as this weekend. Ryan Brown sits at 18 goals. Jaxon Cover also has 18, while Braidy Wassilyn is at 17.
UPCOMING GAMEDAYS
Wednesday (March 4, 6:30pm) vs. Guelph Storm (26-28-2-3, 6th in Western Conference)
Three of London’s eight remaining games will be against the Storm. Guelph has lost three straight, following a stretch of four straight wins. Tyler Hopkins has eight goals in his last five games. Hopkins and Ethan Miedema are the lone 20-goal scorers on the Storm roster. Meidema has dressed for all 59 of Guelph’s games this season. If he’s in the lineup for the remaining nine contests, he’ll finish his OHL career with 335 career regular season games, which would be third all-time and just two games shy of the OHL record. Rookie Jaakko Wycisk could join the 20-goal club. The 16-year-old has 16 goals during his rookie season after the Storm selected him second overall in the most recent OHL draft. Former London Junior Knight Parker Snelgrove has nine goals and 22 points. He’s been Guelph’s go-to guy in the faceoff circle, taking a team high 511 faceoffs this season, winning 58.3 percent of those.
Friday (March 6, 7:00pm at home) & Saturday (March 7, 7:00pm on road) vs. Erie Otters (17-35-3-4, 10th in Western Conference)
A home-and-home serves as the final two games against the Otters this season. Erie has lost six straight and won just three times in its last 23 games (with three different goalies in net for each of the three victories). Michael Dec leads the team with 63 points, almost twice as many as the next highest scorer, Andrew Kuzma, who has 33. Dec has been the beacon of consistency for a struggling Erie team. He’s been held pointless just four times in his last 17 games.
KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS
6 – London’s run of six straight Midwest Division titles officially came to an end after a loss in Kitchener Sunday, which clinched the Rangers their first division title since 2018 (which is the last time London didn’t finish atop the division).
40 – With eight games remaining, the Knights would need to win six of them to reach 40 wins for the fourth straight season. The Knights had previously won 40 games five seasons in a row from 2012-2017.
11 – Sebastian Gatto only needed to make 11 saves in Brampton on Saturday to record his third shutout of the season. It’s the fewest shots allowed by the Knights in a game this season. Windsor’s Joey Costanzo had a nine-save shutout earlier this season, the only time a goalie has faced fewer shots.
55 – The London Knights have scored on five of their nine shootout attempts this season, leading the OHL with a 55% success rate. They’ve won three of the four games that required a shootout this season.
A LOOK AT THE LOCALS
– There’s a local connection in Peterborough. Brennan Faulkner scored Sunday to extend his point streak to seven games, while Aiden Young has six points in his last five contests.
– Komoka’s Jacob Vandeven suited up for his third game with the London Knights in Kitchener on Sunday. He’s a fifth round pick in the 2024 OHL draft and is playing this season with the GOHL’s Komoka Kings.
– Niagara’s Charlie Robertson has won his last two starts, most recently a 32-save effort over Erie last Thursday.
