|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Knight Watch: London reaches 30-win mark — again; Ryan Brown riding 11-game point streak (11 G, 22 points); Andoni Fimis the Knights’ ironman; Five straight at home, beginning with big game Friday vs. Sault Ste. Marie.
The London Knights have continued their run of 30-win seasons — although they’ve lost two straight heading into action this weekend.
On the positive note, the club reached 30 wins last Saturday in Saginaw, a feat they’ve now achieved every year for nearly a quarter century. The 2001-02 season was the last time they failed to reach the benchmark, the final year the Knights played at the old Ice House before moving downtown to the currently named Canada Life Place. It’s the longest active such streak in the OHL.
But it wasn’t all good news last week, as the Knights dropped back-to-back midweek games to Kitchener and Guelph.
The Rangers have had London’s number this season. The Knights’ lone win over their division rivals was a 6-1 defeat in mid-October. Kitchener has won four games since. Former London captain Sam O’Reilly was a big part of Kitchener’s success over the last two games, scoring four goals, including an overtime winner, and recording seven total points.
Wednesday was a homecoming of sorts for Sam Dickinson bobblehead night. Dickinson was in attendance, along with his former Knights teammates Easton Cowan, Denver Barkey and Kasper Halttunen. London didn’t get the boost they were hoping for, however, getting outshot 12-5 in the first period en route to a 4-2 loss against the Storm.
Ryan Brown and Jesse Nurmi continued their recent string of success. Brown had a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to 11 games, while Nurmi had an assist to extend his streak to nine. Brown has 11 goals and 22 points during his surge, while Nurmi has nine goals and 18 points during his.
Braiden Clark returned to the lineup and recorded an assist against Niagara Friday, and then added a goal in Saturday’s victory in Saginaw.
There are just 15 games remaining in the regular season for the Knights, and they’ll play their next five games on home ice. It’s a good opportunity for the team to gain some ground in the standings. London has had home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs each of the last six seasons, but if they want to extend that to seven they’ll essentially need a win against the Soo Friday night.
The Greyhounds are three points up on London for fourth place in the Western Conference. It’s looking more and more likely that the two teams will meet in the first round, but a Greyhounds win Friday will make catching them all the more difficult.
UPCOMING GAMEDAYS
Friday (Feb. 13, 7:00pm) vs. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (32-16-1-3, 4th in Western Conference)
This could very well be a preview of a first-round playoff matchup. The Greyhounds come into the weekend three points ahead of London for fourth place in the conference and home ice advantage in the opening series. Carter George has been the big story for the Soo over the last month, as he has a .933 save percentage and three shutouts since being acquired by the Greyhounds at the trade deadline. Sault Ste. Marie also has its captain Brady Martin back. He’s been out since injuring his shoulder at the World Junior Tournament. Marco Mignosa leads the team with 65 points (his 43 assists are fifth most in the OHL). The Greyhounds are one of three teams to score at least 200 goals this season.
Monday (Feb. 16, 2:00pm) vs. Owen Sound Attack (20-27-2-3, 7th in Western Conference)
It’s been a lopsided season series — but every game has been a battle. The Knights have four straight wins over the Attack since dropping the season opener in overtime. However, four of the five games have been decided by one goal — and three of them have needed overtime or a shootout to settle. Jake Crawford has six points against the Knights this season, while Nicholas Sykora and Cole Zurawski both have five. London has done a good job at limiting the offence of Pierce Mbuyi. He’s Owen Sound’s leading scorer with 27 goals and 56 points this season, but he’s been held to just a single goal against the Knights in five games. He leads the entire OHL with 15 powerplay goals. Owen Sound has struggled on the penalty kill, allowing a league-high 59 goals against while a man down.
KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS
11 – Ryan Brown extended his point streak to 11 games, tying Henry Brzustewicz for the longest point streak by a Knight this season. Brown has 11 goals and 22 points over that span, by far the most productive stretch of his OHL career.
29 – The London Knights have allowed the second fewest powerplay goals against in the league, and they have the OHL’s third most efficient penalty kill.
53 – Andoni Fimis is the only Knight skater to dress in all 53 games this season. Jaxon Cover has missed just one game.
A LOOK AT THE LOCALS
– Guelph’s Parker Snelgrove has points in three straight games. Overall, he has nine goals and 20 points with the Storm this season.
– Niagara’s Ryan Roobroeck has eight goals in his last eight games, with two of them coming against London last Friday night.
– Carter Hicks scored his first goal as a Brampton Steelhead. He has seven points in a dozen games since coming over from Windsor at the trade deadline.
– North Bay’s Parker Vaughan has points in three straight games, bringing the sophomore’s point total to 27 this season.
