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Knight Watch: London won two of three on weekend road trip, but lost Wednesday in Guelph; Medvedev named OHL Goalie of the Week; Knights’ special teams in fine form; Kingston rematch Friday at home.
The London Knights are looking to bounce back following a midweek loss to Guelph.
The Knights dropped a 6-4 game to the Storm, giving up a pair of empty net goals late in the road contest. That followed a fairly successful eastern road trip, with wins in Peterborough and Kingston bookending a Friday night loss in Ottawa.
Aleksei Medvedev was in net for both wins, stopping 65 of 67 shots to help him earn the OHL Goaltender of the Week honours. The newly acquired Braidy Wassilyn has had a good start with his new club, scoring in back-to-back games and recording five points through his first four games in green and gold.
Henry Brzustewicz scored his 7th of the season Wednesday night. He has three goals in his last three games and sits second among OHL defensemen in goals. Sam O’Reilly‘s shorthanded goal Wednesday was the first such goal for London this season. They led the league with 19 shorthanded tallies last year, two of which were scored by O’Reilly.
The Knights have had the edge on special teams, scoring four goals with the man advantage in their last four games, helping their powerplay climb to 4th in the OHL at 26%. The team’s penalty kill is third best at 85.3%.
London will continue to be without Sam Dickinson for the foreseeable future, something the team had anticipated. Following the strong start to the NHL season with San Jose, the Sharks announced he would be sticking with the team going forward, burning the first year of his Entry Level Contract.
Dickinson is still eligible to return to London at some point if the Sharks decide to do so, but he’s played more than 16 minutes in each of his last two games, and he scored his first NHL goal against Detroit.
Friday’s game against Kingston will be the Knights’ annual Remembrance Day Game, where proceeds from the 50/50 draw will support the Veterans Care Program at Parkwood Hospital.
UPCOMING GAMEDAYS
Friday (Nov. 7, 7:00pm) vs. Kingston Frontenacs (7-7-0-1, 7th in Eastern Conference)
The Knights got the better of the Fronts last weekend. They’re a team that’s lost five straight, giving up a combined 23 goals against in those games. It’s going to be a tough weekend as they make their way through the southwestern Ontario gauntlet with stops in Windsor Thursday (3-0 loss), London Friday and Kitchener on Sunday — three of the top five teams in the conference. In his first full season in the OHL, Kieren Dervin (Vancouver) leads Kingston with 14 points and is tied for the team lead with seven goals, alongside Jacob Battaglia (Calgary).
Saturday (Nov. 8, 7:00pm) at Owen Sound Attack (12-6-0-1, 2nd in Western Conference)
It’s been an impressive start to the season for the Attack, who sit atop the Midwest Division. The last time they won the division, in 2011, they also won the OHL Championship. They have three players in the top six in OHL scoring, led by Tristan Delisle and Pierce Mbuyi with 27 points apiece, followed by Harry Nansi (Toronto Maple Leafs) with 23. Owen Sound may have the best goaltending tandem in the league with Carter George (Los Angeles Kings) and Trenten Bennett (New Jersey). George will be one of three Kings prospects in this game, including Knights’ defencemen Henry Brzustewicz and Jared Woolley.
Wednesday (Nov. 12, 7:00pm) at Flint Firebirds (9-6-1-0, 6th in Western Conference)
Mason Vaccari has been one of the busiest goalies in the OHL, facing 411 shots through 12 games — the sixth most shots faced in the league. He’s second in the OHL with eight wins, and he’s one of three goalies with multiple shutouts. Keep an eye out for Firebirds captain Nathan Aspinall (New York). He leads the team in scoring with 16 points (and standing 6-foot-7, he’s hard to miss). Matthew Wang has been out of the lineup since early October after starting the season with three goals and seven points through his first five games.
KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Former Knights Sam Dickinson and Easton Cowan both scored their first NHL goals on the weekend. Dickinson is eligible to return to the Knights this season, but the San Jose Sharks say the defenceman will be sticking with the NHL club.
7 – Henry Brzustewicz has seven goals this season, second most among OHL defencemen.
50 – The Knights scored on 50 percent of their powerplays last weekend, tallying three times on six opportunities.
3 – The Knights have surrendered three or more goals just three times in the last eight games, losing all three of those contests.
A LOOK AT THE LOCALS
– Parker Vaughan has his first three-point game of his OHL career, recording his second two-goal game in as many weeks.
– Ryan Roobroeck has points in six straight games with five goals and five assists.
– Jett Luchanko has a goal and six points in three games since returning to the Guelph Storm from the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. He was also named co-captain of the Storm.
– Parker Snelgrove scored his third of the season in Guelph’s win over London Wednesday night. Of his 15 career OHL goals, three have come against the Knights.
