Knights lead series; Devilettes, Jr. Knights bow out
Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Apr. 10-16) — for London’s teams and athletes.
(Photo: London Devilettes).
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Facing Kitchener, a team fresh off a shocking series sweep over the first-place Windsor Spitfires, the London Knights jumped out to a 2-0 series lead in their second round matchup against the Rangers last week, but ceded a game in the series on the weekend to make it two games to one heading into Tuesday’s Game 4.
The Knights opened the week with a big series-opening 5-1 win at Budweiser Gardens on Thursday. Near the end of a tightly-contested first period, Denver Barkey opened the scoring with his third of the playoffs to give London a 1-0 lead after one. Sean McGurn and Ryan Humphrey extended that lead to 3-0 in the second period, and then Humphrey made it 4-0 with his second of the contest in the third. The Rangers got one back, but George Diaco scored a powerplay marker two minutes later to seal the deal for London.
The Knights then came out firing on all cylinders Friday night in taking a 2-0 series lead. Logan Mailloux scored just 49 seconds into the contest, and by the 10:07 mark London led 3-0 (thanks to goals by Sam Dickinson and Ryan Winterton.
Continuing to pour it on, the Knights went up 6-0 in the second (goals by Easton Cowan, Connor Federkow, Brody Crane) before Kitchener got on the board. The Rangers outscored London 3-2 in the third period, but goals by Sean McGurn and Ruslan Gazizov ensured a lopsided Knights win.
But not so fast. Playing in Kitchener Sunday, the Rangers looked like a different team. And in a must-win situation, they did just that, winning 6-1 at the Aud to make the series 2-1 in favour of London heading into Game 4. To be fair, it was close until the third period. After falling behind 2-0, the Knights pulled to within one at the 12:06 mark of the second period on a goal by Ryan Winterton. But it was all Rangers afte that, as they scored four third-period goals for the convincing win.
Up next:
The Knights, ahead 2-1 in the series, resume play Tuesday night in Kitchener for Game 4. The teams will then play Game 5 in London Thursday night. If necessary, a Game 6 would be back in Kitchener on Sunday.
OHL Playoffs (2nd Round) - London Knights (2) vs. Kitchener Rangers (8) (London leads 2-1)
Game 1: London 5 vs. Kitchener 1
Game 2: London 8 vs. Kitchener 4
Game 3: London 1 @ Kitchener 6
Game 4: Tues. Apr. 18 (7:00pm @ Kitchener Rangers)
Game 5: Thurs. Apr. 20 (7:00pm vs. Kitchener Rangers) (if necessary)
Game 6: Sun. Apr. 23 (2:00pm @ Kitchener Rangers) (if necessary)
Game 7: Tues. Apr. 25 (7:00pm vs. Kitchener Rangers) (if necessary)
The Lightning won their lone game of the week, a midweek contest against the KW Titans to give them two straight against their 401 foes. This time in Kitchener, the Lightning used a big third quarter to open up a lead that the Titans were unable to close.
Trailing 49-48 at halftime, London returned to the court with a big third quarter, outscoring KW 27-14 in the frame to take a 12-point lead, 75-63, into the fourth, where they extended that to 15 when all was said and done. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, with the Lightning struggling from the field (41.4% overall). Notably, starters Jermaine Haley Jr. and Terry Thomas had off nights, combining to shoot just 10-of-32 (31.3%).
But some big performances from Mike Nuga and Jeremiah Mordi made the difference, as London improved its record to 19-6 overall on the season. Nuga had 19 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals, while Mordi notched a double-double (20 points, 12 rebounds) while adding four assists, a steal and a pair of blocks.
Up next:
The Lightning (19-6) are back in action this weekend for a back-to-back set against the visiting Kalamazoo Galaxy of The Basketball League (TBL). They enter a new week a game and a half behind Sudbury (21-5) for first place in the NBLC standings.
Fri. Apr. 21 (7:00pm vs. Kalamazoo Galaxy)
Sat. Apr. 22 (7:00pm vs. Kalamazoo Galaxy)
London Jr. Knights
They came back to force a deciding Game 5, but, unfortunately for the London Jr. Knights’ 16U AAA squad, they ultimately fell to the Waterloo Wolves in their ALLIANCE championship series last week, thus ending their 2022-23 season.
They certainly made it interesting. After dropping the first two games of the series (following their quarter-final exit from the OHL Cup, where they lost to the eventual champion Toronto Jr. Canadiens), the Jr. Knights won Game 3 and then, last Wednesday, won Game 4 — in comeback fashion. After falling behind 2-0 on the road, Parker Snelgrove and Ethan Weir scored second-period goals to even things up, and then Ryan Roobroeck, the team’s leading scorer, finished the job with a goal in the third period to lead the Jr. Knights to a 3-2 win — and force a Game 5 .
That Game 5, unfortunately, did not go London’s way. Back home at Western Fair Arena last Friday, the Jr. Knights entered the first intermission down only one goal, but then the floodgates opened in the second period. Waterloo scored three times in the period — and then thrice more in the third en route to a lopsided 7-1 win. The Wolves’ Brendan Gerber led the way, scoring a goal in each period. (London’s lone goal was scored by Roobroeck, assisted by Aiden Young).
It was a disappointing finish to the season for the Jr. Knights, who finished tops in the Alliance regular season standings with a 27-2-5 record. But bright futures certainly remain for many of the players on the squad. In fact, several are expected to be drafted in the OHL Priority Selection this week, including Roobroeck, Weir and Young, to name just a few.
Young and Snelgrove actually participated the last weekend’s OHL Development. A pair of Elgin Middlesex Canucks players (goaltender Matthew Koprowski and defenceman Liam Ladds) were also at the event, which is meant to provide draft-eligible players to showcase themselves to OHL teams — both on-ice and off-ice. The OHL Draft will take place this Friday and Saturday, Apr. 21 & 22.
London Devilettes
After winning their league championship earlier in April, the London Devilettes tried to channel 2019 again last weekend and make it a clean sweep by winning the provincial championships as well. They put up a good fight, but the team ultimately fell short, bowing out in the quarterfinal round with a loss to the Central York Panthers.
Competing at the U22 OWHA provincial championship in Mississauga, the Devilettes actually opened the tournament Thursday with a 3-2 loss to the K-W Rangers, but they rebounded in a big way, winning a pair of lopsided games Friday, including a 10-0 contest over the North York Storm and a 7-1 win over the Oakville Hornets. That gave them a 2-1 record in round robin play and qualified them for the playoff round.
On Saturday evening, they lost a close one, 3-2, to the Central York Panthers, thus ending their 2022-23 season — and, for many players, their London Devilettes career. In the end, the Durham West Lightning, whom London beat in the league championship weekend, captured the trophy at provincials.
Led by Jocelyn Amos, Emma Pais, Abby Stonehouse, Keira Hurry, Shelby Laidlaw and Taya MacDonald (each of whom represented Ontario at this year’s Canada Winter Games), the Devilettes had a fantastic season.
In addition to winning their league championship, the team finished high in the regular season standings as well, despite playing several games without those aforementioned top players (the first five also won a gold medal for Team Canada at the IIHF 18U Women’s World Championship in Sweden).
There are some familiar faces, but there’s a sense of renewal in London as the Lightning embark on a new season. With a new coach and several new players, is a new era upon us? What to expect in 2024-25 …