Knights win a pair; Blizzard alums claim silver; Mustangs No. 5 in nation

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Dec. 4-10) — for London’s teams and athletes.

Western’s men’s basketball team (7-2) is ranked No. 5 in U Sports heading into the holiday break. (Photo: Barry Field Photography).

* * *

London Knights

The Knights had a strong week, winning two of their three games — and nearly pulling off a comeback in their third. Starting the week at home, London beat Sarnia 4-1 on Tuesday. The Knights opened the scoring when Jared Woolley scored his first of the season at the 5:15 mark, prompting Knights fans to fill the ice on Teddy Bear Toss Night. Up 1-0 to start the second, Max McCue scored the eventual game winner shortly after the three-minute mark, with Jacob Julien picking up his second assist of the game.

The Sting responded 18 seconds later to cut the deficit, but that would be their only goal of the game. It was all Knights in the third period, as Julien and Easton Cowan both scored powerplay goals. Goaltender Michael Simpson stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in the win. 

London followed Tuesday’s win with an offensive outpouring on Friday, beating the Saginaw Spirit 7-3. The first period was action-heavy with seven total goals scored. Kasper Halttunen set the pace early, scoring the first goal at the 1:59 mark. The Knights followed that up with three goals in a five-minute span to take a commanding 4-0 lead (Denver Barkey, Easton Cowan and Jacob Julien did the damage). The Spirit responded with two goals of their own, but Landon Sim scored in between to help keep the Knights’ lead intact. After both teams scored in the second period, Max McCue scored early in the third to all but close the door on Saginaw.

Looking for a third straight win on Sunday, London fell 5-4 to the Soo Greyhounds in Sault Ste. Marie. Isaiah George opened the scoring for London, just 19 seconds into the game, and the Knights held the lead until the 11-minute mark before the home team scored twice in a 34-second span to take the lead. From there, the teams traded goals, with Sault Ste. Marie getting the last laugh and taking a 3-2 lead into the second period.

The Knights and Greyhounds exchanged goals in the second period. Max McCue tied the game at the 6:55 mark. Ten minutes later, the Soo took a 4-3 lead. Down a goal heading into the final frame, London allowed a fifth goal to find themselves down by a pair. A late goal by Landon Sim gave them life, but they were unable to force overtime.

Up next:

It’s another three-game week for the Knights, and it’ll get started on the road Thursday. London will close out the first portion of their season — before the holiday break — with a pair of weekend home games.

Thurs. Dec. 14 (7:05pm @ Windsor Spitfires)
Fri. Dec. 15 (7:00pm vs. Owen Sound Attack)
Sun. Dec. 17 (2:00pm vs. Sudbury Wolves)

Western Mustangs — Men’s Basketball

The Mustangs’ men’s basketball team closed out the first portion of their season with a 96-71 road win against the Windsor Lancers. That improved the team’s record to 7-2 in OUA play. That puts them second in the West Division, a half-game behind the Laurier Golden Hawks (8-2) entering the holiday break. And when the U Sports ranks came in, Western was at No. 5 nationally near the midpoint of the season.

In their final game of December, the Mustangs cruised in the second half to a win over the Lancers. Aryan Sharma led the way with 29 points and seven rebounds in the contest, while Jerric Palma had 16 points and seven rebounds. Imran Armstrong had 15 & 5 off the bench, while point guard Tyson Dunn tallied 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

On the year, Sharma leads the ‘Stangs with 18.0 points per game, good for eighth best in the OUA. His per-40 minute average of 28.1 points is second in the league. Dunn leads the OUA with 7.0 assists and 2.8 steals per game. When Western returns in the new year, they’ll have 13 regular season games remaining before OUA playoffs begin.

And their first opponent will be a good one, as they’ll take on the West-leading Golden Hawks at home Jan. 5, 2024.

Para Hockey Cup

Team Canada’s Para Hockey team earned the silver medal at the 2023 Para Hockey Cup, held this year in New Brunswick. And a pair of former London Blizzard players helped lead the way.

Tyler McGregor, the team’s captain, produced 10 points (4G, 6A) in five games at the tournament, tying him for third overall in scoring. And he was big in Canada’s semi-final win over China, tallying a hat-trick and an assist in a 6-0 win that clinched the Canadians a spot in the gold medal game. James Dunn, another former London Blizzard player, logged a goal and an assist in that semi-final win.

Team Canada went 2-1 in round robin play, beating Czechia and China and falling to the U.S. In fact, the U.S. was the only team to beat Canada, who finished 3-2 overall. Saturday’s final ended in a 3-0 U.S. win.