Gameday in 5

A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Nov. 28-Dec. 4) — for London’s teams and athletes.

The Laurier Rams senior football team completed an undefeated by beating the Huron Heights Warriors (Newmarket), 13-12, in OFSAA’s Western Bowl. (Photo: Micheal Yates).

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London Knights

The Knights had a bigtime week, winning all four of their games and moving into second place in the entire Western Conference, just one point behind the Saginaw Spirit. The week started with a bang, as the Knights beat the Guelph Storm, 6-2, on Tuesday. With London trailing 2-1 in the final minute of the first period, Easton Cowan tied the game with only a second left on the clock. From there, the Knights offense took over, scoring four unanswered goals. Isaiah George scored the game-winner, while Ruslan Gazizov, Ryan Del Monte, and Logan Mailloux potted insurance goals.

Wednesday’s game was a lot closer, but the Knights came away with a 3-2 shootout win over the Erie Otters south of the border. The Knights found themselves down late in the first, but George Diaco tied the game in the final minute of play. After neither team scored in the second, London took the lead in the third thanks to a goal by scoring leader Sean McGurn. The Knights held the lead until the final minute when the Otters tied the game to force overtime. After a scoreless extra frame, Mathieu Paris’s seventh-round goal was the game-winner in the shootout, which was clinched by a Brett Brochu save.

Friday’s game was another close one, with the Knights beating the Niagara IceDogs 2-1. After a scoreless first, Gazizov scored the icebreaker just past the 8-minute mark in the second. The IceDogs tied the game late in the period, but Jacob Julien scored the game-winner for the Knights just before the 11-minute mark.

After a low-scoring game Friday, Sunday's game was hectic, with the Knights beating the Mississauga Steelheads 5-4. After falling behind 1-0 early, the Knights’ Ruslan Gazizov scored two goals to put the Knights ahead. The Steelheads responded shortly after, but Logan Mailloux restored London’s lead less than a minute later. Brody Crane extended the lead in the 2nd with Sean McGurn scoring the game-winner two minutes into the third. The Steelheads made it interesting, scoring two goals in response, but it wasn’t enough.

Up next:

The London Knights (17-7-1-0), winners of 12 of their past 13 games, now sit in first place in the Midwest Division entering a new week, one point ahead of the Owen Sound Attack. Impressively, they’ve also moved up to second overall in the Conference. A three-game week lies ahead, all against Eastern Conference opponents …

Tues. Dec. 6 (7:00pm vs. Oshawa Generals)
Fri. Dec. 9 (7:00pm vs. Ottawa 67’s)
Sat. Dec. 10 (7:00pm vs. Peterborough Petes)

London Nationals

The Nationals won a pair (including a suspended contest from October) and lost once last week. Wednesday’s contest was a dominant win, as London beat the Sarnia Legionnaires 5-2. With the game tied at 1 heading into the 3rd period, Logan Pace-Roth gave the Nats the lead. The Legionnaires tied the game again, but Riley Wood scored the game-winner shortly thereafter. Sam O’Reilly and Brayden Thompson both added empty netters to secure the Nationals’ win.

Following their success on Wednesday, the Nationals lost 3-2 in overtime to the LaSalle Vipers on Sunday — but not before completing a game from earlier this season (an Oct. 2 contest that had been suspended due to injury). Picking up midway through the third period, with the Nationals ahead 5-4, the teams played scoreless hockey until LaSalle was forced to pull their goalie and Sam O’Reilly potted an empty-netter to secure the win for London.

In the regularly-scheduled game, Logan Pace-Roth scored the icebreaker in the first period to give London an early lead. Following a scoreless second period, the Vipers scored twice to take a 2-1 third-period lead. But the Nationals responded shortly after, with Brayden Thompson scoring his 10th of the season to force overtime. The extra frame didn’t last long, as the Vipers scored the winner at the 6:22 mark.

Up next:

The Nationals (21-3-2-1) sit four points ahead of St. Marys for top spot in the Western Conference entering a new week. They’ll get a pair against Conference opponents this week.

Wed. Dec. 7 (7:00pm vs. Komoka Kings)
Sat. Dec. 10 (7:30pm @ Strathroy Rockets)

London Lightning

The National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) released its 2023 schedule on Thursday, and the defending champion London Lightning — and their fans — now know what their season will look like as they try to defend their title from last spring.

The Lightning will play a 30-game regular season, beginning in mid-January and running through early May. London will play the league’s three other Ontario-based teams, as well as a total of nine games against The Basketball League (TBL) opponents. That includes the Newfoundland Rogues, whom London will play on the road (three times in four days) from Jan. 25-28 (they’ll host Newfoundland Feb. 11). The Lightning will play their primary opponents, the Windsor Express, Sudbury Five and KW Titans, seven times each.

And American teams? London will play four of them (Kokomo, Jamestown and Syracuse once each, and a pair against Toledo). The Syracuse contest will be the team’s lone trip south of the border (March 31), as they’ll host the others at Budweiser Gardens. Playoffs will begin shortly after the regular season, where the Lightning will try to win back-to-back league titles for the third time in franchise history.

Laurier Rams High School Football

The Laurier Rams senior football team became OFSAA Western Bowl champions last Tuesday thanks to a thrilling 13-12 win over the Huron Heights Warriors from Newmarket. Facing Ontario high school football’s No. 1-ranked team, the Rams were undeterred. They simply continued their dominant season with their 10th straight win to claim victory in their OFSAA bowl game at Guelph’s Alumni Stadium.

Not that it was easy ... After Laurier took a 12-7 lead into halftime, Huron Heights tallied a safety and a field goal in the second half to pull even. The difference? A single (rouge) from the Rams on the final play of the game, a Laurier punt that the Warriors could not bring out of their own endzone. Rams first-half touchdowns were scored by Brian Bennett and Seth Raymer. The Laurier win caps off a memorable season, during which they went undefeated -- through the regular season, the playoffs, their WOSSAA final (over St. Thomas Aquinas), and finally Tuesday’s provincial Western Bowl.