Knights’ streak hits 6; Lightning drop opener; Cowan scores at WJC

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Dec. 25-31) — for London’s teams and athletes.

Easton Cowan, a Mount Brydges native, notched a goal for Team Canada Sunday in a 6-3 win over Germany at the World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Photo: Matt Zambonin / IIHF).

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London Knights

Returning from their holiday break, the Knights had a perfect week, winning all three of their games to extend their win streak to six games heading into a new week.

Things got started on Thursday with a convincing 6-2 road win over the Sarnia Sting. Max McCue led the way offensively, scoring the team’s first three goals, including the game winner. Ahead 3-1, Denver Barkey extended London’s lead before the Sting scored their second of the game to cut the lead in half. That was as close as Sarnia would get, however, and Sam O’Reilly and Ruslan Gazizov added insurance goals for the Knights.

London then played just as strong in the back-end of the home-and-home, beating the Sting 5-1 Friday night at Budweiser Gardens. Once again, Max McCue scored the ice breaker — and then doubled the lead at the 14:42 mark of the opening period. In the second, it was Sam Dickinson’s turn to shine, where he added goals to put the Knights ahead 4-0. Sarnia managed a marker in the third, but Ruslan Gazizov responded 18 seconds later to shut the door on a road rally.

Playing their final game of 2023 on Sunday, the Knights beat the Flint Firebirds, 5-3, on home ice. Flint opened strong and held a 2-0 lead until eight seconds left in the first period when Denver Barkey got the Knights on the board with a power play marker. Jacob Julien tied the game in the second period with the second of three straight London powerplay goals. Flint took back the lead, 3-2, midway through the period, but Sam Dickinson restored the tie — and then Ruslan Gazizov then gave London its first lead in the final minutes of the period. Sam O’Reilly scored an insurance goal to cap things off. 

Up next:

The Knights have another three-game ahead, and it gets started early on Wednesday night at home. They’ll wrap up a four-game home stretch Friday before hitting the road Saturday.

Wed. Jan. 3 (7:00pm vs. Erie Otters)
Fri. Jan. 5 (7:00pm vs. Barrie Colts)
Sat. Jan. 6 (4:00pm @ Mississauga Steelheads)

London Lightning

The Lightning embarked on a new era Thursday night in Sudbury, tipping off the opening game of the new Basketball Super League (BSL) against the Five. When the dust settled, it was the home side who came away with a 124-113 win over the two-time defending NBLC champion Lightning.

Though London came out hot to start the contest, the Five narrowed the deficit to seven points by the end of the first quarter — and then had a big second to take a 61-54 lead into the break. After an even third quarter, where the teams largely traded buckets, Sudbury pulled away in the fourth to win the first ever game in BSL history.

The first points? Those went to Lightning centre Amir Yusuf, who played 19 minutes in his first game for London. Newcomer Jachai Taylor, formerly of the Windsor Express, tallied a team-high 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Returnee Jeremiah Mordi had a nice game with 13 points and six rebounds in the loss. Marcus Ottey finished with 18 points, while Jermaine Haley Jr. had 10 and a team-high eight rebounds.

Up next:

The Lightning have a pair of games this week — both against the KW Titans. They’ll hit the road Tuesday and then play their home opener this Saturday at Budweiser Gardens.

Tues. Jan. 2 (7:00pm @ KW Titans)
Sat. Jan. 6 (7:00pm vs. KW Titans)

Jeremiah Mordi on opening night of the Basketball Super League in Sudbury last Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo: Emmah Cacciotti).

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IIHF World Junior Championship

London Knights forward Easton Cowan scored his first goal at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship Sunday in Canada's 6-3 win over Germany in Gothenburg, Sweden. The empty-net insurance marker was the team's final goal in preliminary play before they embarked on the quarterfinals Tuesday.

Unfortunately, the Canadians lost that contest, 3-2, to Czechia to find themselves eliminated from the tournament. Cowan registered a nifty assist in the loss. The Mount Brydges native was one of two Knights on Team Canada. Defenseman Oliver Bonk produced three assists in five games.

Bonk, a Philadelphia Flyers prospect, was sixth among OHL defenseman in scoring this season (before departing for the World Juniors) with 30 points in 28 games. His six powerplay goals were tied for second most among blueliners.

Cowan, a fellow first round NHL pick (and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect), was second on the Knights in scoring with 39 points in 23 games. His rate of 1.70 points per game was tied for third among all OHL players. Both players will now return to a hot London Knights squad, which has won six in a row and is climbing the OHL standings.

GOJHL — Top Prospects Games

A pair of top prospects games Wednesday in Ayr featured plenty of talent from London and area Jr. B squads in the GOJHL -- including both winning goal scorers.

The Strathroy Rockets made their mark in Team Williams' 4-3 win over Team Shepley. Jimmy Sutherland had the game-winning goal and Noah Jenken picked up two assists for Team Williams. Matthew Souliere scored twice for Team Shepley, who also got a goal and an assist from Briir Long of the St. Thomas Stars.

In the second game, a 7-6 overtime win by Team Passero over Team Prang, St. Marys Lincolns star Ethan Weir scored a hat-trick -- including the game winner in extra time.

Harrison Franssen of the St. Thomas Stars also scored for Team Passero. PJ Fagan of the London Nationals had three assists for the winning squad, while fellow Nationals teammate Quinn McNamara also had a helper (as did Cohen Bidgood of the St. Marys Lincolns).

Talan Palmer, of the Nationals, had a goal for Team Prang.