Knights’ streak hits 12; Bolts win trio; ‘Stangs win on School Day
Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Jan. 8-14) — for London’s teams and athletes.
More than 1,200 elementary school students turned out on School Day, as the Western Mustangs’ women’s hockey team won 3-2 over Laurier. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
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The Knights extended their impressive win streak to 12 games last week by winning all three of their contests — and in convincing fashion.
London began the week with a lopsided 9-2 win over the Sarnia Sting. The Knights didn’t waste any time setting the tone, with Sam O’Reilly scoring the opening goal at the 1:01 mark. From there, London scored four more unanswered goals to close out the first period with a 5-0 lead. The Knights never looked back, scoring another in the second and three more in the third to close out the game. Jacob Julien had two goals and two assists, Oliver Bonk had two goals and three assists, and Owen Willmore got the win in net, saving 38 of the 40 shots he faced.
Hosting upstart Saginaw on Friday, the Knights put up another bigtime performance — against a strong team — and beat the Spirit 6-1 at Budweiser Gardens. By the midway mark of the second period, London led 4-1, thanks to goals by Easton Cowan, Oliver Bonk, newcomer Kaleb Lawrence and Sam O’Reilly. Cowan finished with a three-point game, while goaltender Michael Simpson was nearly perfect in net, stopping 30 of 31 shots, to earn his 21st win of the season.
The Knights saved perhaps their strongest performance for last, beating the Owen Sound Attack 10-0 on Sunday. London scored five goals in the first period, two in the second, and three more in the third. Simpson earned the shutout in net. London goal scorers included: Denver Barkey (2), Max McCue (2), Oliver Bonk (2), Kasper Halttunen, Kaleb Lawrence, Evan Van Gorp and Easton Cowan.
Up next:
The red-hot Knights will face their biggest test yet during the team’s win streak — a home and home against the first-place Kitchener Rangers. It’ll be a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.
Fri. Jan. 19 (7:00pm @ Kitchener Rangers)
Sat. Jan. 20 (4:00pm vs. Kitchener Rangers)
After a subpar start to the season, going 1-2 in their first three games, the London Lightning bounced back in a big way last week, winning all three of their contests — including a pair on the road that involved lengthy travel.
Opening the week on Thursday at home against the Montreal Tundra, their first look at the BSL team, London came out on top by a 122-116 margin. The Lightning were in control for most of the first half and carried a two-possession lead into the half. But Montreal came out strong in the third quarter, ultimately outscoring the home side 35-26 in the frame. It took a fourth quarter comeback for the Lightning to pull out the win. In his debut in a London uniform, Shadell Millinghaus tallied 24 points and eight rebounds. Rashad Smith had his best game of the year, making six of his eight three-point attempts en route to 21 points.
The Lightning then traveled to Sudbury Friday looking for revenge following their season-opening loss in the Nickel City. And win they did. In a back-and-forth affair, London pulled out a close 115-112 victory. The Lightning started to pull away in the second quarter — and then again in the third — but Sudbury refused to go away, eventually taking a one-point lead of their own late in the contest. Down 110-109 with 34 seconds remaining, the Lightning’s Jeremiah Mordi hit a huge three-pointer to give London a lead that they would not relinquish. Millinghaus had another big game for the Lightning with 26 points and seven rebounds. Billy White stepped up with 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Mike Nuga tallied 24 points.
Visiting Montreal for the first time on Sunday, the Lightning once again came out on top, this time 96-85 in a lower-scoring affair. The Tundra came out strong to start the game, but the Lightning punched back late to take a 32-27 lead into the second quarter. Things got interesting in the fourth with Montreal tying the game early, but they were unable to keep up down the stretch, missing a lot of shots in their home arena. Amir Yusuf had by far his best game thus far in a Lightning uniform, pouring in 26 points in 24 minutes. Jeremiah Mordi had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Up next:
The Lightning (4-2) play a pair of games this week — both against the Rhode Island Kraken at Budweiser Gardens. It’ll be their first look at a TBL opponent on the new season.
Fri. Jan. 19 (7:00pm vs. Rhode Island Kraken)
Sun. Jan. 21 (2:00pm vs. Rhode Island Kraken)
Western Mustangs
Arnica Bulmer scored the overtime winner to lift the Western Mustangs’ women’s hockey team to a 3-2 victory on their annual School Day — in front of more than 1,200 area elementary school students at Thompson Arena.
Western’s Alyssa Wouda opened the scoring in Wednesday’s game, which started at 11am. Emma Campbell added a first-period goal to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead heading the intermission.
The Laurier Golden Hawks fought their way back, with Kylie Laliberte scoring a pair of goals in the second period to even things up. But after a scoreless third, rookie Arnica Bulmer played the hero in overtime, knocking home the winner 1:31 into extra time.
Madelaine DesRosiers picked up an assist on the winner, giving her a pair of helpers on the day. Wouda also had an assist for a two-point game.
On the season, Haylie Kirkpatrick leads the Mustang women with six goals, while Wouda has five. Both players have tallied seven points overall.
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 …