Win streak ends for Knights; Lightning take two of three; Falcons Fest
Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Jan. 23-28) — for London’s teams and athletes.
(Photo: Owen Price Photography).
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The Knights’ impressive win streak came to an end last week — just one victory shy of tying a run of 15 wins in a row that the 2018-19 London squad enjoyed. The team’s first defeat of 2024 came at the hands of the Peterborough Petes, who won 3-2 in a shootout on Friday night.
The teams traded goals in the first period, with Peterborough scoring the ice breaker and London responding with Easton Cowan’s 20th of the season. The Knights took the lead at the 7:26 mark in the second thanks to Ruslan Gazizov’s 19th of the year. Four minutes later, though, the Petes responded, tying the game for a second time. After a scoreless third period — and extra frame — the game headed to a shootout, where Easton Rye continued to be the story of the game. The Petes’ goalie stopped all three shots he faced — and 46 prior to the shootout — as Peterborough claimed the win.
Looking to bounce back on Saturday, the Knights lost in a shootout for the second night in a row, 5-4, to the Erie Otters. Down 3-0 after the first period, Jacob Julien got London on the board in the second with a powerplay goal. After the Otters restored their three-goal lead, Max McCue scored just 12 seconds later to cut the lead in half. And then the fought back to tie the score on goals by Sam O’Reilly and Oliver Bonk (with 1:19 left and the goalie pulled). After a scoreless overtime, the shootout lasted two rounds with London missing both chances and Erie scoring on both of theirs.
Up next:
The Knights have a very busy week ahead, beginning Tuesday with another showdown against the Kitchener Rangers, followed by a weekend of three games in three days.
Tues. Jan. 30 (7:00pm @ Kitchener Rangers)
Fri. Feb. 2 (7:00pm vs. Erie Otters)
Sat. Feb. 3 (7:00pm @ Owen Sound Attack)
Sun. Feb. 4 (4:00pm @ Guelph Storm)
Coming into the week on a six-game winning streak, the Lightning’s success continued last Wednesday when they beat the Windsor Express, 115-107, in the teams’ first matchup of the year. The Express came out firing and held a 66-57 lead at halftime at Bud Gardens, but the Lightning flipped the script in the third quarter, outscoring their visitors 35-16 in the frame to take charge of the contest. Billy White had a great game against his former team, tallying 29 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Jermaine Haley Jr. and Jeremiah Mordi had 24 and 22 points, respectively.
The Lightning then pushed their win streak to eight with a lopsided 134-98 victory over the TBL’s Tri-State Admirals on Saturday night. The Bolts set the tone early and led big at the half, 71-48. The Admirals were overmatched, and London improved its record to 8-2 with a convincing win. Shadell Millinghaus led the way with 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals. Jachai Taylor scored 24 with four rebounds, while Amir Yusuf posted a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double.
The Lightning’s win streak ended at eight on Sunday when they fell to the Montreal Tundra, 110-96, at Budweiser Gardens. London came out very flat, the result being a seven-point deficit after the first quarter — and a big 20-point deficit at the half (head coach Doug Plumb was ejected in the second quarter after a pair of technical fouls). Despite putting up 61 points in the second half, the Lightning were unable to mount a comeback. Billy White was London’s top scorer in the loss with 24 points (and 10 rebounds), while Mike Nuga had 22.
Up next:
After a busy stretch of games, the Lightning (8-3) will play just a single contest this week — the second installment of their rivalry with the Windsor Express on Sunday.
Sun. Feb. 4 (2:00pm vs. Windsor Express)
Fanshawe Falcons
The annual Fanshawe Falcons Fest took place on Saturday, with the women’s and men’s basketball and volleyball teams all seeing game action.
The women’s basketball team started off the day by beating the Conestoga Condors by a lopsided 81-36 margin. The Falcons (5-8) scored 24 points in each of the first three quarters, dominating play throughout the contest. Sidney Deleary posted 14 points, four assists and five rebounds, while Myra Ciccarelli and Joanna Smith had 12 points apiece. Alison Cotton registered an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with seven steals.
On the men’s side, the Falcons (9-6) beat their Conestoga Condors counterparts, 104-70, on the hardcourt. Fanshawe came out strong and built a 27-19 lead after the first quarter. And they never looked back. The Falcons’ Jack Tunstill had 19 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Azad Chahal and Josh Loblaw scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Falcons, who shot 54.1% from the field overall.
And then it was on to volleyball. Fanshawe’s women’s team dropped a 3-1 decision to Niagara in their match. Down a set, the Falcons bounced back to take the second, 25-18. But they fell in both the next two sets to take the loss. Ashlyn Gooder led Fanshawe’s squad with nine kills in the match. Taryn Elgersma had six, while Hannah Onyema had a team-high three blocks.
Closing out Falcons Fest, the men’s volleyball team beat the Niagara Knights, 3-1. Fanshawe won the first set, 25-21, and then dropped the second, 25-17. The Falcons flipped the script in the third, winning their own 25-17 set, and then took the fourth, 25-18, to improve to 11-5 on the season. Tanner Paterson had a whopping 20 kills in the match, while Daniel Ridings produced 11. Zack Admans registered 10 points.
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 …