Gameday in 5
A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Jan. 23-29) — for London’s teams and athletes.
The London Lightning swept a three-game series in Newfoundland against the Rogues last week. (Photo: Greels Media).
* * *
The Knights claimed two of their three road games last week — played in succession Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Things didn’t start off on the right foot, with the visitors being dealt a 3-0 loss to the Peterborough Petes. The game was close through two periods, with the Petes leading 1-0 for most of the game. But Peterborough then scored twice in the third to put the game out of reach.
The Knights bounced back on Friday, beating the Ottawa 67’s 2-1 in a shootout (their second straight shootout win against the OHL’s top team). Alec Leonard got London off on the right foot, scoring the icebreaker at the 5:30 mark in the first. The Knights held that lead for much of the game until the 67’s fought back in the third and tallied a goal to force the extra frame. After a scoreless overtime period, the shootout went four rounds, and Ruslan Gazizov scored the game-winner (with Brett Brochu stopping the 67’s final shot).
The Knights then found themselves in another shootout on Saturday — this time against the Kingston Frontenacs. And they won this one, too, 3-2 in the end. London took the lead in the first thanks to a Denver Barkey powerplay goal. Kingston tied the game early in the second, and the teams entered the third tied 1-1. Ryan Winterton restored the Knights’ lead early in the third, but the Frontenacs tied the game in the final minute. After a scoreless extra frame (for the second night in a row), George Diaco scored the game-winner in the first round of the shootout (with Brett Brochu stopping all three shots he faced).
Up next:
The Knights (30-13-1-0) enter action Tuesday just one point back of the Windsor Spitfires for top spot in the Western Conference. After a busy three-games-in-three-days stretch, London gets just a pair of games this weekend …
Fri. Feb. 3 (7:00pm vs. Saginaw Spirit)
Sat. Feb. 4 (7:00pm @ Erie Otters)
The London Lightning had a successful road trip (to another province), winning all three of their games against the Newfoundland Rogues. They tipped things off with a 115-101 victory on Wednesday in St. John’s. With the Lightning ahead by just a single point at halftime, they pulled away in the third — with Jordan Burns leading the way. The guard finished with 27 points and 15 assists, while with Mareik Isom scored 19 and Terry Thomas double-doubled with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lightning continued to roll on Friday, this time beating the Rogues 102-93 (although it was a hard-fought contest). London led 43-39 at halftime, but the Rogues fought back in the third and took a 69-65 lead into the final quarter. The Lightning offense showed up in the fourth, outscoring Newfoundland 38-24 in the period to win the game.
Recently signed Antwon Lillard led the way with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Mike Nuga, another newcomer this season, scored 17 points with 6 rebounds, and Jordan Burns scored 15 points with 9 rebounds and 11 assists, nearly missing out on the NBLC’s first triple-double of the year (he earned Play of the Week honours).
Saturday’s game was another closely-contested affair, with the Lightning needing overtime to come away with a 108-104 win to sweep the three-game series. The Lightning led 59-54 at the half and maintained a lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Rogues outscored London 27-20 in the final frame to force overtime. A few defensive stops and four points did the job for the Lightning, who came away with the win. Burns led London scorers with 37 points, while Mareik Isom had 24 points and 5 rebounds, and Antwon Lillard had 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Up next:
The Lightning (4-1) are back home this week and have a trio of games at Budweiser Gardens, beginning Wednesday against the Windsor Express. London’s 4-1 record is tied with Sudbury for tops in the league, and they’ll get a pair vs. the Five this weekend.
Wed. Feb. 1 (7:00pm vs. Windsor Express)
Sat. Feb. 4 (7:00pm vs. Sudbury Five)
Sun. Feb. 5 (2:00pm vs. Sudbury Five)
The Nationals played only one game last week, as Wednesday’s home game was postponed due to inclement weather. The Nationals did play the second half of the scheduled home-and-home series against the Leamington Flyers Thursday (a team they were tied with heading into the week), and the game lived up to its billing.
The end result was a 3-2 overtime win for the Flyers. It was Leamington who got on the board first, but the Nationals scored a pair of powerplay goals (Lucas Carson and Michael Kopcok) to take a 2-1 lead. The Flyers scored late in the third, though, to force overtime — where they proceeded to score 1:16 into the frame to earn the win.
Up next:
The Nationals (27-7-4-1) are now looking up in the standings, one point behind Leamington in the Western Conference entering a new week of action. They’ll get their first chance Wednesday to reclaim top spot.
Wed. Feb. 1 (7:00pm vs. Chatham Maroons)
Fri. Feb. 3 (7:30pm @ St. Thomas Stars)
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 …