Majors win big at home; Knights, Lightning earn end-of-season awards
Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (May 29-June 4) — for London’s teams and athletes.
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
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The Majors split their two games last week, starting with a convincing 15-2 win over the Brantford Red Sox before losing a close one in Welland. On Friday night, Jaryd Lund earned his second start of the season, and he turned in a solid performance in 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out four. With a comfortable lead, the Majors’ bullpen took over from there, with Skylar Janisse, Cam O’Reilly and Braeden Ferrington combining to allow just a single hit over 3 2/3 innings.
Offensively, London racked up 17 hits and 15 runs against Brantford’s pitching staff. Eduardo de Oleo continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-3 with his fifth homer of the year. Byron Reichstein (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) and Tommy Reyes-Cruz also homered, while Dan Battel went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored.
The offense showed up again on Saturday, but the team fell short in a 12-11 contest in Welland against the hometown Jackfish. Edisson Gonzalez got the start for London, and he allowed six runs over 5 innings — including five runs in the first inning alone. Still, the Majors tied things up in the fifth and managed to take two separate leads, including an 11-9 lead in the top of the 7th inning. But the Jackfish kept coming back, ultimately scoring the game-winner in the 8th.
Cleveland Brownlee went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs in the loss, while Reyes-Cruz was 3-for-6 with a double and a pair of RBIs. Battel (2-for-4, triple, 2 R, 2 RBI) had another strong game, while de Oleo drove in two runs.
Up next:
The Majors have another two-game weekend ahead — against a pair of opponents they’ve yet to see so far this season.
Fri. June 9 (7:35pm vs. Kitchener Panthers)
Sat. June 10 (1:00pm @ Guelph Royals)
The Men’s team was dealt its fourth loss of the season on Saturday, losing 2-0 to Blue Devils FC at Tricar Field. After a scoreless first half, the Blue Devils scored their two goals late in the game with Adam Czerkawski scoring both. The loss ended a three-game stretch where FC London had earned points (one win and a pair of draws).
The Women’s team, meanwhile, settled for a draw Saturday, tying Guelph United 1-1. With the match knotted 0-0 to start the second half, Guelph took the lead in the 68th minute on an Olivia Rizakos goal. But London managed to tie things up late. Jen Milligan found the back of the net in the 89th minute to earn the draw.
Up next:
Another home doubleheader happens Saturday, when the men (1-4-2) will host one of the league’s top teams, Vaughan Azzurri, and the women (2-2-2) will battle Hamilton United. The women, though, will first play Wednesday.
Women:
Wed. June 7 (9:00pm vs. Simcoe County)
Sat. June 10 (4:30pm vs. Hamilton United)
Men:
Sat. June 10 (8:00pm vs. Vaughan Azzurri)
Seven different London Lightning players earned end-of-season awards, as announced by the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) last week. Jordan Burns headlined the group, while Mike Nuga received multiple honours.
Burns, a candidate for league MVP before he was sidelined due to injury, was named to the All-League First Team. The guard averaged 20.8 points and 8.6 assists in 21 games during the 2023 regular season. Nuga and Terry Thomas earned spots on the Second Team.
Nuga and Thomas, as well as Marcus Ottey, were named to the All-Canadian Team, while Nuga and Cam Lard earned All-Defense First Team honours (Ottey was Second Team All-Defense).
And the All-Playoff Team? A trio of Lightning players earned spots there, headlined by Finals MVP Jermaine Haley Jr. He was joined by teammates Jeremiah Mordi and Nuga.
Nuga had previously been named Canadian Player of the Year, while the Lightning’s Doug Plumb had earned Coach of the Year honours.
Brett Brochu capped off his OHL career with an All-Star nod, while six other Knights players earned end-of-season awards last week. Brochu was named a Second-Team All-Star, along with teammate Logan Mailloux.
Brochu went 28-17 in goal during the regular season, posting a 2.82 goals-against average and .902 save percentage (both 4th-best in OHL) in helping the Knights to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
In the playoffs, he was even better, going 9-1 with an impressive 1.48 GAA and four shutouts before going down with an injury during the conference semis.
Mailloux tallied 53 points in 59 regular season games for the Knights this year. His 25 goals were most by a defenseman in the OHL. He then racked up 24 points in 21 postseason games, setting a new franchise record.
Head coach Dale Hunter was named a Second-Team All-Star coach. It’s his seventh time being voted to an OHL all-star team. The Knights also had an impressive four players named to the All-Rookie Teams. Making the first squad was defenseman Sam Dickinson and goaltender Zach Bowen. Forward Easton Cowan and defenseman Oliver Bonk were named to the Second Team.
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 …