Knights OHL champs; Lightning series tied; Majors start strong

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (May 14-20) — for London’s teams and athletes.

The London Knights are 2023-24 OHL champions after a four-game sweep of the Oshawa Generals. (Photo: OHL Images).

* * *

London Knights

The London Knights are OHL champions. Riding high after a thrilling 7-6 comeback victory in overtime last Monday, the Knights completed a sweep of the Oshawa Generals on Wednesday, closing things out with a convincing 7-1 win to claim their fifth OHL title in franchise history.

Back in Oshawa, Sam Dickinson got things started with a goal just three minutes into Game 4. It wasn’t long before it was clear London would control the contest and finish out the series. Ruslan Gazizov and Kasper Halttunen added first-period goals to put the Knights ahead 3-0. Oshawa managed a goal in the final minute of the first, but it would be their only score of the game.

The London offense continued to be relentless in the second, scoring three more times in the period. Halttunen scored a second (his league-best 17th of the playoffs), while Easton Cowan and Denver Barkey also potted goals. William Nicholl added another insurance marker in the third en route to the Knights’ lopsided win — and an OHL title. Michael Simpson got the start in net, and he stopped 25 of 26 shots to secure the win. Cowan was named MVP of the playoffs, with his 34 points the most in the league.

Up next:

The Knights are off to the Memorial Cup where they’ll compete for a CHL championship. Hosted by Saginaw, the tournament gets underway Friday and runs from May 24-June 2. London’s round-robin schedule is below …

Sat. May 25 (4:00pm @ Drummondville)
Mon. May 27 (7:30pm @ Moose Jaw)
Wed. May 29 (7:30pm vs. Saginaw)

London Lightning

Playing in the inaugural Basketball Super League Finals, the London Lightning split the first two games of the best-of-five series against the KW Titans, falling in the first and rebounding to take Game 2 — both in Kitchener.

Despite a strong start in Game 1, the Lightning were felled in the end by the home Titans, 116-104, in the opening game of the series Friday night. London outscored KW by 12 in the first quarter, taking a 28-16 lead into the second. But the Titans got it all back in the period and led by one, 47-46, at halftime. Trailing throughout the third quarter, the Lightning managed to take an 84-82 lead early in the fourth. But the Titans outplayed their opponents down the stretch, outscoring London 34-25 in the final frame to earn the series-opening win. Chris Jones and Billy White both had 20 points in the loss, while Jermaine Haley Jr. scored 19 and Antoine Mason had 18.

The Lightning punched back in Game 2, winning a close one, 111-106, back at The Aud in Kitchener on Sunday afternoon. Down by two after the first quarter, London went down six in the second but managed to pull things to within one, 50-49, at the half. It was a strong third quarter that made the difference for the Lightning, who outscored the Titans 30-24 in the frame to take the momentum into the final quarter.

London got its lead to as many as 12 with 7:23 left in the contest, but KW refused to go down without a fight. In fact, the Titans came within a point with 25 seconds left. But the Lightning won the foul game in the waning seconds to hold on for the win and tie the series at one game apiece. Chris Jones was London’s leading scorer with 25 points. Returning from a one-game suspension, Jeremiah Mordi scored 22 with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Billy White had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Up next: 

The Lightning will return home for the next two games of the BSL Finals series, this Thursday and Saturday. If a Game 5 is necessary, it will take place back in Kitchener on Sunday.

Game 3: Thurs. May 23 (7:00pm vs. KW Titans)
Game 4: Sat. May 25 (7:00pm vs. KW Titans)
Game 5: Sun. May 26 (4:00pm @ KW Titans) (If necessary)*

London Majors

The Majors improved to 3-0 on the season with a pair of weekend wins, giving them a nice start to the 2024 campaign. Coming off a 7-5 season-opening win in Toronto the previous Sunday, London hosted the defending champion Welland Jackfish on Friday night and earned a convincing 10-4 win.

Jose Arias got the start for the Majors and went 5.0 innings while allowing four runs on seven hits en route to claiming the win. He walked one and struck out five, leaving the game with the Majors ahead 7-4. London did a lot of damage in the first two innings, scoring twice in the first and adding four more runs in the second. Starling Joseph’s two-run homer was the big blast of the inning. Eduardo de Oleo followed with a solo homer of his own.

Victor Payano worked the final four innings, all scoreless, earning a save in the process. He allowed just a walk while striking out five. Joseph finished the night 3-for-5, while Kaiden Cardoso was 3-for-4 with his first Majors home run and two runs batted in. de Oleo went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.

Taking on the Brantford Red Sox on Sunday, London came out on top by a 5-1 margin. The Majors sent Travis Keys to the mound, and the left-hander allowed just three hits and a pair of walks over eight innings of scoreless work. He struck out five. Kaiden Cardoso put the Majors on the board with a solo homer in the fifth inning. A seventh inning double by Cleveland Brownlee put the team up 2-0 before they added three insurance runs in the eighth, the big blow being a bases-clearing double by Eduardo de Oleo.

Up next:

The Majors (3-0) have a very busy week ahead with four games in six days, starting with their first ever game against the expansion Chatham-Kent Barnstormers. They’ll play home games Friday and Sunday.

Tues. May 21 (7:35pm @ Chatham-Kent Barnstormers)
Fri. May 24 (7:35pm vs. Kitchener Panthers)
Sat. May 25 (1:00pm @ Guelph Royals)
Sun. May 26 (1:05pm vs. Hamilton Cardinals)

FC London

Women

The Women’s team earned a pair of match wins last week. First, the team won a League1 Cup game, 4-0, over BVB IA Waterloo on Wednesday. Julia Benati opened the scoring in the 2nd minute — and then made it 2-0 early in the second half (50th minute). Jade Abreo (71st minute) and Ally Rowe (73rd minute) added insurance goals.

Then, in regular season play, FC London earned a 4-1 win over Guelph United on Saturday at Tricar Field. After a scoreless first half, Abreo scored the ice breaker for London in the 48th minute. Guelph tied the game in the 62nd minute, but London responded with three unanswered goals to win the game. Benati scored what turned out to be the game winner in the 68th. Bryanna Caldwell doubled the lead six minutes later. And Tegan Morrison added a third goal in stoppage time to ice the game. The FC London women are now 3-1-0 and in second place in the League1 Ontario Premier Division standings.

Up next: 

Sat. May 25 (2:00pm @ Simcoe County Rovers)

Men

Taking on St. Catharines Roma on Saturday, the FC London men came out on top by a 4-1 margin. London scored all four of their goals in the first half, with Bai Essa Coker opening the scoring in the 18th minute. Efosa Emovon scored the team’s second goal in the 29th minute. Seven minutes later, Dante D’oria extended the lead. Emovan then added his second of the game in the 40 minute. St. Catharines scored their lone goal late in the game but London cruised to the win, giving them a 3-1-0 record on the season (tied for second in the League1 Championship Division). 

Up next:

Sat. May 25 (8:00pm vs. Masters FA)