Knights win first two; Lightning crowned champs; FC Men keep winning

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (May 21-27) — for London’s teams and athletes.

The London Knights won their first two games, versus Drummondville and Moose Jaw, at the 2024 CHL Memorial Cup. (Photo: Eric Young / CHL).

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London Knights

The OHL-champion London Knights opened their Memorial Cup with a bang, winning 4-0 over the Drummondville Voltigeurs, this year’s QMJHL champs, in round robin play in Saginaw, Michigan on Saturday afternoon.

Ruslan Gazizov got things going for London, scoring the ice breaker at the 8:04 mark of the opening period. Oliver Bonk followed with a goal five minutes later to double the lead. After a scoreless second, London added two more scores — in the first two and half minutes of the third. Gazizov notched his second of the game, while Kasper Halttunen got on the board by deflecting in a shot by Bonk. Knights goaltender Michael Simpson was the star of the show, making 31 saves to secure the shutout and the win. 

The Knights then improved to 2-0 in the tournament on Tuesday night after a 5-4 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors, this year’s WHL champs.

After allowing an early first period goal, London bounced back to score twice in the opening period. Ruslan Gazizov got the offense going, scoring his third of the tournament. Sam Dickinson then gave the Knights the lead in the final three minutes of the first. Moos Jaw tied the game just past the 7-minute mark of the second, but London responded with three goals of their own to take a 5-2 lead. Goal scorers for London were Sam O’Reilly, Landon Sim, and Kasper Halttunen (game winner). Moose Jaw cut into the deficit late in the period and added another late in the third, but the Knights held on for the win.

Up next:

The Knights play their third and final round-robin game Wednesday night vs. Saginaw, with the winner earning an automatic trip to the Memorial Cup Final (Sunday). The loser will face Moose Jaw in a semi Friday.

Wed. May 29 (7:30pm vs. Saginaw)

London Lightning

The London Lightning are the inaugural Basketball Super League champions. With a pair of wins at home, Thursday and Saturday, London won its series against the KW Titans, three games to one, and became champs in the first year of BSL basketball action.

With the Finals series tied one game apiece, the Lightning returned home Thursday and enjoyed their best game of the series. London maintained control for most of the game and came away with a 105-83 victory to go up two games to one. After falling behind 10-0, the Lightning surged for the remainder of the opening quarter, outscoring the Titans 27-6 the rest of the way. London led 49-38 at the half, but Kitchener fought back in the third, pulling to within one (52-51) with 6:44 left in the third quarter. But that’s when the Lightning got hot.

London scored the next 11 points and went on a dominant 26-2 run to close out the quarter and take a 25-point lead into the fourth, where they closed out the win. Chris Jones was London’s high scorer with 29 points to go with 6 assists and 6 steals. Jeremiah Mordi had 25 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, while Antoine Mason tallied 13 points and 7 rebounds. 

And then London finished the series on Saturday, back at Bud Gardens, coming out on top, 117-112, against the Titans in Game 4. The Lightning led by three after the first quarter, but the Titans controlled the second and took a 56-49 lead into the half. The Lightning chipped away at the deficit in the third, briefly tying the game, before falling behind by four in the final seconds of the quarter. The close affair came down to the wire, with London taking the lead for good with 1:29 left in the game.

Billy White made four straight free throws as London won the free throw game late. Jones made a pair, and Mordi essentially put the Titans on ice, making two of his own to make it a two-possession game with just 14 seconds on the clock. Jones, who was named Finals MVP, led the way with 34 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Antoine Mason had 23 points, while White (17 pts, 7 rebs) and Mordi (14 pts, 7 rebs) both enjoyed strong games.

The Lightning have now won three straight league championships and seven titles overall, with this one being their first in the new Basketball Super League. 

London Majors

The Majors opened their week with a high-scoring 15-12 win over the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers in their first game against the new expansion squad. A six-run 4th inning was a major catalyst in the win. Eduardo de Oleo hit two homers in the game, finishing the night with four RBIs and three runs scored. Kaiden Cardoso continued his hot hitting, popping his third homer of the year and reaching base four times. Starling Joseph had a three-hit game, while Champ Garner produced a 2-for-5 night with a homer, three runs scored and three RBIs.

Entering Friday with a 4-0 record, the Majors suffered their first loss of the season, a 5-2 affair against the Kitchener Panthers at home. Jose Arias started the game for London and allowed three runs on eight hits and three walks in six innings of work. He struck out nine. London was the victim of a sterling pitching performance from the Panthers’ Jose Vasquez, who allowed just two runs on five hits and a walk in a complete game effort. He struck out 12. Drew Lawrence had an RBI in the loss, while Byron Reichstein reached twice and scored a run.

After a rainout Saturday (@ Guelph), the Majors bounded back to win 8-5 over the Hamilton Cardinals on Sunday. Travis Keys delivered his second straight strong pitching performance. This time, he allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings of work. The Majors did much of their damage in a five-run 4th inning, which saw Brad Verhoeven drive in a pair, Tommy Reyes-Cruz followed notch an RBI sac fly, and Starling Joseph deliver an RBI single. Victor Plaz had a nice game, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored.

Up next:

The Majors (5-1) have a three-game weekend ahead, beginning with a home contest Friday against Brantford. They’ll play at home again on Sunday.

Fri. May 31 (7:35pm vs. Brantford Red Sox)
Sat. June 1 (1:05pm @ Welland Jackfish)
Sun. June 2 (1:05pm vs. Chatham-Kent)

FC London

Women

The Women’s team lost their lone match last week, dropping a 2-1 contest to the Simcoe County Rovers on Saturday. Down 2-0 at the half, London’s lone goal came much four minutes into stoppage time when Bryanna Caldwell found the back of the net. The loss puts FC London at 3-2-0, currently third in Women’s Premier Division.

Up next: 

Wed. May 29 (8:30pm @ Vaughan Azzurri)
Sat. June 1 (7:30pm @ North Toronto)

Men

The Men’s team beat Masters FA 2-1 on Saturday, improving their record to 4-1-0 on the season. London got off to a quick start, with Aman Khanna scoring the ice breaker in the 6th minute. Bai Essa Coker followed with a goal of his own in the 37th minute. Masters FA got on the board in stoppage time to make it 2-1. Neither team scored in the second half, as London came away with the win.

Up next:

Sat. June 1 (2:00pm @ TFC Academy)