Falcons claim cross country gold; ‘Stangs on to semis; Knights sweep weekend

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

Fanshawe’s men’s cross country team won provincial gold at the 2024 OCAA Championship.

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Fanshawe Falcons

At the provincial championship meet in King City (hosted by Seneca College), the Fanshawe Falcons’ men’s team ran to a gold medal last weekend, led by individual gold medalist Matt Talbot.

Talbot finished the eight-kilometre race in a winning time of 26:43 — his fifth consecutive race win this fall. His teammate, Ethan Roche, earned individual bronze, posting a time of 27:50, while Ty Breedon (5th), Owen Wrigley (10th), Noah Derganc and Adam Voisey also contributed to the Falcons’ gold medal win.

Talbot, Roche and Breedon were each named to the OCAA’s All-Ontario First Team, while Wrigley earned a spot on the Second Team. Talbot was named OCAA Rookie of the Year. The squad will compete at the national championship Nov. 9 in Windsor.

Fanshawe women’s team, meanwhile, claimed bronze at the provincial meet. They were led in the six-kilometre race by Megan Hutson (10th) and Grace Boyce (11th), who both earned All-Ontario Second Team honours. Falcons head coach Regan Ryter was named OCAA Coach of the Year

Western Mustangs

The Mustangs are headed to the OUA semifinals after a convincing 46-10 win over the McMaster Marauders in their first-round playoff action last Saturday.

Thirty-six of those points came in the first half alone, as the Mustangs exerted their offensive force. Leading 10-3 to start the second quarter, after a Jerome Rancourt eight-yard touchdown run in the first, Western really turned it on in the second. Rancourt, the team’s backup quarterback, scored again on a 1-yard run before Keanu Yazbeck ran in a 27-yard score two minutes later. That made it 24-3. A second Brian Garrity field goal, a third touchdown (24-yard pass from Evan Hillock to Craig Coleman) and a safety had the Mustangs up 36-10 at the half.

And then Western held McMaster off the scoreboard completely in the second half. With the win, the Mustangs advance to the OUA semi-final round, where they’ll take on the Guelph Gryphons at home. Laurier and Queen’s will play in the other semi, with the winners to meet in the Yates Cup the following weekend.

Yazbeck had a huge day Saturday, amassing 176 yards on 14 carries. Marcel Phillips gained 91 yards on eight carries. Quarterback Evan Hillock completed 17 of his 22 pass attempts for 258 yards and a pair of touchdown passes (one to Chapman, the other to Sandro Pierini. Leading the receiving corps was Mohsen Jamal II (96 yards) and Dasani McIntosh (82 yards), who had six catches apiece.

Up next:

Sat. Nov. 2 (1:00pm vs. Guelph Gryphons) (OUA semi-final)

London Knights

The Knights picked up six points last week, sweeping a trio of weekend games to improve to 8-4 on the season. After a slow start, the team entered a new week in third place in the Western Conference behind only the Windsor Spitfires and Kitchener Rangers.

Starting the week with a home game against the Brantford Bulldogs on Friday, the Knights earned a 4-3 win in overtime. Landon Sim scored the ice breaker just over 12 minutes into the contest (assists to Henry Brzustewicz and Jesse Nurmi). Just over five minutes later, Easton Cowan doubled the lead with his fourth goal of the season. The Bulldogs scored 26 seconds later and then tied things up in the second. Sam O’Reilly gave London the lead back, but Brantford tied the game in the final minute of the period. After a scoreless third, the Knights wasted no time in the extra frame with Sam Dickinson scoring the game winner 21 seconds in.

On the road Saturday, the Knights beat the Saginaw spirit 4-1. Sam O’Reilly opened the scoring in the first with a short handed goal, while Sam Dickinson scored what turned out to be the game winner in the second. Saginaw made things interesting in the third, coming within a goal, but Easton Cowan restored the two-goal lead 33 seconds later. Evan Van Gorp then added a fourth goal to all but secure the win. Aleksei Medvedev picked up the win in net, stopping 28 of 29 shots. 

Riding their momentum into Sunday, the Knights beat the Sarnia Sting 5-2. London opened the scoring for the fourth game in a row on a Landon Sim goal. Denver Barkey doubled the lead with a power play goal, and London led 2-0 after the opening period. Sarnia came within a goal in the second, but Sim scored the eventual game winner 11 seconds into the third. Sarnia scored a second goal but that was as close as they’d get, with Van Gorp and Easton Cowan (empty net) both adding goals. 

Up next:

Fri. Nov. 1 (7:00pm vs. Soo Greyhounds)
Sun. Nov. 3 (2:00pm @ Owen Sound Attack)