How high can they go?

Knight Watch: London win streak at 18, team sits No. 1 in CHL Ranks; Medvedev named top OHL goalie for November; Four headed to Canada camp; It’s Owen Sound for Teddy Bear Toss Wednesday, Oshawa Friday …

Blake Montgomery, who had eight points in three games, was named OHL Player of the Week. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Despite missing some of their top names, the Knights still had plenty of offence to work with as they managed to rattle off a perfect three-win road trip last weekend, extending their winning streak to an impressive 18 games.

London sandwiched a narrow overtime win over Kingston with dominant victories over Peterborough and Ottawa, finishing with 21 goals in the three wins.

Blake Montgomery stepped up big over the weekend. The Ottawa Senators prospect had four goals and eight points, which earned him OHL Player of the Week honours. It was also a notable weekend in net for Aleksei Medvedev, who was named Goaltender of the Week and Top Rookie. The young netminder picked up his first career shutout and made 68 saves in a pair of weekend wins, improving his record to 11-2-0-0 on the season.

That caps off a tidy month for Medvedev. The first-year netminder won all six of his starts last month and was named the OHL’s Goaltender of the Month for November.

Austin Elliott, meanwhile, backstopped the Knights to his third straight shootout win — this time against Kingston, which improved his record to a perfect 10-0-0-0 as a Knight. 

Sam Dickinson had five points in Ottawa Sunday, marking the second time he’s had at least five points in a game this season. That wrapped up what was a tremendous month for the San Jose Sharks prospect, who had six goals and 25 points through 13 games, earning him the OHL’s Player and Defenceman of the month for November. Overall, he has 15 goals and 45 points through 24 games this season.

Unfortunately, the Knights will be without Dickinson for at least a couple games as he tries out for Canada’s World Junior Team. And he’ll be joined at the selection camp by fellow Knights teammates Easton Cowan, Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk.

Cowan and Bonk played on last year’s team, while Barkey was one of the team’s final cuts. Camp runs Dec. 10-13 at TD Place in Ottawa, so those invited will likely play in both games this week — unless they end up resting their bodies for camp.

Aleksei Medvedev, a rookie, was named OHL Goaltender of the Month for November. Teammate Austin Elliott is a perfect 10-0-0-0, giving the Knights a strong goalie tandem. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

Kasper Halttunen is eligible to return from his suspension on Wednesday, but he’ll also be off to World Junior camp as he looks to play in his second tournament with Finland.

That means London will be without a good chunk of their core for the next month or so, which presents an excellent opportunity for London to show off its depth. Look for guys like Sam O’Reilly and William Nicholl, both Edmonton Oilers prospects, along with Evan Van Gorp, Blake Montgomery, Jacob Julien and Landon Sim to step up.

Also with both Dickinson and Bonk away, that leaves a lot of open minutes on the blueline. Henry Brzustewicz and Jared Woolley will be relied upon in a big way, while rookies Noah Jenken, PJ Fagan and Liam Spencer will get some more responsibility. Knights fans might also see the regular season debut of Caleb Mitchell, who’s been playing with the GOJHL’s London Nationals this season.

Wednesday night is the annual Teddy Bear Toss. It’s an earlier 6:30pm puck drop against Owen Sound. Woolley scored the big goal last season. He was a member of the St. Thomas Stars at the time, but he eventually earned a full-time spot with the Knights.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Wednesday (Dec. 4, 6:30pm) vs. Owen Sound Attack (7-14-2-1, 5th in Midwest Division)

All three games between these teams so far this season have required overtime. Owen Sound was minutes away from beating London in their last meeting, but a pair of late London goals forced overtime and the Knights secured the extra point in the shootout. The Knights will likely have to deal with Carter George again. The Los Angeles Kings prospect has been great against London this season, and he’ll be heading to Canada’s World Junior Camp next week.

Friday (Dec. 6, 7:00pm) vs. Oshawa Generals (16-9-1-1, 2nd in East Division)

This is a rematch of last year’s OHL Final — and it could very well be a preview of this year’s championship, as well. The Gens have plenty of firepower, and some players may have a chip on their shoulder. Beckett Sennecke (Anaheim), Luca Marrelli (Columbus) and Colby Barlow (Winnipeg) were all left off Canada’s selection camp roster for the upcoming World Juniors. Calum Ritchie (Colorado) did get an invite to camp, but he’ll likely still be in the lineup this weekend. Sennecke leads the team with 36 points and Ritchie has 33 points. Marrekki’s 35 points is second most among OHL defencemen, trailing only London’s Sam Dickinson.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

200 - Wednesday’s game against Owen Sound will be Denver Barkey’s 200th career regular season game in the OHL. He recorded his 200th career point in Sunday’s win over Ottawa.

18 - With 18 straight wins, the Knights have tied the second-longest win streak in franchise history. They won 18 straight during the 2004-05 season. The franchise benchmark is 24 straight wins in 2012-13. 

10 - The Knights scored double-digit goals for the first time this season in a 10-3 win over Ottawa. They had three games last year where they scored at least 10.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

- Former London Junior Knight Jett Luchanko will have a shot to make Canada’s World Junior Team. The Guelph Storm forward and Philadelphia Flyers prospect will be heading to selection camp on Dec. 10.

- In Niagara’s 5-3 win over Guelph, a London-born player had a point on six of the eight goals scored. Luchanko notched a goal and an assist; Parker Snelgrove also scored for Guelph; and Niagara’s Ryan Roobroeck finished with two goals and an assist. 

- Matthew Wang scored a pair of goals in Flint’s 8-2 win over Niagara on Friday. It was Wang’s second multi-goal game of the season.

- Komoka’s Beckham Edwards has a dozen goals on the season for the Sarnia Sting, but that 12th of the season was the Sting’s Teddy Bear Toss goal. It was the only goal Sarnia would score in a 4-1 loss to Saginaw Sunday.

AROUND THE OHL

- Of the 32 players invited to Canada’s World Junior Selection camp, 16 play in the OHL, including four from the London Knights. 

- Four OHLers are heading to the U.S. National Team Selection Camp; goaltender Sam Hillebrandt (Barrie Colts), and forwards Carey Terrance (Erie Otters), AJ Spellacy (Windsor Spitfires) and Joey Willis (Saginaw Spirit).