Knight Watch: Is London hottest team in the league?

Twelve wins in 13 tries has catapulted the Knights up the Western Conference standings, with top spot in sight. How have they done it? Can they keep it rolling? Columnist Jake Jeffrey has all the latest — and notes from around the OHL …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Winners of eight straight, and 12 of their last 13, the London Knights are one of the hottest (if not the hottest) teams in the OHL right now.

Scoring by committee continues to get the job done in London land, as nine Knights found the back of the net in their four wins last week. Ruslan Gazizov was one of the few to score multiple times, and he’s currently riding a six-game point streak with goals in his last three contests. It’s the Russian forward’s best offensive stretch since joining the Knights last season.

Coming off OHL Player of the Month honours, Sean McGurn had a pair of two-point outings last week, giving him the edge over George Diaco for the team scoring lead (34 points).

Denver Barkey saw his nine-game point streak come to an end last week, but his hot play has joined him with McGurn and Diaco as one of three Knights currently averaging a point-per-game or better. Brody Crane is in that conversation, as well, with 24 points in 25 games. The draft-eligible forward leads the team with a plus-15 rating.

Brett Brochu and Zach Bowen split duties during London’s busy four-game week, with both netminders picking up a pair of victories. Brochu has won each of his last five starts, while Bowen has been victorious in four straight. Brochu’s 2.90 goals against average now has him fifth in the OHL, while his 12 wins is just two off the league lead.

London will face arguably their biggest test to date this weekend with a pair of tough Eastern Conference foes. That includes a Friday night matchup against Ottawa, a team that leads the league in a number of categories — and has lost just four times in 25 games this season. Meanwhile, although Peterborough has been struggling lately, they possess a potent offence and one of the league’s top goalies in Londoner Michael Simpson.

London’s hot streak has propelled them into top spot in the Midwest Division entering action Tuesday — and just a single point behind Saginaw for the Western Conference lead.

The Knights have a big opportunity to take advantage of a significant stretch of home games coming up. Their next six games will be played at Budweiser Gardens, and in fact, they only have one road game on the schedule in their next 10 — a trip down the 402 to Sarnia on Dec. 30.

Ruslan Gazizov is playing his best hockey, offensively, since joining the Knights last year. The 18-year-old has recorded points in six straight, notching five goals during that span. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS (*Team records and stats as of Tues. Dec. 6*)

Tuesday (Dec. 6, 7:00pm) vs. Oshawa Generals (8-13-1-2, 5th in East)

The Generals played the Knights tough when the two teams met a few weeks back in Oshawa, and they’re on a miniature two-game winning streak (although they’d lost 11 of 12 prior to that). Londoner Brett Harrison leads the team with 12 goals, while potential top draft pick Calum Ritchie leads the team in points with 21. Oshawa recently acquired defencemen Luca D’Amato from Flint. He’s among the league leaders in plus/minus. Tuesday’s matchup also happens to be the annual Teddy Bear Toss game at Budweiser Gardens, which always adds a bit of excitement to the game …

Friday (Dec. 9, 7:00pm) vs. Ottawa 67’s (21-4-0-0, 1st in East)

The 67’s have been the league’s best team from the get-go this season, and they aren’t showing many signs of slowing down. Ottawa leads the league in wins, goals against and powerplay goals, and they’re also among the league leaders in goals for and penalty kill. Their offence comes from almost everywhere; Luca Pinelli, Camero Tolnai and Brady Stonehouse have all scored 13 goals, while Cooper Foster and Brad Gardiner have 12 goals apiece. Big D-man Jack Matier also has nine goals and 26 points from the back end, leading the OHL with a plus-25 rating.

Saturday (Dec. 10, 7:00pm) vs. Peterborough Petes (13-11-1-2, 2nd in East)

Londoner Michael Simpson and the Petes roll into town Sunday on a bit of a slide with just one win in their last six games — and just three wins in their last 13. Despite this, they still sit third in the Eastern Conference. Brennan Othmann has just two goals in his first nine games with the club, but he’s added seven helpers over that span. Connor Lockhart, Tucker Robertson, Chase Stillman and JR Avon are four other forwards to watch out for.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Hunter Haight has had a good start with his new squad. Since joining the Saginaw Spirit after a trade from Barrie, Haight scored in his debut and he has four points in his first two games.

It was quite the weekend for Jacob Julien, who scored his first OHL goal and also committed to the London Knights on a full-time basis. He’d previously been called up from the GOJHL’s London Nationals, where he had 41 points in 22 games.

Brett Harrison has six goals in his last six games, as the Boston Bruins prospect has certainly found his form as of late with 11 points in his last seven games.

Bryce McConnell-Barker continues his strong season in the Soo. He has five goals and 11 points in his last seven games. On the year, he leads the Greyhounds in scoring with 15 goals and 30 points.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

14 - That’s how many Knights players have recorded a game-winning goal this season. Landon Sim is the only one with multiple, as he has a pair.

8 - London’s current eight-game win streak is tied for the second longest such streak in the OHL this season. Ottawa, London's opponent Friday night, had a nine-game winning streak earlier this season.

12 - The Knights are currently averaging 12 penalty minutes a game, which puts them right around the middle of the pack. Their penalty kill is currently 5th in the OHL at 81.2%, although it has been slightly more effective on the road (86%).

AROUND THE OHL

There was some scary news out of Windsor, as during a team practice Monday afternoon assistant coach Andy Delmore was rushed to hospital after having a medical emergency. Delmore provided an update from hospital, saying that he was stable and awaiting test results.

It’s almost World Junior season and a number of OHLers have been named to selection camps. Five have been invited to Canada’s camp, including Ben Gaudreau (Sarnia), Brennan Othmann (Peterborough), Jack Matier (Ottawa), Ethan Del Mastro (Mississauga) and Owen Beck (Mississauga). A pair have been invited to USA Hockey’s selection camp — Andrew Oke (Saginaw) and Tyler Boucher (Ottawa). Despite leading the OHL in points, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ty Voit did not receive an invite to camp.

Draft-eligible forward and Owen Sound Attack captain Colby Barlow has extended his goal streak to 10 games. He’s scored 13 goals during that stretch.

A seven-point outing from Sudbury’s Quentin Musty set a franchise record. He scored a goal and added six assists in Sudbury’s lopsided 13-2 win over Niagara.

Soo Greyhounds overage forward Kalvyn Watson scored all four goals in the Hounds’ recent overtime win over Saginaw.