Knights look to create distance in Western Conference

Knight Watch: London is first OHL team to clinch a 2024 playoff spot; How long can Cowan extend point streak?; Showdown against the Soo. Columnist Jake Jeffrey has the latest Knights news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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A third period comeback win in Oshawa last Sunday helped extend London’s point streak to 23 games as they won their seventh straight.

San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen sparked the comeback with a three-point third period, scoring a pair of goals. Easton Cowan sealed the deal with the overtime winner to extend his individual point streak to 21 games. Halttunen has four goals and eight points over his last four games. The win helped improve London’s record to a perfect 6-0 in games decided in overtime.

Earlier in the weekend, London had cruised to a 5-1 win over Windsor. They’ll face the Spitfires again this Monday for a Family Day matinee.

Sam Dickinson has continued his strong offensive play. The draft-eligible defenseman has nine assists over his last five games. He leads the Knights with 182 shots on goal and is fourth in the OHL among blueliners with 53 points. His Knights teammate, Oliver Bonk, sits third with 57. 

Jackson Edward returned to the lineup Sunday after serving his latest suspension. The Boston Bruins prospect is second on the Knights in penalty minutes with 82, behind Max McCue’s 92.

London’s biggest test this weekend will be Friday night against the Soo, who have won both meetings against London this season — and are the last team to beat London back in December. Following a six-game winning streak, the Greyhounds have lost three of their last five and sit four points back of Saginaw for the West Division lead. Next, the Knights will travel to Owen Sound, and then host Windsor on Monday. London has enjoyed great success against those opponents this season (5-0 vs. Owen Sound, 3-0 vs. Windsor).

With 16 games left in the season, London has opened up a 13-point advantage over Kitchener as they look to solidify top spot in the Midwest Division. As far as the conference standings are concerned, four points separate the Knights and second-place Saginaw.

London is the first team to clinch a playoff spot, as they’ve made the postseason for a 23rd straight season, tying them for the second longest streak in OHL history. They’ve only failed to get past the first round in five of those seasons, and they’ve reached the OHL Finals six times, winning four OHL Championships and two Memorial Cups.

For the fifth time in the last six weeks, the Knights occupy the top spot on the OHL Power Rankings. Saginaw, Sudbury, the Soo and North Bay round out the top five. In the CHL Top Ten Rankings, the Knights are once again in second behind the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The Saginaw Spirit are the only other OHL team to crack that list, where they sit in fourth.

Sam Dickinson leads the Knights with 182 shots on goal. He’s fourth in the OHL among defencemen with 53 points.(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Feb. 16, 7:00pm) vs. Soo Greyhounds (34-15-2-1, 2nd in West Division)

The Greyhounds have had London’s number so far this season. In fact, they’re the only team in the OHL, heading into action this weekend, that the Knights have yet to beat. London dropped both games up in the Soo earlier this season. This is the first trip to Budweiser Gardens for the Greyhounds. The last time these two teams met in December was the last time the Knights lost in regulation. This game could get chippy. In their last meeting, Sawyer Boulton caught ‘Hounds captain Bryce McConnell-Barker with a dangerous hit that resulted in a lengthy suspension for Boulton and forced McConnell-Barker out of the lineup for a month and a half. Gavin Hayes has 10 goals and 20 points in 13 games since joining the Soo at the trade deadline. The Greyhounds are dangerous with the man advantage, Hayes and Arttu Karki both have a dozen powerplay goals this season. Former Strathroy Rocket and London Junior Knight Jordan D’Intino returned to the lineup this week and scored his 15th goal of the season.

Saturday (Feb. 17, 7:00pm) @ Owen Sound Attack (25-21-4-2, 3rd in Midwest Division)

The Knights have won all five meetings this season between these two teams, although two of those were in overtime/shootout and another was decided by a game-winning goal late in the third period. The other two wins were of the blowout variety, 8-2 and 10-0 victories, respectively. Attack captain Colby Barlow has been lighting the lamp in a big way. In his last 10 games, the Winnipeg Jets prospect has found the back of the net 14 times, with five two-goal games. Barlow has three goals in three games against the Knights. Servac Petrovsky, meanwhile, has three goals and six points during the season series. Max McCue’s younger brother, Sam, hit the 20-goal mark last weekend. Carter George has started seven of the last eight games for the Attack, and there’s a good chance he’ll be in the crease Saturday night. He made 42 saves in London’s shootout win in Owen Sound on Feb. 3.

Monday (Feb. 19, 2:00pm) vs. Windsor Spitfires (16-29-3-3, 5th in West Division)

The Spitfires make a trip to Budweiser Gardens for the second weekend in a row, looking for a better result than the 5-1 loss last Friday. Windsor outshot London 25-15 through two periods but managed just one goal against Owen Willmore. The Knights have outscored the Spits 21-10 in their three victories. Ruslan Gazizov, Sam O’Reilly and Easton Cowan each have six points in the season series. The Spits’ Ryan Abraham is coming off a hat trick Wednesday night. He and Liam Greentree are Windsor’s most dangerous offensive weapons. Windsor has just three wins in their last 12 games and are 10 points back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Owen Van Steensel continues his hot hand with the North Bay Battalion. The Ilderton native has five goals and 12 points over his last four games.

Niagara IceDogs rookie Ryan Roobroeck scored his 20th goal of the season in Wednesday’s win over Erie.

After missing two weeks with an injury, Soo Greyhounds forward Jordan D’Intino returned to the lineup Tuesday and scored his 15th goal of the season.

St. Marys product Sam Sedley became the highest scoring defenseman in Owen Sound Attack history with 158 points during his OHL career.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

3 - Sunday’s come from behind win was the third time London has managed to win a game they were trailing heading into the third period this season.

23 - The London Knights clinched their 23rd straight playoff appearance last weekend, tying them for the longest streak in OHL history.

68 - As London hosts the Soo on Friday, it has been 68 days since the Knights’ most recent regulation loss, which came against the Soo Greyhounds on Dec. 10.

4 - Not only do the Knights lead the OHL with 67 powerplay goals, but they’ve allowed the second-fewest shorthanded goals with four against this season. Only Oshawa has fewer with three.

AROUND THE OHL

Barrie Colts head coach Marty Williamson became the seventh bench boss in OHL history to coach 1,000 regular season games. Knights head coach Dale Hunter is sixth on the all-time list with 1,413 games.

Flint pulled out a big shootout win over Sarnia Wednesday night to tie the Sting for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The two teams play again this Saturday.