Knights head East for road swing

Knight Watch: London continues to battle Saginaw for top spot in conference; Five of next six away from Bud Gardens; Can Cowan keep streak going? Columnist Jake Jeffrey has the latest Knights news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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All good things come to an end, and that was the case for London’s lengthy streak of games without a regulation loss. 

During an impressive stretch of 23 games (spanning 68 days), the London Knights won 21 games and had a pair of shootout losses. That’s 44 out of a possible 46 points dating back to early December, and it helped solidify themselves atop the Western Conference.

When it ended, the culprit was the team that last beat the Knights before their point streak began, the Soo Greyhounds. They topped London for the third time this season — and they did so in convincing fashion, 8-2 last Friday (Feb. 16). They’re the only team that the Knights have yet to beat this season.

“They’re a good team, an older team, and they’re built well,” Rob Simpson, the Knights’ associate general manager, told Gameday London. “They’ve proven they can beat anybody in this league.” 

The game was tight in the first period before the Greyhounds opened things up in the second — and then pulled away for good in the third. The Knights had only given up four shorthanded goals all season, and they surrendered two during the same man-advantage Friday night.

The good thing about junior hockey is you don’t typically have to wait long for a chance to redeem yourself. And London did just that less than 24 hours after the lopsided loss, beating Owen Sound 5-2 on the road to sweep the season series against the Attack.

“It was nice to see the players come back with two wins after the loss and show their ability to adjust and bounce back,” said Simpson.

After beating Owen Sound, London earned a big 7-2 win over Windsor on Family Day at Bud Gardens. Now, they’ll hit the road looking to keep that momentum going. The Knights travel to Kingston Friday and then Ottawa Saturday to play a couple of East Division foes. Then they’ll return home Wednesday to host Oshawa.

Kingston is a team that London has enjoyed tremendous success against — and dating back much further than their 8-1 victory back in October. The last time the Fronts were victorious over London was in September of 2017. Since then, they’ve lost nine straight against the Knights. Kingston’s arena has changed names twice since then.

London beat Kingston 8-1 in their last matchup, Oct. 13 at Bud Gardens. Jacob Julien (above) had a goal and an assist in that contest. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Ottawa has been a different story, as the 67’s and Knights have had plenty of close contests as both teams have challenged for top spot in their respective conferences over the last half-decade. London got the 3-2 overtime win back in October.

“It’s nice when the guys can get away, stay in a hotel for a couple nights and just be together with no outside distractions and really spend some quality time together and prepare for games,” said Simpson.

“Especially this time of year, as we’re getting close to the end of the regular season, we kind of use it as a team builder to really bring the guys together leading into the playoff run.”

Five of London’s next six games are on the road, before they finish the season with five of seven on home ice.

Not all point streaks came to an end this past weekend, as Easton Cowan continued his record-setting run, which now sits at 24 games with at least a point. He has 18 goals and 47 points during the streak, which dates back to Nov. 25. Sam Dickinson has also kept up his hot hand. He has 15 points over his last seven games.

Forward Sawyer Boulton is eligible to return to the lineup this weekend. He was handed a two-game suspension for picking up an instigator penalty in the last five minutes of London’s loss to the Soo.

The Knights took the first matchup of the season against the Ottawa 67’s, winning 3-2 in overtime at home back on Oct. 27, 2023. Kaleb Lawrence, now a Knight, will enjoy a homecoming in the nation’s capital. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Feb. 23, 7:00pm) @ Kingston Frontenacs (26-26-2-0, 4th in East Division)

This is London’s first and only trip to the newly named Slush Puppie Place, likely one of my favourite arena names in the OHL. The Knights will face a much improved Kingston team than the one they beat up back in October, but the Frontenacs have had their fair share of struggles lately. They’ve dropped 10 of their last 16 games and are 7th in the Eastern Conference. Captain and Chicago Blackhawks prospect Paul Ludwinski has speed to burn, and he leads the team with 55 points. Draft-eligible Jacob Battaglia leads the way with 27 goals. Kasper Halttunen and Denver Barkey both scored a pair against the Fronts the last time these teams met, while Alec Leonard had one of his best offensive outputs of the season in that game with three assists. Kingston had nine powerplays in that game but failed to convert on any of them. London shell-shocked JJ Salajko, who was making his OHL debut in that game. Mason Vaccari has made 49 starts this season. Perhaps he gets the call this time around.

Saturday (Feb. 24, 3:00pm) @ Ottawa 67s (28-19-5-1, 3rd in East Division)

Captain Luca Pinelli just scored his 40th goal of the season. He and overage Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Braeden Kressler provide a nice one-two punch up front. Keep an eye out for draft-eligible defenceman Henry Mews who has 10 goals and 49 points this season. Knights forward Kaleb Lawrence scored 10 goals with the 67’s before being dealt to London. He’s from nearby Orleans, so it’ll be a homecoming in a couple of ways for the big forward. Ottawa plays a disciplined game. They’ve been shorthanded an OHL-low 178 times this season. No team has been shorthanded more than London’s 253 times.

Wednesday (Feb. 28, 7:00pm) vs. Oshawa Generals (28-18-7-2, 2nd in East Division)

This is London’s only home game in their next five contests. The Knights got the come-from-behind win a few weeks back in a game where the Generals led 3-0 through 40 minutes. Keep an eye out for Londoner and New York Rangers prospect Dylan Roobroeck, although at 6-foot-7 he’s pretty hard to miss out there. Callum Ritchie leads the team in points despite missing 18 games. The Colorado Avalanche prospect has 19 goals and 60 points through 37 contests this year. Gens goalie Jacob Oster is among the league leaders in goals-against average and save percentage, and he’s second in wins behind Knights goalie Michael Simpson. Despite scoring a league low two shorthanded goals this season, the Generals have the OHL’s fourth best penalty kill at 82.4%.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Owen Van Steensel has moved into the top 20 in OHL scoring with his impressive scoring streak. He has points in six straight, with seven goals and 14 points during that span.

Soo Greyhounds forward Jordan D’Intino has goals in four straight games.

Dorchester’s Marcus Vandenberg made 30 saves to help the Sudbury Wolves to a Family Day win over Guelph. It was his 12th win of the season — and ninth since joining the Wolves. 

Dylan Roobroeck got the last laugh over his younger brother, Ryan Roobroeck, in a Family Day affair between the Oshawa Generals and Niagara IceDogs. Dylan had an assist and won 21 of 25 faceoffs to help the Generals blank the ‘Dogs 6-0.

First year forward Jack Greenwell has picked up points in back-to-back games for the Windsor Spitfires.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

24 - Easton Cowan’s point streak sits at 24 games entering the weekend, which marks the longest run in the OHL this season. The second longest is North Bay’s Anthony Romani at 19 games.

31 - London has led through two periods on 33 occasions this season, securing a victory on 31 of those occasions.

10 - The Knights have been outstanding in close games this season. They’re 10-1-0-3 in one-goal games.

40 - London recorded their 40th win of the season Monday, the 16th time they’ve reached that mark in franchise history.

9 - The Knights haven’t lost to Kingston since September of 2017, a stretch of nine straight wins for London.

AROUND THE OHL

Jeff Marek of Sportsnet is reporting that the OHL is investigating accusations that the Sudbury Wolves placed a bounty on a player from the Barrie Colts.

Former Soo Greyhounds goaltender Tucker Tynan is suing the OHL club for allegedly mishandling an injury, insulting him with derogatory slurs, and forcing him to play through injury. Team President Tim Lukenda released a statement this week denying the allegations, and saying the team will defend them in court.

The London Knights (3rd) and Saginaw Spirit (5th) are the only two OHL teams in this week’s CHL Top Ten Rankings.