Knight Watch: Will momentum continue on the road?

It’s a road weekend for the Knights — and a challenging one. They’ll play back-to-back games against the Soo Greyhounds, the OHL’s top-scoring team. Columnist Jake Jeffrey has the full breakdown.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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A midweek clash with Owen Sound helped the Knights bounce back from a Family Day loss to Kitchener.

Brett Brochu made 31 saves and recorded his 6th assist of the season in the win, while captain Luke Evangelista’s 37th goal of the season stood as the game winner. The Attack are yet another team Evangelista has enjoyed success against this season — he has 11 goals and 16 points in the season series.

The win helped London improve to 8-0 against Owen Sound this season, even though five of those wins were decided by a single goal.

Looking ahead to this weekend, the Knights will make the trip up to Sault Ste. Marie to play a pair of games against the Greyhounds, one of the league’s highest scoring teams — and a team they were able to beat last weekend.

The OHL is once again heading outdoors, this time featuring a pair of Canadian teams (Hamilton and Oshawa), a first for the league. The Knights took part in an outdoor game at Comerica Park in Detroit in December of 2013, falling to the Plymouth Whalers in a shootout. The Windsor Spitfires topped the Saginaw Spirit in the first half of that double header, the first outdoor games in OHL history.

The Knights announced a handful of rescheduled home games:

7pm vs. Saginaw on Monday, March 14 (originally Jan. 14)
7:30pm vs. Owen Sound on April 8 (originally Dec. 17)
2pm vs. Guelph on April 10 (originally Jan. 28)
7pm vs. Kitchener on April 13 (originally March 22)
4pm vs. Sarnia on April 17 (originally Dec. 31)

And there’s good news for Knights fans hoping to catch a game at Budweiser Gardens. Beginning next weekend, the venue will return to full capacity for the first time since mid-December.

Antonio Stranges has been clutch in the second half. He’s scored the game winner in four of the Knights’ last five wins. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Feb. 25, 7:07pm) & Saturday (Feb. 26, 7:07pm) @ Soo Greyhounds (27-15-5-1)

It’s a big weekend for both the Knights and Greyhounds, as both teams sit two points back of Flint for top spot in the Western Conference. There should be plenty of offense this weekend. The Greyhounds lead the OHL with 198 goals scored, while London combined for 15 goals over their two previous meetings, both wins. The Knights could get a firsthand look at the Greyhounds’ new third jersey that they debuted earlier in the week.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Rookie Bryce McConnell-Barker scored his 13th goal of the season when the Soo Greyhounds visited Budweiser Gardens last Friday.

Owen Van Steensel had a career-high four assists in North Bay’s win over Ottawa Sunday.

Lucan’s Navrin Mutter has three goals in his last four games, giving him a career-high nine on the season. He’s been getting more opportunities offensively since joining the Kitchener Rangers in a deadline deal with Hamilton.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

Logan Mailloux returned to the Knights lineup for the first time in a month (due to injury) and picked up an assist. The defenseman has points in all seven games he’s played this season.

Antonio Stranges has 8 goals and 18 points over his last 10 games. Stranges has scored the game winner in four of London's last five wins, and his five game winners overall now lead the team. Sean McGurn, Cody Morgan and Evangelista each have four game winners this season.

With 29 wins heading into the weekend, the Knights are one of three teams tied for the second most wins in the OHL this season. Mississauga won their 30th Thursday night. Hamilton and Flint, the others at 29, both play Friday night.

FORMER KNIGHTS

The Knights’ all-time scoring leader has added another milestone to his storied career, as Corey Perry scored his 400th goal this week. Perry scored a franchise record 380 points over four seasons with the Knights, leading them to the OHL and Memorial Cup Championship in 2005.