After head-to-head win, Knights continue battle with Spits

Knight Watch: Neither team blinking as London, Windsor fight for top spot in Western Conference; It’s a Sarnia rematch Friday and then a long road swing; Barkey, the holiday hero, set to join 20-goal club. Columnist Jake Jeffrey has all the latest …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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The London Knights may have clinched a playoff spot last weekend, but it’s still a deadlock atop the Western Conference standings, as both London and Windsor have 79 points through 54 games heading into action Thursday night.

The Knights topped the Spits in an overtime thriller Monday afternoon, picking up the much-needed additional point, and they earned four points of a possible six over the long weekend.

Goaltender Brett Brochu returned to the lineup last Friday night, and he made 35 saves in a 3-2 loss to the visiting Sarnia Sting. With Brochu nursing an injury, Zach Bowen had made five straight starts in net, winning all five. The Knights were minutes away from another loss at the hands of the Sting Saturday, but a late third period rally helped them tie the game and eventually win it in overtime in Sarnia. Brochu was back in net against Windsor Monday, and he helped the Knights pick up another OT win.

In fact, London’s last three wins have all been decided in overtime. They’ve won 11 of their last 12 games to keep pace with the equally hot Spitfires.

Ryan Winterton has been a nice boost for London’s offence, giving them another weapon up front. The Seattle Kraken prospect has points in 10 of his last 11 games, including the OT winner against Sarnia Saturday.

The Knights currently have three 20-goal scorers in Sean McGurn, George Diaco and Logan Mailloux, but a fourth could very well join the group this weekend. Draft-eligible prospect Denver Barkey scored twice Monday, including the OT winner, and he sits at 19 goals on the season. Ruslan Gazizov, meanwhile, has 17 goals, while Easton Cowan has 14.

Just four of London’s 14 remaining games will be played at home, as the Tim Hortons Brier will take over Budweiser Gardens from March 3-12. After Friday night, the Knights won’t play a home game for three weeks when they return to host Guelph on March 17.

That’s not exactly a bad thing for London, as they have an OHL-best 20-4 record on the road this season. They’re 19-10-1-0 on home ice.

The Knights are currently 9th in the CHL Top Ten Rankings. Ottawa (8th) and Windsor (10th) also made the list this week, while the Sarnia Sting and North Bay Battalion were both honourable mentions. Both the Knights and Spitfires have three games this weekend. Windsor is on the road in Eastern Ontario for games in Peterborough, Ottawa, and Kingston.

Denver Barkey, who scored the overtime winner to beat Windsor on Family Day, has 52 points (19 G, 33 A) in 53 games entering action this weekend. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Feb. 24, 7:00pm) vs. Sarnia Sting (29-17-5-2, 3rd in Western Conference)

For the third time in their last four games, the Knights will take on the Sting. Sarnia was very close to winning both games last weekend, but a late third period surge helped the Knights climb back and win in overtime on Saturday. Reigning OHL player of the Week Nolan Burke has four goals and seven points against London this season, and he has eight points in his last four games. Goaltender Benjamin Gaudrea has started 15 of Sarnia’s last 17 games, and he’s allowed three goals or less in 11 of those contests. The Sting are looking for their first 30-win season since 2017-18 (which is also the last season the franchise made it out of the first round of the playoffs). At 83.1%, the Sting have the third-best penalty kill in the OHL, allowing just 30 goals against when a man down this season.

Saturday (Feb. 25, 7:30pm) @ Owen Sound Attack (26-22-4-1, 5th in Western Conference) (Owen Sound plays Kitchener on Friday)

The Attack took the first two games of the season series against the Knights, but it’s been all London in the last three, including a 9-1 victory in their most recent meeting. Captain Colby Barlow is second in the OHL with 38 goals, four back of the league lead. He also has an OHL-best 10 game-winning goals. Barlow and Matthew Papais both have three goals against London this season. Owen Sound has lost five straight and have just one win in their last eight contests. They’re coming off a 2-0 loss to last-placed Erie on Wednesday night. The Attack have been better on home ice this season, with 14 of their 26 wins coming at the Bayshore.

Sunday (Feb. 26, 2:00pm) @ Guelph Storm (26-24-4-1, 6th in Western Conference) (Guelph plays Sault Ste. Marie on Friday)

Despite parting ways with some of their top players, the Storm have been one of the OHL’s best teams since the trade deadline, winning 13 of their last 19 contests. At the time, they were battling for the final few playoff spots; now, they’re tied for 5th and have an 11-point cushion over 9th place. Matthew Poitras has a point in eight straight, with back-to-back three-point efforts. In 20 games since the start of 2023, he’s only been held off the scoresheet on three occasions. Goaltender Patrick Leaver has had success against the Knights this year, beating them twice so far this season. Braeden Bowman, meanwhile, has three goals and five points against the Knights. Londoner Jett Luchanko has been sidelined by injury but is nearing a return to the lineup. His last game was January 11.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

It’s back-to-back shutouts for Peterborough Petes netminder Michael Simpson, who turned aside 77 shots in the two victories. The former London Junior Knight leads the OHL with five shutouts on the year.

Dylan Roobroeck has six goals and 15 points in his last 10 games for the Oshawa Generals.

Londoner Ryan Roobroeck, younger brother of Dylan, has three goals and six points through three games at the Canada Winter Games. Team Ontario has two wins and an overtime loss heading into their Quarterfinal game against New Brunswick Thursday afternoon.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

6 - London’s last three wins have come in overtime, giving them six overtime wins on the season. They’ve only dropped one game in overtime.

15 - Zach Bowen has won 15 straight starts for London. He is one win shy of the OHL record for consecutive wins by a rookie goaltender.

7 - With a pair of goals against Windsor Monday, Jacob Julien now has seven points in his last seven games.

8 - After Friday’s game against Sarnia, the Knights will play eight straight road games. They currently have a league-best 20 wins away from home this season.

20 - The London Knights officially clinched a playoff spot over the weekend, making it 20 straight seasons that the team has qualified for playoffs.

AROUND THE OHL

Former Knight Owen Flores made 49 saves to help the Niagara IceDogs beat Sudbury 6-2, celebrating the 1000th game in franchise history.

Sahil Panwar, another former Knight, has 12 goals and 31 points in 20 games since joining the Hamilton Bulldogs at the trade deadline.

A late push from last-placed Erie? The Otters have won two straight games and three of their last four. They still sit 10th in the Western Conference, but they’re now just eight points back of the final playoff spot. A lot would have to go right for the team to sneak into the postseason, but there have been positive signs from the team since legendary OHL coach Stan Butler took over.