Can red-hot Knights extend win streak?

Knight Watch: London enters a new week with six straight wins; Gazizov named Player of the Month; Powerplay unit tops in the league; Cowan, Bonk back asap. Columnist Jake Jeffrey has the latest Knights news & notes …

Ruslan Gazizov, who tallied 24 points in December, was named OHL Player of the Month. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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The London Knights were red hot to wrap up 2023, finishing the calendar with six straight wins.

They’ll hope to carry that momentum into the new year, with matchups this week against Erie, Barrie and Mississauga.

Ruslan Gazizov has established himself as a bonafide point producer in the OHL. He just enjoyed what was by far his most productive month in the league with six goals and 24 points over 11 games, helping the Knights to an 8-3-0-0 record in December. Gazizov, who had eight different multi-point games, was named the OHL Player of the Month.

Sam Dickinson, meanwhile, was named the league’s Player of the Week for the final week of 2023. A top prospect for this spring’s NHL draft, Dickinson had three goals and eight points to help London to a perfect three-win week. He now sits third in OHL scoring among defensemen with 34 points.

London’s stretch of wins has helped them gain a little ground on Western Conference-leading Kitchener, although they still trail the Rangers by seven points. The streak has helped them keep pace with Guelph and Saginaw, two other teams playing very good hockey recently.

Both teams are just two points back of the Knights heading into action Wednesday. The Storm just had their five-game win streak snapped Sunday in Niagara, while Saginaw has won 18 of their last 21 games.

Denver Barkey has moved into the top five in OHL scoring with 52 points, six back of the leader, Hunter Brzustewicz, of Kitchener. Barkey, the Philadelphia Flyers prospect, had two goals and eight points in London’s three wins last week.

Relief is on the way for London, as Oliver Bonk and Easton Cowan are likely to rejoin the team this weekend following Canada’s quarterfinal loss to Czechia at the World Junior Championship in Sweden (Cowan notched a goal and an assist at the tournament, while Bonk had three helpers). Kasper Halttunen remains with Finland as they get set to face USA in the semis Thursday.

Max McCue will be eligible to return Saturday in Mississauga. The overage forward is serving a three-game suspension for an incident in the Dec. 29 game against Sarnia where he was given a game misconduct for abuse of officials. McCue is currently on an OHL-best nine game goal-scoring streak.

Knights defenseman Sam Dickinson is the reigning OHL Player of the Week. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Wednesday (Jan. 3, 7:00pm) vs. Erie Otters (16-13-4-0, 4th in Midwest Division)

The Knights are winless against the Otters this season, as Erie has had London’s number in both meetings so far. Fortunately for the Knights, Carey Terrance is still with Team USA at the World Juniors, so he won’t be available Wednesday night. The Anaheim Ducks prospect has four goals against London this season. Owain Johnston has 12 assists this season — remarkably, five of those have come against the Knights. Erie also has one of the league’s best face-off talents in Pano Fimis, who also leads the Otters in scoring with 36 points.

Friday (Jan. 5, 7:00pm) vs. Barrie Colts (14-17-1-0, 4th in Central Division)

The Knights skated to a fairly lopsided victory when these teams met in late November. With just three wins in their last 10, the Colts are likely to be sellers ahead of next week’s trade deadline. Beau Jelsma leads the team in scoring with 33 points. He scored 31 goals for the Colts last year. Captain Conor Punnett, a veteran of 212 OHL games, leads the team with 26 assists. The Colts have struggled with the man advantage — and have allowed an OHL-high nine shorthanded goals. The Knights have scored an OHL best 13 shorthanded markers this season, so keep an eye out for that Friday night.

Saturday (Jan. 6, 4:00pm) @ Mississauga Steelheads (19-13-2-0, 2nd in Central Division)

The Steelheads are another team London has yet to beat this season, as they lost 5-1 to Mississauga in early December. Luke Misa scored a hat-trick in that one, and Porter Martone picked up three assists. They are one-two in scoring for the Steelheads, with Misa at 48 points, and Martone with 27 goals and 45 points. The Steelheads also have two excellent young netminders. Ryerson Leenders picked up the win against London in their last meeting, and he’ll be heading to the CHL Top Prospects game later this month. Jack Ivankovic was the first goalie selected in the most recent OHL draft and has a 6-2-2-0 record during his rookie season.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Guelph’s Jett Luchanko has picked up right where he left off before the Christmas break, notching a goal and six points in three games last weekend. He had 17 points in 12 games during the month of December, and he leads the OHL with 19 powerplay assists.

Ilderton’s Matthew Jenken scored his second of the season for the Flint Firebirds. The goal came against London, when he was facing off against his younger brother, Noah Jenken.

It was quite the month for Dorchester’s Marcus Vandenberg. He was the OHL Goaltender of the Month for December after posting a 6-2-1-1 record. He also found a new home in Sudbury after the Wolves acquired him from Niagara.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

4 - Max McCue has scored the game winning goal in four of London's last eight victories.

13 - London scored three shorthanded goals in a game against Sarnia last week, which gives them an OHL-best 13 shorthanded goals this season.

34.8 - The Knights’ powerplay seems to get better by the week, and they now lead the OHL with a 34.8% efficiency with the man advantage.

18 - Goaltender Michael Simpson leads the OHL with 18 wins.

AROUND THE OHL

Deni Goure set an Owen Sound Attack franchise record with an eight-point night, scoring three goals and adding five assists in Owen Sound’s 10-2 win over Niagara on Dec. 28.

The Owen Sound attack acquired a pair of OHL champions from the Peterborough Petes, adding Konnor Smith and Sam McCue. In return, the Petes received Martin Matejicek, Nico Addy and a third-round pick.

The OHL trade deadline is a week away, as all trades must be processed by the league by noon on Jan. 10. The final day to move overage players is Jan. 9.

Sudbury’s Nick DeAngelis and Kitchener’s Hunter Brzustewicz have been very active from the blueline this season. At 17 games and 14 games, respectively, the defenseman own the OHL’s longest active point streaks.

In the OHL Power Rankings, the top five is dominated by the Western Conference: Saginaw, Sault Ste. Marie, Kitchener, London, and Guelph.