Back home, Knights look to continue rolling

Knight Watch: London spreading out the scoring; Sim kicking things off; Dickinson continues to roll; Elliott earns Goaltender of the Week honours; It’s Erie at home Friday and Windsor on the road Sunday …

Austin Elliott is the reigning OHL Goaltender of the Week. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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After suffering their first regulation loss of 2025, the London Knights rattled off three straight wins in northern Ontario to round out a successful weekend.

The loss came in Kitchener last Tuesday, and it has helped move the Rangers within three points of London for the Midwest Division lead. The 5-2 defeat was London’s first regulation loss in more than a month. They won’t have to wait long to avenge it, though, as they’ll host the Rangers this coming Tuesday at Canada Life Place.

The Knights regrouped quickly and earned three tidy wins up north, scoring 16 goals (with nine different goal scorers contributing to the offence). Sam Dickinson continues to make his case as the OHL’s top defenceman. He scored in all three games. That gives him 20 goals and 58 points on the season — both career-highs for the San Jose Sharks prospect.

It was certainly a big week for Austin Elliot. He not only picked up his 19th and 20th consecutive wins as a London Knight, but he also officially committed to play for the Riverhawks at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell next season. For good measure, he was also named OHL Goaltender of the Week, backstopping the Knights to a pair of wins.

There’s just something about Landon Sim and strong starts. The overage forward opened the scoring in the Soo on Sunday, marking the ninth time he’s scored the game’s first goal this season. Further to that, there were three other occasions where he scored London’s first goal after the opponents opened the scoring.

Five London Knights prospects are taking part in the annual MacPherson Tournament this weekend. Jaxon Cover is playing for St. Andrews College, while Cohen Bidgood (St. Marys Lincolns), Caleb Mitchell (London Nationals), Brendan Gerber (Strathroy Rockets) and Logan Hawery (St. Thomas Stars) will play for a team comprised of young prospects playing in the GOJHL.

Landon Sim. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Jan. 31, 7:00pm) vs. Erie Otters (23-17-3-1, 4th in Western Conference)

There’s been a coaching shakeup in Erie following a team investigation. The club has parted ways with Stan Butler, who leads all active coaches with 1,716 games behind the bench. Assistant coaches Wes Wolfe and Ken Peroff handled coaching duties last weekend. An interim replacement has not yet been named. The turmoil comes amid Erie’s best season since 2017. The Otters have a very strong overage contingent in Sam Alfano, Pano Fimis and Martin Misiak. Alfano and Fimis are one-two in team scoring. Misiak potted the overtime winner in Owen Sound on Wednesday. Captain Carey Terrance (Anaheim Ducks) won a gold medal with USA at the World Junior Championships, and Malcom Spence could very likely be a first round pick in the upcoming NHL draft. Anytime he starts, Noah Erliden gives the Otters a chance to win. He’s already beaten London this season, although that was back in early October. This will be the second time the Fimis brothers, Andoni and Pano will play against each other. Andoni actually picked up his first OHL point in the Knights’ victory over the Otters, a nice little bragging right for the younger brother.

Sunday (Feb. 2, 7:00pm) @ Windsor Spitfires (33-20-2-1, 2nd in Western Conference)

London has put some distance between themselves and Windsor atop the Western Conference standings, but the Spits remain one of the top teams in the OHL. Windsor has two of the league’s top scorers and one of the best goalies — a pretty good combination to have. Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings) and Ilya Protas (Washington Capitals) will both likely reach 100 points and Greentree could challenge for 50 goals. Meanwhile, Joey Costanzo has been one of the top netminders all season (he’s second in the league in wins with 25). Protas has been on an absolute tear lately, tallying seven goals and 14 points over his last five contests. Jack Nesbitt is another player to keep an eye on, as he’s launched himself into first round discussions for the upcoming NHL draft. The big centre from Sarnia has 17 goals and 42 points this year.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

20 - Austin Elliott continued his impressive stretch, setting a CHL record with his 20th straight win.

3 - A trio of London Knights are among the OHL’s most efficient scorers. When it comes to shooting percentage, Landon Sim (25.6%) is third in the league, followed closely by Blake Montgomery (25%) and Evan Van Gorp (24.6%).

9 - Landon Sim leads the league with nine game-opening goals this season. And that doesn’t include the three other times he’s scored London’s first goal when the opponent scored first.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

- Ryan Roobroeck’s dominant sophomore season for the Niagara IceDogs continues. He has four goals and 11 points over his last five games.

- Jett Luchanko (Philadelphia Flyers) was named captain of the Guelph Storm. He has six goals and nine points in his last seven games.

- Brennan Faulkner has four points in his last two games for the Peterborough Petes. He had a career-high three-point game against Saginaw on Jan. 23.

- Matthew Souliere made his OHL debut with the Ottawa 67’s last week, and he scored his first goal in just his second game.

AROUND THE OHL

- The Erie Otters have parted ways with head coach Stan Butler. The team announced the move following what they called “an internal review of team policy.”

- The Kitchener Rangers and Soo Greyhounds went to a shootout and needed 15 rounds to decide things, with Kitchener eventually coming out on top. It ties for second longest shootout with 30 shooters.

- Sunday is yourTV’s annual Hockey Day in the OHL, which will feature three back-to-back-to-back games starting with Niagara and North Bay at 1pm. Kingston and Sarnia will follow at 4pm, and the day will be rounded out by a 7pm matchup between London and Windsor.

- There’s been another goalie goal in the OHL. In a victory over Flint last week, Soo Greyhounds netminder Nolan Lalonde (Columbus Blue Jackets) scored into the empty net to record the first goalie goal in Greyhounds history.