Knight Watch: Road-tripping against the East

It’s three games in three nights — all vs. Eastern Conference opponents — for the Knights, who sit 3 points back of Windsor in the West; Barkey, Bonk skate with Top Prospects; And much more. Columnist Jake Jeffrey has the latest …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Last weekend certainly started out with a bang for the London Knights, as the team scored a season-high nine goals in a lopsided 9-1 victory over the Owen Sound Attack Friday night. (The Knights scored eight goals on three separate occasions last year, but they hadn’t scored nine since beating Flint 9-0 in November 2017).

Eight different Knights players found the back of the net in last Friday’s win, while Logan Mailloux had three assists and Oliver Bonk and Isaiah George both had a pair of helpers. George Diaco became London’s first 20-goal scorer this season, while Sean McGurn is not far behind with 18 (entering action Thursday night, Jan. 26).

The Knights were brought back to earth on Sunday, though, with a 5-2 loss to Kitchener, a team currently out of the playoff picture who they had beaten earlier in the week. Easton Cowan scored his 12th of the season in the loss, while Ruslan Gazizov notched his 15th. Kitchener was coming off a win over league-leading Ottawa, so they had the hot hand last weekend.

The Knights head east this weekend for a road trip through Peterborough, Ottawa, and Kingston. On top of the travel, it’ll be three games in three nights, with the league leading 67’s sandwiched right in the middle. This will be London’s first meeting with the Frontenacs. They were victorious over both Ottawa and Peterborough back in December.

Denver Barkey was named as an injury replacement at the NHL/CHL Top Prospects Game Wednesday, joining Knights teammate Oliver Bonk on the roster. Both are expected to rejoin the team Thursday night in Peterborough.

“It’s a true honour to be at this event with the best players across Canada,” Barkey told Gameday London on Wednesday. “It's been really busy since we landed in Vancouver, but it’s been a lot of fun getting to know the guys on a personal level, and I'm excited to play with them tonight.”

Barkey is third on the Knights with 37 points through 41 games. He had a goal and an assist in London’s win over Owen Sound, which snapped a season-high five-game pointless skid. During the on-ice testing Tuesday night at the Top Prospects showcase, Barkey led all skaters in the Weave Agility session with a time of 10.468 seconds.

Ethan MacKinnon returned to the lineup for the first time since late November, and he was eased back into the lineup after missing 16 games.

Denver Barkey, who has 37 points in 41 games with the Knights this season, was added to the roster and played in the NHL/CHL Top Prospects Game Wednesday night in Langley, BC. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Thursday (Jan. 26, 7:05pm) @ Peterborough Petes (23-17-1-2, 2nd in East)

The Petes have plenty of firepower. Tucker Robertson has 24 goals this season, while Connor Lockhart has 52 points. Add in World Junior goal medalist Owen Beck — and Brenna Othmann — and that makes a very dangerous offensive punch. Londoner Michael Simpson has had a breakout season with the Petes. He’s fifth in the OHL with 17 wins, and he leads the league with a .915 save percentage.

Friday (Jan. 27, 7:00pm) vs. Ottawa 67’s (31-9-1-1, 1st in East)

In their only meeting of the season, the Knights and 67’s played to a tight 0-0 game through 65 minutes before London edged Ottawa in a shootout. It was Brett Brochu’s second career shutout against Ottawa. He’s 3-0 against them in his career, so look for the veteran netminder to likely get the start Friday night. There are some new faces in Ottawa since the last time these two teams met, as Logan Morrison and Pavel Mintyukov came over to Ottawa at the deadline. Both are among the league leaders in points.

Saturday (Jan. 28, 7:00pm) vs. Kingston Frontenacs (21-20-1-1, 3rd in East) (Kingston plays Oshawa on Friday)

On paper, the Frontenacs are the weakest of the three teams London plays this weekend, but it’ll be their third game in as many days. And while Kingston may be in rebuild mode, they still sit in the thick of things in the Eastern conference. Ethan Miedema was the major piece in the Shane Wright deal with Windsor. He’s eligible for this year’s NHL draft and has 33 points this season. He’s yet to score with his new club, but he’s bound to break out. He had 11 goals with Windsor this season. Former Knight Ben Roger is one of the veteran anchors on Kingston’s blueline. Heading into this weekend, the Fronts have won four of their last six games, and Mason Vaccari is the reigning OHL Goaltender of the Week.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Londoner Charlie Robertson was the lone local to participate in this year’s CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. He has seven wins with the North Bay Battalion this season.

Dylan Roobroeck had a career-high four points, picking up a goal and three assists, in Oshawa’s 9-4 win over Windsor.

Zander Veccia has been making the most of more opportunity with Mississauga. He had five goals in two games last weekend, capped off by his first career hat trick against North Bay. He now has a dozen goals on the season.

Brett Harrison had a big five-point night, scoring three goals in Windsor’s win over Barrie last week. 

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

92 - Brett Brochu has made 92 saves against Ottawa in his career, posting a 3-0 record with two shutouts against the 67’s.

20 - Logan Mailloux has 12 goals this season. He’s looking to become the eighth Knights defensemen to reach the 20-goal mark.

9 - London’s nine goals against Owen Sound last Friday is the most the Knights have scored in a single game since an 11-2 win over Niagara in January 2017.

79 - Jackson Edward is the third most penalized player in the OHL, 11 minutes back of the league leader.

AROUND THE OHL

Windsor captain Matthew Maggio has five goals in his last four games. He leads the OHL with 34 tallies this season. In his last 17 games, he’s only failed to find the back of the net on three occasions.

The Saginaw Spirit have lost six straight games and now sit 10 points back of Windsor for top spot in the West Division. Sarnia has won back-to-back games and is just two points behind the Spirit.

The London Knights were an honourable mention in the week 16 installment of the CHL Top-10 rankings. Three OHL teams made the list: Ottawa (5th), Windsor (8th) and North Bay (9th).