A straight dozen, Knights look for more

Knight Watch: London opens busy weekend on impressive 12-game win streak; Return of Halttunen gives Knights depth — and healthy competition; It’s Owen Sound, Saginaw and Ottawa this weekend …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

A big midweek victory over the league-leading Kitchener Rangers extended London’s winning streak to a dozen games. And with a late empty net goal, Easton Cowan extended his own streak, a regular season point streak, to 52 games. It was the second time in the last four games that Cowan was held pointless until the game’s final minute, where he was able to extend his streak with an empty net goal.

The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect says he’s not overly focused on it — even if he’s still pointless heading into the final moments of a game.

“When you think about it too much, that’s when it doesn’t happen for you,” Cowan told Gameday London. “I’ve just been trying to go out there and play and take advantage of my chances.”

Thanks to his teammates, the forward says, those chances have been coming fairly frequently.

“Obviously, it’s pretty cool, but the guys I’m playing with are making it easy for me,” he said. “We’re hot right now as a team, and we’re moving the puck well. They’re giving me a lot of chances.”

Kasper Halttunen made his season debut in Guelph on Saturday, picking up an assist in a 4-0 win over the Storm. It was a pleasant surprise for the hockey club, getting Halttunen back from the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate. 

Assistant Coach Rick Steadman says they’ve been fortunate to add a pair of quality players in Halttunen and Blake Montgomery.

“We know what Halttunen can do from last year, and Montgomery is just getting his feet wet in this league,” the coach said. “We’re excited to add both guys to the lineup. They’re both going to really help us.”

Halttunen tied for the OHL lead with 16 powerplay goals last season. He makes quite the addition to a powerplay that is already first in the league this year. It also makes for a crowded forward group with 17 players vying for a dozen positions up front. That depth will be helpful when several players depart to compete at the World Juniors.

Steadman says it also adds some healthy competition as guys battle for playing time. 

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

“I think competitiveness is a good thing — not only with other teams, but within yourself. I think when you have to battle for what you get, it means that much more,” the coach said.

“These guys are all hard workers, and I know they’ll be doing what they can to earn their opportunities.”

There has been a lot of focus on Cowan’s point streak, and rightfully so, but he’s not the only Knight enjoying a successful stretch. San Jose Sharks prospect Sam Dickinson has seven goals and 23 points during his current 11-game point streak (only 41 shy of Cowan’s 52 …).

Austin Elliott has certainly been enjoying his time in London. The Alberta native made 27 saves in the win over Guelph last Saturday, recording his first OHL shutout and improving to a perfect 7-0 in a Knights uniform. He’s created quite the goaltending tandem with Aleksei Medvedev, as the first-year netminder has the fourth-best goals against average, and fifth best save percentage, in the OHL.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Nov. 22, 7:00pm) vs. Owen Sound Attack (6-11-2-2, 4th in Midwest Division)

The Knights have gone to overtime three times this season — twice against Owen Sound. Sam O’Reilly and Easton Cowan were the overtime heroes in the previous meetings. Carter George was a big reason extra time was needed in both outings, as he faced 85 shots in the two games. The Los Angeles Kings prospect even scored a goal last week, adding some insurance with an empty netter against Peterborough. He made Attack history by becoming the first goaltender to score. Sam McCue and Landen Hookey lead the Attack with 19 points each. Former Knight Alec Leonard has a pair of assists since joining the Attack. After losing six straight games to wrap up October, the Attack have won three of their last six.

Saturday (Nov. 23, 7:05pm) @ Saginaw Spirit (12-8-1-0, 2nd in West Division)

The Knights have won 12 straight since losing to the Spirit on Oct. 18, and that includes a 4-1 win in Saginaw. Michael Misa leads the entire CHL with 23 goals this season, almost twice as many as Saginaw’s next highest goal scorer, Joey Willis, who has eight over his last three games. Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh has eight points over his last three games. He’s third among OHL defencemen with 23 points. Andrew Oke has started all but three games for the Spirit this season. The visiting team has won both previous meetings between these teams this season. Kristian Epperson has been a nice addition to the Spirit. He has 30 points through 20 games and was very impactful in Saginaw’s win over London. It could be a busy one for the referees, as the Spirit are the most penalized team in the OHL with 331 penalty minutes, followed by London’s 310 in second.

Sunday (Nov. 24, 4:00pm) vs. Ottawa 67s (8-7-2-2, 4th in East Division)

Henry Mews is coming off his first career hat trick last weekend and his second four-point game this season. The Calgary Flames prospect is second in the OHL with 12 powerplay assists. Blenheim’s Brady Stonehouse has a pair of goals since returning to the 67s from the Edmonton Oilers organization. Columbus prospect Luca Pinelli leads the team with 27 points, scoring 15 goals through 18 games this season. He finished with 48 goals and 82 points last year. Staying out of the penalty box will be priority number one for Ottawa, who boast the worst penalty kill in the OHL,  successfully killing off just 64.3% of their penalties. At 30.9%, London’s powerplay is the league’s most efficient. They’ve scored a league-best 26 goals with the man advantage this season.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

2 - Aleksei Medvedev picked up an assist in Tuesday’s win over Kitchener, his second of the season.

52 - For the second time in his last four games, Easton Cowan scored a last minute empty net goal to extend his regular season point streak to 52 games. If he keeps it up, he can tie Doug Gilmour’s record of 55 games Sunday against Ottawa (although, Cowan’s streak is over two seasons, while Gilmour’s happened during the same season).

4 - Cowan and Sam Dickinson are tied for the OHL lead with four game-winning goals each. London has won 16 games this season. That means half of their game winning goals have come from those two players.

14 - Denver Barkey has three points through two games against Owen Sound this season. He had 11 points over six contests against the Attack last year.

13 - The Knights are a perfect 13-0-0-0 when leading after two periods this season.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

- Beckham Edwards is the OHL Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. The Komoka product is tied for most points among OHL freshmen with 14, and he leads all first-year players with nine goals.

- Guelph Storm forward and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko had four goals and 10 points over his last four games before being shut out in a loss against London on Saturday.

- Brodie McConnell-Barker scored the overtime winner for the Soo Greyhounds in a 2-1 win over Windsor. The former London Junior Knight has four points in nine games this season.

- Windsor Spitfires defenceman Carter Hicks scored his first OHL goal in a win over North Bay last week.

AROUND THE OHL

- A pair of OHLers highlight the leadership group for the CHL-USA Top Prospects Challenge. Porter Martone from the Brampton Steelheads will wear the ‘C’ and Erie Otters defenceman Matthew Schaefer will serve as an assistant captain. London will host one of the two games next Tuesday, Nov. 26. Oshawa hosts the other on Wednesday.

- Los Angeles Kings prospect and former St. Marys Lincoln Carter George made Owen Sound Attack history, becoming the first goalie to score a goal in franchise history.

- Back-to-back hat tricks for Brantford’s Nick Lardis gives him 20 goals on the young campaign. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect has scored nine times over his last seven games.