Knights look to ride scoring momentum

Knight Watch: London is scoring at a high clip, particularly on the powerplay. Can they keep it up this weekend vs. Mississauga & Saginaw?; Gazizov, Halttunen riding hot streaks; Columnist Jake Jeffrey has the latest Knights news and notes …

Jacob Julien has heated up in a big way offensively, tallying 15 points (6 G, 9 A) in his last seven games. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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It was an up and down — and then back up again — kind of road trip for the London Knights last week, as they won two of three but were on both sides of separate lopsided blowouts. In total, they scored 17 goals over the three games (in three nights).

The trip started with a 6-3 win in North Bay last Thursday. Oliver Bonk and Ruslan Gazizov both had two goal efforts, while Jacob Julien produced four assists.

There wasn’t much for the Knights to cheer about the following night, Friday, as they got outclassed by Sudbury — to the tune of a 9-2 decision. But the tides turned — and quickly — for the Knights, as they bounced back in a big way in Barrie on Saturday, putting up a nine-spot themselves to defeat the Colts, 9-3.

“Obviously, we weren’t happy with how we played in Sudbury,” Knights defenseman Oliver Bonk told Gameday London. “I think it was really important how we bounced back and showed our resilience.”

Kasper Halttunen finally scored his first OHL hat trick. Five times this season the Finnish forward had scored a pair of goals, but that third one had eluded him up until Saturday night. Two of Halttunen’s goals came with the Knights on the man advantage, and he leads the league with 10 powerplay goals on the season.

Speaking of that red hot powerplay, London has scored 17 powerplay goals over their last nine games — and are now among the league leaders in that category.

A trio of forwards had strong road trips offensively, including Jacob Julien, who scored twice and picked up six assists over the three games. Gazizov had four goals and seven points, while Halttunen had three goals and six points.

Henry Brzustewicz scored his first OHL goal in Sudbury. He was also named this week the Midwest Division Academic player of the month for November.

With their last four games on the road, the Knights get set to play three of their next four on home ice. That is welcomed news for some players.

“Road trips are fun,” Bonk said, “but they can start to feel long after a while, so it’ll be good to get back home for a game.”

William Nicholl is eligible to return from his three-game suspension Friday night. In Nicholl’s absence, Evan Van Gorp made the road trip with the Knights last weekend and dressed for all three games. Sawyer Boulton will serve the final game of his two-game ban Friday night. He was given a five-minute major for a check to the head late in Friday’s lopsided loss to Sudbury.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Dec. 1, 7:00pm) vs. Mississauga Steelheads (14-8-1-0, 1st in Central Division)

The Steelheads are among the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and they have a good young core that could keep that pace up for years to come. Mississauga won 10 of 13 to start the season, but they have steadied since. Luke Misa leads the team with 33 points, while Porter Martone has a team-high 16 goals. Misa is eligible for this year’s NHL draft, while Martone won’t be selected until 2025. The Steeleheads also have two very good young goaltenders in 16-year-old Ryerson Leenders and 17-year-old Jack Ivankovic.

Saturday (Dec. 2, 7:05pm) @ Saginaw Spirit (14-8-0-1, 2nd in West Division)

The Spirit had their 10-game winning streak snapped this week. They are one of the top offensive teams around and boast the league’s top powerplay at 32.1%. Michael Misa and Zayne Parekh have seen their offense ramp up nicely in their sophomore seasons. Parekh has nine goals and 31 points, while Misa has 12 goals and 30 points. Vegas Golden Knights second rounder Matyas Sapovaliv has four goals and 12 points over his last four games. Strathroy’s Hunter Haight had his seven-game point streak snapped in Wednesday’s loss to the Soo.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Soo Greyhounds captain and New York Rangers prospect Bryce McConnell-Barker is on an 11-game point streak with 13 points over that stretch. It’s the third longest active point streak in the OHL.

Jordan D’Intino has four goals and seven points over his last four games. He scored a pair of shorthanded markers against Brantford on Friday, becoming the 12th Soo Greyhound to score twice in a single game this season.

Noah Nelson has two goals and four points over his last three games with the Brantford Bulldogs.

Oshawa Generals forward and New York Rangers prospect Dylan Roobroeck has points in six straight games and goals in each of his last three.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

16 - San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen has 16 points during his current 10-game point streak. That’s the fourth longest active point streak in the OHL.

7 - It was quite the road trip for Ruslan Gazizov, who had four goals and seven points during the Knights’ northern swing last weekend. He’s scored five goals over his last four games.

11 - With a pair of victories last weekend, Michael Simpson is third in the OHL with 11 wins.

KNIGHTS PROSPECT PIPELINE

In GOJHL action, Cohen Bidgood (7th round, 2023) had a career-high four-point game for the St. Marys Lincolns, scoring twice and adding a win over the London Nationals.

Evan Malkhassian (8th round, 2023) has seven goals and 18 points with the OJHL’s Toronto Jr. Canadiens. He’s currently committed to attend Harvard University.

AROUND THE OHL

Three OHL teams are in the CHL’s Top Ten Rankings; the Kitchener Rangers held steady in 4th, while the Saginaw Spirit are in 8th, and the Soo Greyhounds surged into the rankings at 9th overall.