Knight Watch: Co-captains lead London into busy weekend

They’ve won six of nine after a rough start to the year, and they’ve named their leadership team — co-captains Sean McGurn and George Diaco. It’s a busy three-game weekend, and columnist Jake Jeffrey has all the latest news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Since dropping their first four games of the season, the Knights have won six of their last nine contests — and that includes a recent 4-1 win over the Midwest Division-leading Owen Sound Attack last Saturday.

Brett Brochu was in top form at the Bayshore. After allowing a goal on the second shot he faced, he shut the door on the next 29 shots to backstop London to the big road win, which improved their record to 6-6-1-0 entering action this weekend.

The Knights have also solidified their leadership group after starting the year without a captain. They have turned to a pair of overagers to lead, as George Diaco and Sean McGurn will handle the captaincy duties this season. No one on the roster has played more games with the Knights than McGurn, while Diaco, who was an OHL champ with the Hamilton Bulldogs last season, has 144 OHL games under his belt between the regular season and playoffs.

The last time the Knights had co-captains was in 2015-16 when Mitch Marner and Christian Dvorak helped lead London to a Memorial Cup Championship.

The newly named co-captains continued their point streaks last weekend. Diaco had four assists in the two games, giving him four goals and 11 points in his last six, while McGurn has two goals and seven assists over the same six-game stretch.

Defenceman Isaiah George has returned to the Knights lineup, and he finished with an assist and plus-2 in London’s win over Owen Sound Saturday. He had played just one game previously, as he’s been battling through an injury he suffered at training camp with the New York Islanders. 

As it currently stands, London sits in the final playoff spot, with Guelph and Kitchener on the outside looking in. There’s plenty of hockey left, of course, but it’s very unusual for those three teams to be at the bottom of the division. West Division teams like Saginaw and Sault Ste. Marie, meanwhile, have been punching above their weight, and Sarnia and Erie have also had impressive starts as the Western Conference looks to be crowded yet again. While London and Kitchener have both shown improvements during the last few weeks, the early season struggles have continued for the Storm, a team many expected to be much closer to the top of the conference.

Both Luca Testa and Sam Dickinson have been making the most of their time at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in British Columbia. Testa has a pair of goals in four games with Canada White, while Dickinson has a goal and an assist in five games with Canada Black. Preliminary round action wraps up Friday with the Gold and Bronze medal games set for Saturday. Both Testa and Dickinson are expected back in the Knights lineup next week.

Rookie Sam O’Reilly got his first taste of OHL action last weekend. A strong start with the London Nationals (13 goals and 30 points in 17 games) led to the call-up for the Knights’ 2nd round pick last spring. 

Sean McGurn, wearing the ‘A’ here, has been named co-captain for the Knights, alongside teammate George Diaco. McGurn has played more games in a Knights uniform than anyone on the roster. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Nov. 11, 7:00pm) vs. Barrie Colts (6-4-1-1, 3rd in Central)

The Colts have cooled off lately after winning five of their first seven games. In fact, they’ve won just once in their last five games. Strathroy’s Hunter Haight is off to a bit of a slow start this season with just a goal and six points in a dozen games. But the Minnesota Wild second rounder could be poised for a breakout game in front of family and friends at Budweiser Gardens.

Saturday (Nov. 12, 7:05pm) @ Windsor Spitfires (10-2-3-0, 1st in West)

This will be the Knights’ first matchup against the conference leaders, and the Spitfires have been tough to top. It took them 12 games into the season until they suffered their first regulation loss — even without star forward Wyatt Johnson, who is likely to remain with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. Matthew Maggio and Ryan Abraham lead the team in scoring, while former Knights goaltender Mathias Onuska has six wins in net. Rookie netminder Joey Costanzo has also been solid, while Alex Christopoulos is tied for the league lead with four game-winning goals.

Sunday (Nov. 13, 2:00pm) vs. Soo Greyhounds (5-5-3-2, 5th in West)

They don’t pack the same offensive punch as they did last year, but the Greyhounds certainly still compete. Goalie Charlie Schenkel had a 35-save shutout the last time the Hounds were in town. Captain and London native Bryce McConnell-Barker leads the team with seven goals and 15 points, but he’s the only player on the team currently at a point-per-game pace. The Greyhounds have a couple other local players on the roster in former London Jr. Knight Jordan D’Intino and Delaware’s Caleb Van De Ven.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

After a bit of a slow start offensively, Ilderton’s Owen Van Steensel has two goals and five points in his last four games with the North Bay Battalion.

The Ottawa 67’s have been hot — and so has Blenheim’s Brady Stonehouse, who has six goals and 13 points in his last 10 games for the OHL’s leading team.

Jett Luchanko has a pair of goals and an assist through five games for Canada Red at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in BC.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

6 - George Diaco has scored the second most powerplay play goals in the OHL with six.

5 - In the eight games since Logan Mailloux has been in the lineup, the Knights have won five contests. London also has 10 powerplay goals during the stretch, with Mailloux being a big reason for that.

55.5 - The Knights have been one of the OHL’s best faceoff teams, winning 55.5 per cent of their draws. Only Peterborough has been more successful. Sean McGurn and Denver Barkey have taken more than half of London’s draws, with both winning more than 60 per cent of their attempts.

AROUND THE OHL

Deni Gourde has continued his dominance. In his last nine games, he has eight goals and 17 points, and he helped Owen Sound get back on track against Sarnia following losses to Kitchener and London.

The Saginaw Spirit and Erie Otters keep winning. They currently sit third and fourth in the conference, respectively. Flint was looking like the top American team heading into the season, but they’re sitting just a couple points back in the crowded Western Conference through action Wednesday. All three American teams have made the playoffs only twice in the last decade, and only once since the Firebirds moved from Plymouth.

The Kitchener Rangers are once again wearing commemorative Remembrance Day jerseys — and once again, they are absolutely superb.