Knights-Spirit battle in Western Conference Final

The London Knights (1) and Saginaw Spirit (2) are the two teams still standing in the West. They’ll play for a chance to advance to the OHL Final. What should we expect? Our hockey columnist, Jake Jeffrey, breaks it down …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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A perfect 8-0 this postseason, the London Knights now play in their second straight Western Conference Championship.

This time, it’s the Memorial Cup-host Saginaw Spirit that stands in the Knights’ way of a repeat trip to the OHL Final.

After a sweep of Kitchener in Round 2, the Knights had more than a week off before the opener of the Western Conference Final Friday (Apr. 26) at Bud Gardens. The Spirit, meanwhile, had just three days in between their Game 7 win over the Soo Greyhounds and the opener of this third-round series.

This is Saginaw’s second trip to the conference final in franchise history. Their only other appearance was in 2019 when they fell to the Guelph Storm in seven games.

This one features a matchup of two 50-win teams that split the season series against each other — with the home teams coming out on top in all four games. The two squads met just once post-trade deadline, with London earning a convincing 6-1 win. That game was one of Saginaw’s first with their new additions, though, so they should be more of a well-oiled machine now than they were in mid-January.

The Spirit get a ton of offence from their back end. Two of their top four scorers during the regular season, in fact, are defencemen. Draft-eligible blueliner Zayne Parekh had 33 goals and 96 points, while Rodwin Dionicio had 25 goals and 73 points.

In the playoffs, Saginaw’s offence has come by committee. Owen Beck, who won an OHL championship with Peterborough last season (and whom the Knights know well), leads the team in playoff scoring with 10 points.

The Spirit don’t have anyone else at a point-per-game pace through the first two rounds, although they have eight players who have scored three or more goals. Calem Mangone leads the troops with five goals, three of which have been game winners.

The Knights and Spirit split the four games, 2-2, against each other during the 2023-24 regular season. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

Reigning OHL Player of the Week Jacob Julien took over London’s offence in the second round. The Winnipeg Jets prospect produced back-to-back hat tricks in Games 3 and 4 to help close out the Knights’ sweep of Kitchener. Jackson Edward also had a big series, with a goal and six points, while Isaiah George has continued to fly under the radar. He’s been contributing offensively — with three goals and six points — and defensively, posting a plus-10 rating.

In net, Ander Oke and Nolan Lalonde have split the duties for Saginaw so far, although Oke’s numbers have been much better, with a 1.83 goals-against average and .938 save percentage. Oke was hurt in Game 2 against the Greyhounds, so it has been Lalonde’s crease in the meantime. The latter made some pivotal saves to help secure the series win over the Soo.

Both teams have been dealing with suspensions. London’s Sam O’Reilly returned to the lineup in London’s Game 4 against Kitchener, although Kaleb Lawrence will miss the first four games against Saginaw. Spirit defenceman James Guo has been suspended indefinitely by the OHL. His return has yet to be determined by the league.

This is the fourth time that Saginaw and London have met in the postseason, with the Knights coming out on top on three of those occasions (2013, 2012, and 2009). London would go on to win the OHL championship in 2012 and 2013.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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OHL Playoffs: Western Conference Final — London Knights (1) vs. Saginaw Spirit (2)

Game 1: Fri. Apr. 26 — London 3 vs. Saginaw 1
Game 2: Sun. Apr. 28 — London 3 vs. Saginaw 1
Game 3: Mon. Apr. 29 — London 2 @ Saginaw 6
Game 4: Wed. May 1 — London 7 @ Saginaw 3
Game 5: Fri. May 3 (7:00pm @ London)
Game 6: Sun. May 5 (2:00pm @ Saginaw) (If necessary)*
Game 7: Mon. May 6 (7:00pm @ London) (If necessary)*

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Forward Dylan Roobroeck leads all players in postseason scoring with 16 points through 10 games, and he helped the first-place Oshawa Generals in the East to a four-game sweep over Ottawa.

Building on his 41-goal regular season, Owen Van Steensel has kept up the hot hand with the North Bay Battalion. The Ilderton product has four goals and 13 points through nine playoff games with the Battalion. 

Strathroy’s Hunter Haight has four goals for the Saginaw Spirit. The Minnesota Wild prospect is a big part of the Spirit offence.

Former London Junior Knight Jett Luchanko is representing Canada at the Under-18 Men’s World Hockey Championship. The draft-eligible forward led the Guelph Storm with 74 points this season.

Former Elgin Middlesex Canuck captain Parker Vaughan has signed with the Barrie Colts. He was the fifth overall pick in the most recent OHL draft.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

6 - In Games 3 and 4 against Kitchener, six of London’s 10 goals were scored by Winnipeg Jets prospect Jacob Julien.

7 - After getting held off the scoresheet in Game 1, Kasper Halttunen had three goals and seven points in the final three games against Kitchener.

6 - The Knights have six players with at least a point per game through the first two rounds.

AROUND THE OHL - PLAYOFFS

Eastern Conference

Oshawa (1) vs North Bay (2)

Top two teams in the East face off with a trip to the OHL Championship on the line. This is the third straight trip to the conference final for North Bay, while it’s the first for Oshawa since 2019. Recently named OHL Goaltender of the Year, Jacob Oster, has been fantastic in net, while Battalion backup Mike McIver has handled the workload well since Dom DiVincentiis went down. I give the Generals the advantage when it comes to depth, but that top line of North Bay has been nearly unstoppable. Oshawa will benefit from a short series, but the longer it goes the more I think the Battalion will pull through. I'm thinking it’s third time the charm for North Bay and they get through to the OHL final.

Western Conference

London (1) vs Saginaw (2)

Similar to the East, the top two teams remain in the West. London is coming off a sweep while Saginaw went the distance against Sault Ste. Marie. The Knights will be the fresher of the two, but look for the Spirit to carry that momentum from a big Game 7 win. This will be London’s toughest test in the playoffs so far. I think this one goes seven games, with the edge going to an experienced London squad.