KNIGHTS BOUNCE BACK
Last week, the Knights were handed a loss on Tuesday’s game in overtime against the Guelph Storm but bounced back to win both of their weekend games by a score of 7-4.
On Tuesday, the London Knights organization held a Remembrance Day ceremony before puck drop to honour all the soldiers who fought for our country. Many thanks to the Guelph Storm and all the fans in attendance who joined us in remembering those we lost in the past and sending our deepest respect to those who continue to fight for our country today.
London opened the scoring on Tuesday with a goal by rookie Colton Smith on the power play. Set up by Antonio Stranges and Ruslan Gazizov, who made impressive dekes behind the net before passing it to Smith for the goal, the tally was the only one of the first period.
The Knights scored again in the middle frame through the efforts of Max McCue, who was assisted by Liam Gilmartin and Cody Morgan on the goal. However, Guelph stormed back with 3 goals in the second period to take the lead and put pressure on London to tie things up.
In the final frame, London managed to even up the score on the power play with Stranges’ first goal of the season since coming back from the Dallas Stars organization. His one timer from the middle of the circle managed to get the Knights into overtime, but the Storm weathered this one out to win the game.
On Friday, the Knights hosted the Soo Greyhounds for their first matchup against each other this season. London opened the scoring yet again, this time with Brody Crane’s first OHL career goal. In the second, the Knights added two more, one from Smith and one from Cody Morgan, before the Greyhounds managed to score one shorthanded. However, the Knights didn’t let that deter them, as they potted two more to finish off the middle frame: rookie Landon Sim scored his third goal of the season, and Max McCue tallied the eventual game winning goal.
Heading into the third, the Knights were leading by a score of 5-2. Though the Greyhounds managed to stage a weak comeback by adding two more goals, they eventually weren’t successful in their efforts as the Knights would add an insurance goal from Gilmartin, and an empty netter by McCue to finish off the game.
On Saturday afternoon, the Knights headed southbound to pay a visit to the Erie Otters. Hot hands from Crane meant that he opened the scoring again, this time combining with fellow rookies Denver Barkey and Easton Cowan for an all-rookie goal. Erie got one back, but Stranges managed to help London take the lead going into the first intermission off a pass from Morgan.
In the second, the Otters added three in a row before London was able to score with under 30 seconds left in the period. Barkey notched his second goal of the season with a one-timer from a behind the back pass from Crane.
The final frame saw the Knights re-energized, as they charged back to take the lead and eventually a very assertive win over the Otters. Midway through, Crane tied up the score to give the Knights some momentum to eke out the win. Morgan scored the eventual game-winner minutes later on a massive slap shot, with credits for the assists going to Stranges and defender Isaiah George. London piled on for an insurance goal by Stranges, and an empty netter by captain Luke Evangelista to complete a roaring comeback.
It was quite the thrilling week for the London Knights, who dropped one early in the week, and had a rollercoaster of a weekend that ended up in a pair of wins. They continue to sit atop the Midwest Division, the Western Conference, and the overall league with 23 points thus far.
The Knights’ next home game is this Friday, November 19th at 7:30PM at Budweiser Gardens, where they’ll face off against the Sarnia Sting. Tickets can be purchased over the phone at (519) 681-0800 ext. 1, in person at the Aluminum Associates London Knights Armoury, or online here: https://bit.ly/3yAZxc2
