Knights hit road for three looking to stay No. 1

Knight Watch: Three straight road games will challenge first-place London to hold onto lead over Saginaw; Bonk youngest D-Man to score 20. Dickinson next? Columnist Jake Jeffrey has the latest Knights news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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The London Knights are looking to bounce back after a midweek loss to Oshawa.

In just their second regulation loss since December, London dropped a 6-4 decision to the Generals Wednesday night at Bud Gardens.

“We came out pretty flat. Obviously, getting down there early in the first period wasn’t ideal," Knights defenseman Sam Dickinson told Gameday London. “It was nice to get those goals late and make it close, but it was too little too late for us.”

Dickinson had an assist Wednesday to extend his point streak to 11 games. He has three goals and 20 points over that stretch. The draft-eligible defenceman says he’s happy to be able to contribute offensively, but his personal numbers haven’t been his focus.

“I play defense for a reason,” Dickinson said. “Keeping the puck out of the net and playing defensively is priority number one for me. But anytime I’m able to jump in the rush and help create opportunities is obviously nice. When I can do that — when it’s not at the expense of giving up chances on our end, of course — I’ll definitely take advantage of those opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan extended his point streak to 27 games, setting a franchise record for longest point streak in the ‘modern’ internet era, dating back to the 1997-98 season. The all-time franchise mark is Dave Gilmore’s stretch of 33 straight games with a point during the 1993-94 season.

Denver Barkey had a four-point night against the Generals on Wednesday, scoring a pair of goals in the loss. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect has four goals and eight points over his last four games.

Oliver Bonk, another Flyers prospect, scored his 23rd goal of the season Wednesday. He’s the youngest defenseman in Knights history to hit the 20-goal mark, although Sam Dickinson sits at 17 on the season and would himself become the youngest if he can pot three more before the end of the season.

Trailing by three goals at two separate points in the game, London battled back and scored goals 33 seconds apart to make it a one-goal game. The Generals potted an empty netter just under a minute later, though, to restore a two-goal lead and prevent London from earning a fifth straight win.

The Knights faced some strong goaltending in Oshawa’s Jacob Oster, who made 37 stops, several on prime scoring chances. London scored its league-leading 69th powerplay goal of the season in the contest. The PP unit is operating at 30.8% this season, the second highest efficiency rate in the OHL.

The last time London traveled to Flint, they came away with a big 9-2 victory over the Firebirds. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

“There’s not a guy on this team that gets too worried after a loss like that,” said Dickinson. “Now, it’s about having a good bounceback this weekend and keep rolling.

“It’s a long season, so you can’t dwell on a loss. Having a good response Friday night is important to move on from the loss. So, we’re looking to get back to our winning ways." 

Londoner Michael Simpson, who earned OHL Goalie of the Week honours (Feb. 19-25) for the second time this season, sits at 29 wins, which leads the league. He’s also tops in goals-against average.

On Friday, the Knights will face the reigning OHL Player of the Week, Kitchener forward Carson Rehkopf, who had four goals and nine points over three games.

The Knights will be on the road for their next three games, beginning in Kitchener Friday. They’ll travel to Flint Saturday, and then hit the road again next Wednesday to take on Guelph. The Rangers have been playing much better hockey lately, although the Firebirds and Storm have both had their fair share of struggles.

The Knights have won each of their first four meetings against Guelph this season, outscoring the Storm 17-6 in those contests. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (March 1, 7:00pm) @ Kitchener Rangers (36-20-2-0, 4th in Western Conference)

The Rangers have righted the ship following a stretch of eight losses over a nine-game span. Kitchener was on a five-game winning streak up until a loss to the Soo last weekend. The Knights have pulled away atop the Midwest Division, opening up a 13-point edge over the Rangers, and a win Friday night would pretty much solidify another division title for the Knights. Carson Rehkopf is the reigning OHL Player of the Week, posting four goals and nine points over three games. He leads the OHL with 47 goals and is third with 84 points. Defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz leads the OHL with 69 assists, and Matthew Sop leads all overagers with 37 goals.

Saturday (March 2, 7:00pm) @ Flint Firebirds (24-28-3-1, 8th in Western Conference)

This is a potential first-round playoff preview, as the Firebirds are in a duel with Sarnia for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Firebirds do have a win over the Knights this season, but the only game in Flint was a 9-2 decision for the Knights in February, their most recent meeting. Ruslan Gazizov has feasted on the Firebirds this season, tallying four goals and nine points in three games. Sam Dickinson has two goals and seven points, and Jacob Julien has three goals and six points against Flint this season. For the Firebirds, Coulson Pitre has four goals and six points against the Knights. Oliver Peer leads the team with 31 goals and 65 points on the year. Ilderton’s Matthew Jenken has two goals and 16 points this season, and former London Junior Knight Matthew Wang just scored his third goal of the season.

Wednesday (March 6, 6:30pm) @ Guelph Storm (26-24-5-1, 6th in Western Conference)

This will be the second straight week the Knights will play a Wednesday game, and this time it’ll be in Guelph. The Storm had a very rough February, winning just one game last month and losing 11 of their last 12 games. That has allowed Owen Sound to leapfrog them in the conference standings. The Storm still sit in sixth, but Erie is just three points back heading into the weekend. Londoner Jett Luchanko leads Guelph with 61 points, and former Knight Brody Crane has 11 points in 15 games since joining the Storm. Rookie and former London Junior Knight Parker Snelgrove scored his first OHL goal the last time these two teams met. He has three assists over his last three games as he starts to get more responsibility during his freshman season.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Niagara IceDogs freshman Ryan Roobroeck has set a franchise record for goals from a first year player with 22.

Soo Greyhounds forward Jordan D’Intino has goals in six straight games. 

Ilderton’s Owen Van Steensel has extended his point streak to nine games. The North Bay Battalion forward has a career high 31 goals and 69 points this season.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

27 - At 27 games, Easton Cowan’s point streak is officially the second longest in Knights history, behind Dave Gilmore’s stretch of 33 games with a point during the 1993-94 season.

29 - Michael Simpson is one win away from 30 this season. He leads the league with 29, which is a career high for the Londoner.

17 - Denver Barkey (7), Easton Cowan (6) and Ruslan Gazizov (4) have combined for 17 shorthanded goals this season. To put that into perspective, 18 of the OHL’s 20 teams have scored fewer than 17 shorthanded markers this season.