Knight Watch: Road warriors continue to climb standings

The Knights are 7-2 on the road; Sean McGurn’s point streak is at a dozen games; Logan Mailloux, a defenceman, leads team in shots. Columnist Jake Jeffrey has all the Knights news — and notes from around the OHL …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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A tough weekend of travel didn't prevent the Knights from pulling off two big wins on the road.

Following a 7-4 win in Flint last Saturday, the team made their way up to Sault Ste. Marie ahead of a Sunday matinee with the Greyhounds. After enduring a long and snowy drive, they didn't get to the Soo until after 4am, roughly 10 hours ahead of the 2:07 p.m. puck drop.

Brett Brochu was great in net Sunday — and he needed to be. The Knights were understandably a little sluggish to start, getting outshot 16-6 in the first period and 42-19 overall, but they still managed to leave town with a shootout victory.

Logan Mailloux saw his seven-game point streak come to an end Saturday in Flint, but he followed that up Sunday with his 7th goal of the season in regulation, and also scored in the shootout as well. Speaking of streaks, Oliver Bonk had an eight-game point streak going into Sunday’s contest. He wasn’t able to extend that streak, but he did pot the shootout winner. He leads all rookie defencemen with 15 points.

Denver Barkey is another player who has found a way to be more effective and consistent offensively. In recent action, he has two goals and eight points during his current six-game point streak.

London went 4-for-10 with the man advantage against Flint Saturday but were held off the scoreboard in Sunday’s win over the Greyhounds. That helps boost their season powerplay percentage to 26.6%, good for third in the OHL. In contrast to that, their five shorthanded goals against is tied for the most in the league.

The Knights continue their stretch of road games — in Kitchener and Oshawa — this weekend, their first matchup against either team this season. London is currently 7-2 away from Budweiser Gardens with a plus-11 goal differential. They are 4-5-1 on home ice, allowing five more goals than they've managed to score.

Denver Barkey, who’s riding a six-game point streak, is third on the Knights in scoring with 19 points so far this year. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Nov. 25, 7:30pm) @ Kitchener Rangers (8-11-0-0, 4th in Midwest)

It’s safe to say the Rangers have been streaky this season. They lost their first five games of the season and then followed that up with four straight wins. Since then, they lost two, won two, lost two, won two, and have now lost their last two. The Rangers are an older team but they’ve struggled at times this year. Meanwhile, the team just announced that goalie Jackson Parkson will miss the rest of the season with an injury, and forward Mitchell Martin will miss most of the year as well. Both players will surely be missed on the ice. Captain Francesco Pinelli leads the Rangers with 13 goals and 22 points, while Filip Mešár has also been dangerous with 14 points through a dozen games.

Sunday (Nov. 27, 6:05pm) @ Oshawa Generals (5-11-1-2, 5th in East)

As far as the Eastern Conference playoffs are concerned, the Generals are currently on the outside looking in. And with nine straight losses, they could already be looking to the future. Defenceman Lleyton Moore leads the team in scoring, and former Knight Stuart Rolofs has 14 points in 16 games. Calum Ritchie is a guy to keep an eye on ahead of this year’s NHL draft, while Londoner and Boston Bruins prospect Brett Harrison has returned to form and is likely someone contending teams have their eye on. Oshawa has just two home wins in 10 games this season (only Niagara has fewer victories on home ice).

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Marcus Vandenberg made 39 saves to help the Kitchener Rangers beat North Bay, 3-2, last Friday, including a big save in the game’s final seconds, earning him his first career OHL win.

Bryce McConnell-Barker’s consistency has been impressive considering the up-and-down start to the season for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He’s failed to find the scoresheet just twice in his last 16 games, scoring 11 goals and 21 points in that span. 

Brett Harrison has started to regain his scoring touch with the Oshawa Generals. The Boston Bruins prospect was dealing with an injury to start the season, and he had a bit of a slow start once he finally got into the lineup. A potential trade target, he had a two-goal game in last Sunday’s loss to Sarnia, and he’s recorded points in four of his last five games.

Former London Jr. Knight Liam Spencer has signed with the Mississauga Steelheads. Playing with the Under-18 Elgin-Middlesex Canucks and the GOJHL’s Strathroy Rockets this season, the Steelheads’ fourth round pick in 2022 has played three games with Mississauga as a callup. 

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

12 - Sean McGurn’s team-high point streak has reached a dozen games. He’s scored six goals and 21 points over that stretch.

39 - Brett Brochu was in top form Sunday, making 39 saves in London’s win over the Soo, his second win of the season where he’s faced more than 40 shots.

54 - Logan Mailloux leads the Knights in shots on goal and is the only Knight to register at least a single shot in every game he’s played this season. The defenceman is averaging 3.85 shots per game through 14 contests.

AROUND THE OHL

Mouthguard mayhem - The league ordered officials to issue 10-minute misconducts to any player not wearing their mouthguards properly — or at all. That resulted in 22 misconducts in a four-day span. Flint received a pair of those misconducts in London Friday, while the Knights’ George Diaco was also flagged for the violation. Connor Federkow was nabbed for the same infraction in the Soo Sunday. 

The Saginaw Spirit have thrown their name in the hat to host the 2024 Memorial Cup, joining Kingston, Niagara and Sault Ste. Marie as the four OHL teams bidding to host the tournament.

A rare win-win trade between Guelph and Sarnia: Sasha Pastujov has three goals and eight points in his first four games with the Sting, while Max Namestnikov has three goals and six points in a pair of games since joining the Storm.