Knights' Night: Knights rout Bulldogs to cap off winning weekend
A week ago, they were fighting
to stay above .500. Today, they’re
one win away from first place in the
OHL.
The London Knights are on cruise control in the Western Conference. They’ve won three straight games, and are showing no signs of slowing down.
And the issue of them not being able to score goals? That’s been put to rest, too.
In the last three contests, the team has scored 17 goals. In the other eight games they’ve played, 27.
The dominance began on Oct. 20, in a game that didn’t look good for the Knights until the last 50 seconds. After falling three goals down to the Kitchener Rangers early in the second period, Budweiser Gardens was as quiet as you’ll ever hear it on a Thursday night.
The fans would have something to cheer about soon enough, though. After a couple goals by J.J. Piccinich, and another from star Cliff Pu, the game was all evened up early into the third period.
After another Kitchener lead was erased by Robert Thomas, Victor Mete saved some theatrics for the last minute. Walking in from the right point, Mete ripped a wrist shot over the glove of Dawson Carty, giving the Knights their first lead of the game with less than a minute left. It held up as the game winner.
“We knew we needed to pick it up and come out stronger, or we weren’t going to win this game,” Mete said afterwards.
“Things like that happen, we just have to stay focused and do whatever we can to get the win.”
After the dramatic victory over rival Kitchener, the Knights were back in action less than 24 hours later, with last place Saginaw Spirit in town. Riding the momentum from the previous night, the Knights took it to the Spirit, never faltering in a 5-1 win. They were up 3-0 less than halfway into the game.
Max Jones, who will be relied on this year for offense, had two goals and two helpers to go with it. He’s now moved into the top 20 in league scoring, along with Cliff Pu, both with 15 points.
On Oct. 23, the Knights finished off a busy weekend with a trip to the Hammer to play the Bulldogs. In the third game in a row for the Bulldogs, it was clear from the drop of the puck that there wasn’t much left in the tank.
London scored 32 seconds into the game and never looked back, crushing the Dogs 7-2 at FirstOntario Centre. This game had five goals before the second period was halfway done.
Janne Kuokkanen led the way for the Knights, potting two goals and an assist, while Cliff Pu had a goal and an assist of his own. Starting goaltender Tyler Parsons got the night off; Tyler Johnson was solid in net for the Knights.
The trio of weekend wins puts London two points away from first place in the OHL, with at least a game in hand on the teams a point ahead of them: Sarnia, Erie, Kitchener and Sault Ste. Marie.
They welcome the Soo Greyhounds to Budweiser Gardens on Oct. 28.
The weekend was great statistically, but also showed that the Knights can play without the likes of Mitch Marner, Christian Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk. More importantly, they can score.
Goals are coming in buckets for London, which is what they need to be successful in the high scoring OHL.
This is a team that can win games in bunches, but consistency will be a factor moving forward. If they can keep the momentum going, this will be a dangerous team come playoff time.
The London Knights are on cruise control in the Western Conference. They’ve won three straight games, and are showing no signs of slowing down.
And the issue of them not being able to score goals? That’s been put to rest, too.
In the last three contests, the team has scored 17 goals. In the other eight games they’ve played, 27.
The dominance began on Oct. 20, in a game that didn’t look good for the Knights until the last 50 seconds. After falling three goals down to the Kitchener Rangers early in the second period, Budweiser Gardens was as quiet as you’ll ever hear it on a Thursday night.
The fans would have something to cheer about soon enough, though. After a couple goals by J.J. Piccinich, and another from star Cliff Pu, the game was all evened up early into the third period.
After another Kitchener lead was erased by Robert Thomas, Victor Mete saved some theatrics for the last minute. Walking in from the right point, Mete ripped a wrist shot over the glove of Dawson Carty, giving the Knights their first lead of the game with less than a minute left. It held up as the game winner.
“We knew we needed to pick it up and come out stronger, or we weren’t going to win this game,” Mete said afterwards.
“Things like that happen, we just have to stay focused and do whatever we can to get the win.”
After the dramatic victory over rival Kitchener, the Knights were back in action less than 24 hours later, with last place Saginaw Spirit in town. Riding the momentum from the previous night, the Knights took it to the Spirit, never faltering in a 5-1 win. They were up 3-0 less than halfway into the game.
Max Jones, who will be relied on this year for offense, had two goals and two helpers to go with it. He’s now moved into the top 20 in league scoring, along with Cliff Pu, both with 15 points.
On Oct. 23, the Knights finished off a busy weekend with a trip to the Hammer to play the Bulldogs. In the third game in a row for the Bulldogs, it was clear from the drop of the puck that there wasn’t much left in the tank.
London scored 32 seconds into the game and never looked back, crushing the Dogs 7-2 at FirstOntario Centre. This game had five goals before the second period was halfway done.
Janne Kuokkanen led the way for the Knights, potting two goals and an assist, while Cliff Pu had a goal and an assist of his own. Starting goaltender Tyler Parsons got the night off; Tyler Johnson was solid in net for the Knights.
The trio of weekend wins puts London two points away from first place in the OHL, with at least a game in hand on the teams a point ahead of them: Sarnia, Erie, Kitchener and Sault Ste. Marie.
They welcome the Soo Greyhounds to Budweiser Gardens on Oct. 28.
The weekend was great statistically, but also showed that the Knights can play without the likes of Mitch Marner, Christian Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk. More importantly, they can score.
Goals are coming in buckets for London, which is what they need to be successful in the high scoring OHL.
This is a team that can win games in bunches, but consistency will be a factor moving forward. If they can keep the momentum going, this will be a dangerous team come playoff time.
