Gameday in 5

A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (March 7-13) — for London’s teams and athletes.

Sean McGurn scored a late power play goal Sunday in Sarnia to snap the Knights’ four-game losing streak. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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London Knights

It was a tough week for the London Knights, who lost 3 of their 4 games. That included extending their season-long losing streak to four games before they snapped the skid on Sunday. The Knights started the week with a 4-2 loss to the Kitchener Rangers on Tuesday. Down 3-0 in the second, the London finally broke through thanks to Camaryn Baber’s 13th goal of the year. Liam Gilmartin brought the Knights to within a goal early in the third, but that’s as close as they would get, as the Rangers added a late empty-netter to secure the win.

Wednesday brought another Knights loss — this time an 8-3 drubbing at the hands of the Sarnia Sting. London found themselves down 3-0 again before Luke Evangelista got the team on the board halfway through the first with his 44th goal of the season. The Knights’ other goals came in the third period — Ruslan Gazizov with his 7th of the year, and Liam Gilmartin with his 14th.  

Saturday’s game was another one-sided loss, as the Knights dropped a 6-2 decision to the first-place Flint Firebirds. The game started off close, with the Firebirds leading just 1-0 after the first period. The Knights then tied the game seven seconds into the 2nd period thanks to Evangelista’s 45th of the year. But the Firebirds answered back in a big way, scoring five times before the Knights finally got one back (Landon Sim). But it was too little, too late for London.

Sunday brought the end to London’s losing streak. The Knights beat Sarnia 4-2, although it was by no means an easy victory. In fact, the team saw their 2-0 lead disappear in the 3rd period, and it took some late-game heroics by Sean McGurn to come out on the winning end. With the game knotted 2-2, McGurn scored a power play marker — the game winner — with 23 seconds left in the third. Camaryn Baber added an empty netter to secure the win. Backup goaltender Owen Willmore earned his first OHL win in the contest. Baber’s empty netter was his second of the game, while Kirill Steklov scored the Knights’ other goal.

Up next:

The Knights (33-17-2-0) will look to build off their first win in awhile with a very busy week — four games in seven days. Despite their recent slide, the Knights still have a 9-point lead over second-place Guelph in the Midwest Division. They’re tied for third, meanwhile, in the Western Conference overall (second based on winning percentage). The Knights will face last-place Saginaw twice, face off against Guelph in a key midweek game, and head to Sarnia for a rematch to close out the week.

Mon. March 14 (7:00pm vs. Saginaw Spirit)
Wed. March 16 (7:00pm @ Guelph Storm)
Fri. March 18 (7:30pm vs. Saginaw Spirit)
Sun. March 20 (2:05pm @ Sarnia Sting)

London Lightning

The Lightning continued their dominance, winning all three of their games last week to improve to a perfect 7-0 on the season so far. London got things started Wednesday with a 111-93 win over the visiting KW Titans. Chris Jones led the way with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Six Lightning players scored in double digits, including Amir Williams, who had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

On Saturday, London earned a big 117-92 win over the visiting Sudbury Five in the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Lightning played from behind for most of the first quarter before taking the lead late — and not looking back. Cameron Forte led the team in scoring with 22 points, while teammate Jermaine Haley Jr. had 20. The Lightning got strong performances off the bench from Williams (19 points) and Terry Thomas (11).

The Lightning made it a perfect week Sunday with their fifth straight home win — a 123-104 decision against the Windsor Express. Trailing 29-27 after one quarter of play, the Lightning outscored Windsor 38-22 in the second and ran away with the contest. Forte was the leading scorer for the second straight game, this time putting up a career-high 44 points while also grabbing 18 rebounds. Jaylen Tate had a strong game, posting a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists. Thomas was again strong off the bench, tallying 24 points.

Up next:

The Lightning will look to continue their dominance this week. They’ll play a rematch against the Five, and then play their second American opponent of the year, the Syracuse Stallions, on Sunday at Budweiser Gardens.

Thurs. March 17 (7:00pm @ Sudbury Five)
Sun. March 19 (7:00pm vs. Syracuse Stallions)

London Nationals

The Nationals had their second rough week in a row, losing both of their games. Wednesday’s contest was a close one, with the Nats falling 5-4 to the St. Marys Lincolns. The team got off to a fast start with Jeff Burridge scoring the ice breaker and Daniel Torrealba doubling the lead six minutes later. The Lincolns answered back, though, scoring in the final minute of the first and then adding two more in the second to take a 3-2 lead. Down 4-2 after an additional Lincolns goal, Jacob Julien and Burridge scored twice in two minutes to tie the game at 4. But the Lincolns scored the winner with two minutes left in the period to hand the Nationals the loss.

The Nationals were then dominated Saturday, losing 5-1 to the LaSalle Vipers. Down 3-0 in the second, Julien scored the Nats’ lone goal on the powerplay (assisted by Riley Wood). The Vipers added two more to close out the convincing win.

Up next:

With another losing week, the Nationals (27-9-2-1) have fallen to second in the Western conference, trailing the Leamington Flyers by a point heading into the week. London has a good chance to hold onto their position — or regain top spot — with matchups this week against the 9th-place Strathroy Rockets and 8th-place Sarnia Legionnaires. They’ll also have a chance to avenge Saturday's 5-1 loss with a rematch against the LaSalle Vipers on Sunday.

Wed. March 16 (7:00pm vs. Sarnia Legionnaires)
Sat. March 19 (7:30pm @ Strathroy Rockets)
Sun. March 20 (2:30pm @ LaSalle Vipers)