With favourable schedule, can Knights move into first?

Knight Watch: London’s 3 games this week come against the 7th-, 8th- and 10th-place teams in the conference. Will Knights seize opportunity and overtake Windsor for top spot? This and much more from hockey columnist Jake Jeffrey …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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The Knights are closing in on top spot in the Western Conference with five straight victories. They were dominant in their wins over the OHL’s three American teams, outscoring Erie, Saginaw and Flint a combined 19-7, while firing 110 shots on goal in the process.

Logan Mailloux scored his first career hat trick in the win over Erie Saturday, capping it off with a ‘Michigan goal’ and giving him 17 goals on the campaign. That is third most among OHL blueliners (while his 10 powerplay goals are tied for first).

George Diaco and Sean McGurn worked their magic against Erie and Flint, as Diaco had a goal and five assists in those wins while McGurn had a whopping four goals and five assists. In Monday’s 9-5 win, Diaco completed the ol’ Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and his first OHL fight. Ruslan Gazizov also had a big game against Flint with a goal and six assists. Ethan MacKinnon, meanwhile, had a pair of assists against Saginaw, the first multi-point game of his OHL career.

Brett Brochu picked up a pair of wins last week, giving him 83 career OHL victories, all with the Knights. Entering action Wednesday night (Feb. 8), he is one win behind Gene Chiarello for second on the all-time franchise list. Michael Houser’s 93-win record is still within reach, although Brochu did leave Monday's game with an injury.

The veteran netminder is third in the OHL in wins (22), goals against average (2.59) and save percentage (0.910). Zach Bowen, arguably the hottest backup in the league, won his 10th straight game and made 16 saves in relief of Brochu in Monday’s win over Flint.

London will now face three Midwest rivals this week, with games against Kitchener (Wednesday) and Guelph (Saturday), as well as a rematch against Erie (Friday) — this time at home. The Knights enter action Feb. 8 just one point back of Windsor in the Western Conference standings (with a game in hand).

Both teams are riding winning streaks. The Spits have four straight victories — and have won 10 of their last 13. With games against the seventh-, eighth- and tenth-place teams in the conference, the Knights have a great opportunity to grab some much-needed points in the fight for top spot.

But this is junior hockey, after all, and Erie has beat London twice this year, while Guelph and Kitchener also both have wins against the Knights this season — the Rangers most recently as of a few weeks ago.

Brett Brochu’s status is something to keep an eye on, as he left Monday’s game with an injury (although he was able to finish the second period after suffering the injury early in the frame). London was up 6-2 at the time, so his removal may have been out of caution more than necessity.

Brochu is closing in on the all-time franchise win mark, but a healthy Brochu is the greater priority for the Knights — and integral to London’s playoff run this spring. Zach Bowen has been great when called upon, so the Knights are more than comfortable with him between the pipes.

A pair of former Knights are at the AHL All-Star Game, as both Luke Evangelista and Seth Griffith were invited to the event. Griffith is 30th on the Knights’ all-time points list with 231, while Evangelista tallied 174 points during his time in London (which included a lost season due to COVID-19).

Logan Mailloux, who notched his first career hat trick in London’s 5-1 win over Erie Saturday, enters action Wednesday (Feb. 8) tied for tops among OHL defensemen with 10 powerplay goals. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS (records heading into action Wed. Feb. 8)

Wednesday (Feb. 8, 7:00pm) vs. Kitchener Rangers (21-23-2-0, 4th in Midwest)

The Rangers topped London in their most recent meeting (5-2 in London on Jan. 22), and Kitchener is currently trying to hang onto the final playoff spot in the West. The Knights can move into first place with a win. Easton Cowan has three goals in the season series so far. Keep an eye out for the Francescos, Arcuri and Pinelli, who lead the team in scoring. Arcuri’s 33 goals are fourth most in the OHL, while Penelli has nine goals in his last 10 games. The Rangers have taken the second fewest penalties in the OHL this season. A good start is integral for Kitchener. They’ve trailed after the first period 15 times this season, coming back to win in just of those contests. Draft-eligible defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz has six points in his last three games.

Friday (Feb. 10, 7:00pm) vs. Erie Otters (16-26-1-4, 5th in Midwest) (Erie plays Saginaw on Wednesday)

London will be looking for a performance against Erie similar to their 5-1 win over the Otters last weekend. Logan Mailloux had a hat trick in that win, and he has five goals in four games against the Otters this season. Sean McGurn and George Diaco have combined for 17 points in the season series so far. For Erie, both Noah Sedore and Spencer Sova have three goals against London, while Noah Lalonde has played all five games in net. The Otters are currently seven points back of Kitchener for the final playoff spot. Former Knight Liam Gilmartin has 26 points on the season. He scored the game winner in Erie’s victory over London back in November.

Saturday (Feb. 11, 7:00pm) @ Guelph Storm (22-21-4-1, 3rd in Midwest) (Guelph plays Flint on Friday)

The Storm are an intriguing team. Despite trading away some of their top players, they’ve played pretty good hockey lately; in fact, they’re 9-3 since the trade deadline. Guelph has a solid core of 2004’s who are really finding their stride. Coming over from Sarnia, Max Namestnikov has 29 points in 27 games with the Storm. Matthew Poitras leads the team in points with 59. The Boston Bruins prospect is averaging just over an assist per game this season. Michael Buchinger, meanwhile, is one of just four OHL defensemen averaging more than a point per game. The Storm lead the league with 50 powerplay goals, so staying out of the box should be a priority for the Knights in this one.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Blenheim’s Brady Stonehouse has three goals in his last four games, giving him 27 on the season, which leads the Ottawa 67’s. 

Dylan Roobroeck has three goals in his last two games, helping the Oshawa Generals to a pair of wins over Peterborough and Erie.

Bryce McConnell-Barker has points in six straight for the Soo Greyhounds, leading the team with 59 points on the year.

Ilderton’s Owen Van Steensel recorded his second multi-point game of the season with a pair of assists in North Bay’s recent victory over Kingston.

Guelph Storm rookie Jett Luchanko was the Midwest Division Academic Player of the Month in January. The London Junior Knight grad was the 12th overall pick in last year’s OHL draft.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

27 - McGurn, Diaco and Ruslan Gazizov have combined for 27 points in the three games against Flint this season.

30 - A pair of London rookies are among the top 10 in freshmen scoring, as Oliver Bonk and Easton Cowen both have 30 points entering action Wednesday. Bonk is second among first-year blueliners.

7 - Gazizov had seven points against Flint Monday night, the most single-game total by any Knight this season.

2 - Logan Mailloux and Sean McGurn are the only two Knights with hat tricks this season, and they accomplished the feat in back-to-back games (against Erie and Flint).

AROUND THE OHL

Windsor captain Matthew Maggio is on a 12-game point streak with 12 goals and 28 points in his last dozen games. He leads the OHL in goals and points with 40 and 79, respectively.

Oshawa’s Jacob Oster leads the league with three shutouts, all of which were recorded in his last four games.

Peterborough had 66 shots on goal in their win over Niagara, the most by any team this season. IceDogs goalie Josh Rosenzweig made 61 saves in the loss.

The Sudbury Wolves officially retired Marc Staal’s number 14. He is a former captain and won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s top defenceman in 2007.

The Ottawa 67’s will play a pair of games against the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques this week. The 67’s will be playing their first couple of playoff games across the river at Gatineau’s Slush Puppie Centre while their home rink will be occupied by the World Men’s Curling Championship from April 1-9. They’ll return home for a potential game seven of the opening round — and for the rest of their postseason run.