Knights repeat as OHL champs

In front of the home crowd Thursday, the London Knights finished off the Oshawa Generals in Game 5 to win their second straight OHL title — and earn a trip back to the Memorial Cup.

(Photo: Jake Jeffrey).

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The London Knights are OHL champions for the second straight season.

In front of a packed house at Canada Life Place, the Knights defeated the Oshawa Generals 5-2 Thursday to take the championship series in five games, winning the franchise’s sixth J. Ross Robertson Cup and beating the Generals in back-to-back seasons.

And everyone got to enjoy it, including captain Denver Barkey, who returned to the lineup following a seven-game absence with a lower body injury.

“I was super excited to get another chance to play in this rink, in front of these fans. It's a special place to play,” Barkey told Gameday London. “We've worked for this all year. We came in ready, and we really wanted to win tonight.”

After posting hat tricks in Games 3 and 4, Kasper Halttunen had two more goals Thursday en route to winning the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP.

“I was getting more confident as the series went on, and playing with the guys I was, any of them could have won this award,” Halttunen said. “I just tried to be in the right place for them to find me.”

The Finnish forward finished the playoffs with 15 goals — nine of which came against Oshawa in the finals. He had 17 goals last year when he set a record for playoff goals from an import player.

Dale Hunter, who’s been behind the bench for all six of London’s league championships, says the team wanted to finish things on home ice.

“We’ve won a few championships in other rinks, but doing it in front of our fans was the goal. They’re the best fans in the league, the guys were really pushing to win it tonight.”

Kasper Halttunen, who had 15 goals in the playoffs — including two in Thursday’s clinching win — was named Wayne Gretzky Trophy winner as OHL Finals MVP. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

After dropping Game 1 of the series, the Knights rallied for four straight wins to finish with a 16-1 playoff record. Hunter credits the leadership group for rallying after the series opener.

“They spoke up after Game 1, saying we were better than that,” he said. “And we responded. There was no panic in this group.”

The Knights are the first team to win back-to-back championships since they last did so in 2012 and 2013. That’s also the last time they were able to celebrate their victory on home ice.

One of the key catalysts of the playoff run was Sam Dickinson. After putting up 91 points during the regular season, he added 31 more in 17 playoff games.

“We never lost faith in each other,” he said. “We came into every game with confidence, knowing that if we played our game, we would get to this point.”

Austin Elliott made 32 saves in the win, 18 of which came in the third period. With a 16-1 record in the playoffs, Elliott improved to an impressive 48-2 overall record against OHL teams this season.

Up by one goal late with Oshawa pressing for an equalizer, Landon Sim scored to help London re-gain a two-goal lead to give them some breathing room in the game’s final minutes. Sim, who played 271 games as a Knight between regular season and playoffs during his five-year OHL career, says it was the perfect way to end his last game at Canada Life Place.

“Back when I was 16, I never really thought my last game in this rink we’d be hoisting the OHL championship. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

Easton Cowan made a strong case for playoff MVP (he would have become the first player to win the award more than once). The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect led all scorers in the postseason with 39 points, five more than he had last year.

After the celebration, the Knights will head to Rimouski next Wednesday to play in the franchise’s sixth Memorial Cup. They won the tournament in 2005 and 2016, and they’re now looking to bring back the trophy in 2025.