Calgary Flames prospect Jack Beck scored twice as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defeated the London Knights 5-4 at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
The Knights were without four of their top five scorers in the game. Easton Cowan, Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk were away at the start of Canada’s World Junior team selection camp and Kasper Halttunen missed the game as well. Halttunen could see his name on Finland’s roster for the upcoming World Junior tournament.
The first period featured a spurt of scoring that saw four goals go in over a span of just one minute and 29 seconds. Those goals came beginning at the 11:13 mark after London defenceman Isaiah George had opened the scoring with a goal that came only 19 seconds into the game.
Jack Beck of the ‘Hounds tied the game during a four-on-four situation to begin the mini goal avalanche just before the midway mark of the opening period.
Sault Ste. Marie defenceman Andrew Gibson tipped in a pass 34 seconds later to put the Greyhounds in front only to have London’s Sam O’Reilly set up Sam Dickinson for his seventh of the season 26 seconds later.
The game sat square for all of 29 seconds. That’s when Matthew Virgilio grabbed a loose puck out of a pile and wristed it home to give the Sault 3-2 advantage going into the second period.
Max McCue tied the game in the second period on a power play as he banged in the puck at the right side of the net at the 6:55 mark. McCue now has three goals in three games.
Beck’s second of the afternoon made it 4-3 for the Greyhounds at 16:21 of the second period. The play was reviewed for a possible offside and ruled a good goal and they game headed into the final 20 minutes with the Knights trailing by one. There appeared to be a freeze frame of the play that showed white ice between Beck’s skate and the blue line before the puck entered the zone but officials apparently did not have access to that particular angle.
Londoner Bryce McConnell-Barker scored his 12th of the year at 10:45 of the third period. As he released the shot he was hit by Knights forward Sawyer Boulton and Boulton was assessed a five minute major penalty for a check to the head.
The Knights were able to kill off the penalty and then with the net empty Dickinson got a shot off that was tipped in by Landon Sim for his second goal in as many games but that is as close as London would get.
Jacob Julien stretched his point streak to four games with an assist. The Londoner and Winnipeg Jets prospect has 23 points in his past 12 games.
Shots were 26-26 on the afternoon.
Camp underway for Canada
Team Canada’s World Junior selection camp got started on Sunday, Dec. 10 and will run through to Dec. 13. Oliver Bonk, Denver Barkey and Easton Cowan of the London Knights are part of a 30-player roster trying to earn a spot on a team that will head for Gothenburg, Sweden and the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Canada will play exhibition games against a U Sports All-star squad on Dec. 12 and Dec. 13. Former Knight Daulton Duhart is part of the U Sports team and it is coached by another former London player in Brett Gibson. Knights forward Kasper Halttunen is a good bet to be named to Team Finland’s selection camp roster when it is announced.
Kane has his first for Red Wings
Patrick Kane will remember his first two games with the Detroit Red Wings but probably not for the reasons he had hoped. The San Jose Sharks erased a 4-0 deficit with four second period goals and then came back from down 5-4 to win 6-5 in overtime on Dec.7.
Two nights later Kane scored his first goal in a Detroit uniform but the Red Wings surrendered five goals the other way in a 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, Kane’s goal was the 452nd of his National Hockey League career.
Up next
The Knights will visit the Windsor Spitfires on Thursday, Dec. 14 and then return home for a game at Budweiser Gardens against the Owen Sound Attack on Dec. 15.
The first meeting between London and Windsor was a wild 10-7 win by the Knights in early November.
London is 2-0 against the Attack this year. Both games have been decided by a single goal.
Coverage will start at 6:30 p.m., for both games on 980 CFPL, at http://www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.