The London Knights stretched their winning streak to 13 games by doubling the Rangers 4-2 in Kitchener on Jan. 19 in the first of back-to-back games between the top two teams in the OHL standings.
The victory moved the Knights to within one point of the Rangers for first place overall with two games in hand.
Easton Cowan scored twice including a breakaway goal into an empty net that salted things away in the final minutes.
Down 2-0 in the second period the London found themselves in a place they have not been often during their current winning streak.
Matt Andonovski and Cameron Mercer had each scored their fifth goals of the season in the first two minutes and 36 seconds of period two to get the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium rocking.
An Andonovski wrist shot from the left point found its way into the top corner of the Knight net just 30 seconds after the opening faceoff and then Kitchener hemmed London in their own zone and Cameron Mercer took advantage and the Rangers led 2-0.
London got their first goal of the game at the 12:01 mark of the middle period when Isaiah George kept a puck alive at the left point and got it to to Kaleb Lawrence who found Kasper Halttunen for his 22nd goal to cut the Rangers lead to 2-1. The goal extended
Before the buzzer, the Knights tied it while killing a penalty as Jacob Julien knocked down a puck with his glove at the Rangers blue line and touched it with his stick before shovelling a pass to Cowan. The Maple Leafs prospect worked the puck down to Sam O’Reilly, and from behind the net he got the puck out front and Cowan took two cracks at it before putting the puck off the post and in to send the game to the third period, tied 2-2.
Penalties by the Rangers early in the third period gave London a two-man advantage and they made good as Julien smacked a puck that was knocked down in front of the net behind Kitchener goalie Jackson Parsons for the eventual game-winner.
With Parsons on the bench, Max McCue broke up a Ranger rush in the Knights end and flipped the puck ahead to a streaking Cowan who deposited the puck into the empty net to close the scoring.
Michael Simpson earned his league-leading 23rd victory of the year and made several big saves throughout the game. Seven of them came against the OHL’s leading goal-getter Carson Rehkopf.
London outshot Kitchener 37-25.
Bonk named OHL Player of the Week
Knights defenceman Oliver Bonk racked up five goals and six assists for 11 points on his way to being named the Ontario Hockey League’s Player of the Week.
Bonk has returned from the World Junior Hockey Championship and has played his best hockey of the season both offensively and defensively. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect sits third in overall scoring among defencemen in the OHL and has cashed in nine of his 12 goals this year on the power play.
London has now accounted for three of the past four players of the week. Ruslan Gazizov and Sam Dickinson have also been given the honour.
Dickinson named captain of Team Red for Top Prospects
Sam Dickinson and Sam O’Reilly of the Knights are getting set to play in the 2024 CHL Top Prospects game on Jan. 24 i.n Moncton, N.B. On Friday, Dickinson was named one of the captains for the event that brings together the top 40 eligible prospects for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft who are currently playing in the Canadian Hockey League.
Dickinson sits third in defenceman scoring in the OHL while O’Reilly leads all Ontario Hockey League rookies in scoring.
Up next
London and Kitchener meet again at 4 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 20 at Budweiser Gardens.
The first 1,500 fans at the game will receive a London Knights cowboy hat courtesy of Peavy Mart.
Coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m., on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.