The London Jr. Knights are in rare territory.
Since a tournament win in December, they have been number one in the Minor Midget rankings for the 2017 OHL Cup, which takes place March 14 to 20 at the Scotiabank Pond in Toronto.
Top spot is normally reserved for a team from the GTHL like the Toronto Marlboros or the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. In fact, in the 14 years that the OHL Cup tournament has been held, no team from the Alliance has ever been crowned champion.
The London Jr. Knights have as good a chance as any team out of the Alliance has ever had.
The Jr. Knights posted a record of 44-5-3 during the regular season. They have been just as impressive in the playoffs, knocking off Sun County with three straight wins, then outscoring Cambridge 19-5 in a sweep of their semi-final series.
That left a two-week wait as the Kitchener Jr. Rangers and the Waterloo Wolves went as far as their 8-point series would go. They entered a deciding game on Tuesday tied at seven points apiece. In front of 1,500 spectators, Waterloo came out on top and earned the second berth in the Alliance final, opposite London.
“We usually play two games a week, so it has been a while,” says Benedetti, “but you can tell at practice that they are itching to go.”
The series against the Wolves begins on Friday night at 8 p.m. at Nichols Arena in London. Game 2 take place Sunday afternoon in Waterloo. After that, the series shifts back to London and the Western Fair Sports Centre on Monday at 8 p.m.
Both teams have qualified for the OHL Cup and they will be joined by the Alliance wild-card winner, who has had a much longer road after losing in the first round. Brantford, Windsor, Sun County and the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs are still left vying for that berth.
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