During the World Junior Hockey Championship, junior teams who see players leave for up to a month are supposed to do their best to survive.
With top-end producers who play all kinds of minutes in every key situation gone, life can get tough.
Somehow the London Knights, who are missing captain Robert Thomas, the speed and skill of Alex Formenton and the power and ability of Max Jones are making it through just fine.
Two rookies came through at key times on Monday as the Knights defeated the Sarnia Sting 4-1. London has swept the two-game set every year, dating back to 2013. The Knights had doubled up Sarnia 4-2 on Sunday after a pair of late goals from Cliff Pu.
Andrew Perrott scored the game winner on New Year’s Day and Dalton Duhart got his first ever Ontario Hockey League goal to put London ahead by two in the third period and relieve some pressure from a Sting team hungry to win.
The Knights improved to 5-1-1 with players away at World Juniors and handed Sarnia their fourth consecutive loss.
“The players were pretty jacked up after yesterday’s comeback win,” said London assistant coach Rick Steadman. “Today they just said, ‘we can beat these guys’ and they did the simple things. When we got chances in front, we seemed to be able to bury them. I thought our young guys came up big. It was a complete team game and it’s fun to win that way.”
Tyler Rollo had a goal and an assist and was named the game’s first star. Shane Collins chipped in two assists for London.
Jordan Kooy made his second start in goal for the Knights. London’s Joseph Raaymakers continues to rehab an injury suffered last week. Kooy made 31 saves for his third win of the year.
The victory moved the Knights into fourth place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of both Windsor and Saginaw. The win also allowed London to remain seven points back of the Kitchener Rangers for top spot in the Midwest Division. Kitchener got four goals from Florida Panthers’ prospect Adam Mascherin in a 5-4 overtime win over Peterborough.
How the goals were scored
The Sting opened the scoring on a power play at the 10:57 mark of the first period as Drake Rymsha banged a rebound past Jordan Kooy in front of the London net.
Just over two minutes later, London erased Sarnia’s lead as Alex Turko poked a puck free to Rollo just inside the Sting blue line. Rollo made a move to his left and snapped a wrist shot into the Sarnia net and tied the game 1-1.
In the second period, a Sarnia goal was disallowed due to a high stick that should have stopped play before the puck went into the net off a shot from the slot by Franco Sproviero. Minutes later, rookie Knights’ defenceman Andrew Perrott raced up the ice to create a 2-on-1 with Sam Miletic and then buried a pass from Miletic to put London ahead by a goal.
In the third period, a four-way passing play produced the first ever OHL goal for Dalton Duhart. Knights forward Josh Nelson slid a pass to Shane Collins who tapped the puck right to Tyler Rollo and the former Peterborough Pete found Duhart in front of the net. He deked left and lifted a puck over the glove of Fazio and London led 3-1.
Cole Tymkin completed the scoring when Collins found him alone in front. Tymkin dragged the puck across the crease and went to his backhand for his fourth goal of the season.
Series sweeps
The Knights have now swept the last five New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day games against Sarnia and hold a 23-6-2-1 record over the 32 games that the teams have played against each other to end one year and begin the next. The series began in 2002 with a 5-5 tie.
Raaymakers skates
Joseph Raaymakers left the game in Flint last Thursday with a lower body injury. He did not dress for either game against Sarnia but did skate on Monday. Knights assistant coach Dylan Hunter says Raaymakers is “day-to-day and taking it slowly.”
Monday’s Trades
The Kingston Frontenacs officially gave notice that they want to take a run at a championship in 2018 by acquiring two players who won one in 2017. Kingston sent Cody Morgan, four second round picks, a third round pick and a conditional third round pick to Windsor for defenceman Sean Day and forward Gabe Vilardi.
Vilardi is headed home to Kingston and was the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings.
Day is a draft pick of the New York Rangers and is currently playing in his fifth OHL season. He entered the league with the Mississauga Steelheads as a 15-year old in 2015 after being granted exceptional status. Both won the Memorial Cup with the Spitfires last May.
In an all-Eastern-Conference deal, the Mississauga Steelheads dealt Merrick Rippon, Shaw Boomhower and Jacob Cascagnette to Ottawa for Mathieu Foget and three draft picks.
Up next
The Knights go north where the forecast in Barrie, Sudbury and North Bay is expected to hover near -30 C without wind chill. London will take on the Colts on Thursday, the Wolves on Friday and the Battalion on Sunday afternoon. All games can be heard on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca or on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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