Veteran Brett McKenzie scored on a power play 4:43 into overtime as the Owen Sound Attack defeated the London Knights 4-3 in Game 2 of their first-round series.
The Knights were called for too many men on the ice to give the Attack the chance with the man-advantage. They completed a comeback that had started to look very improbable and negated an incredible performance by London’s Alex Formenton. The King City native recorded a hat trick, scoring on a power play, short-handed and at even strength and made plays all over the ice in all situations to put his team in a position to win.
Formenton’s third goal was one for the highlight reel and came early in the second period as he went to the net on a partial break with a man all over him. He managed to one-hand the puck in à la Peter Forsberg to give the Knights a 3-2 lead that nearly held.
Joseph Raaymakers made some outstanding saves in a game that saw the Attack notch 47 shots at the London net. With the Owen Sound net empty, Alan Lyszczarczyk snuck a shot through traffic to tie things with just over 48 seconds remaining in the third period. That set the stage for McKenzie’s game-winner, which was set up by Londoner Nick Suzuki.
The victory gives the Attack a 2-0 series lead heading back to London on Monday.
How the goals were scored
Off the stick of Alex Formenton is a decent bet from a London Knights’ perspective. The Ottawa Senators draft pick had a pair of goals in Game 1 and followed that up with a pair of goals in the first period of Game 2. His first came on a power play at the 5:30 mark of the game.
After Aidan Dudas deflected a puck into the London net to tie the game, Formenton tapped in his fourth of the series on a give-and-go with Evan Bouchard to make it 2-1 London.
The Attack came back a second time as Nick Suzuki set up Brett McKenzie in the slot and the teams went to their dressing rooms tied 2-2 after 20 minutes.
Formenton’s fifth of the series was his fanciest, as he raced down the ice short-handed, deked and with one hand on his stick, deposited the puck into the Attack net for a 3-2 London advantage, just 1:03 into the second period.
For the next 38 minutes, the Knights held onto that lead. The game went into the final minute and Alan Lysczcarczyk got to a puck on the right side of the London end and flung a wrist shot into traffic. The puck found its way through cleanly to tie the game 3-3 and send it to overtime.
In overtime, London was called for too many men on the ice and Brett McKenzie scored the game winner at 4:43 of OT.
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Moskal firing
Knights’ centre Billy Moskal has become known for his abilities like winning face-offs, shutting down opposing players and a knack for going into large scrums along the boards and coming away from the puck. In Game 1 against the Attack, Moskal led London with six shots on goal.
Upset alerts?
One game really doesn’t account for much in a best-of-seven series, but the first game did not go as planned for three high seeds in this year’s OHL post-season.
Barrie vs Mississauga
On Thursday, the second-seeded Colts scored the first goal of the game against the Steelheads, but could not match Mississauga’s offense when it ignited in the second period, losing 6-2. Barrie is still without Andrei Svechnikov for another three games due to a late-season suspension. They will have had a long break to come up with a different approach before Game 3 on Monday.
Kingston vs North Bay
The Frontenacs loaded up at the trade deadline. They didn’t just mortgage their future, they sacrificed it. Kingston does not have a second round pick until 2026 and they have one third round pick between now and 2024. Add to that the loss of great young players like Nathan Dunkley, Sergey Popov and Cody Morgan, and they need to go on a big run this spring. The Frontenacs stumbled mightily out of the blocks on Friday with a 5-2 loss to the sixth-seeded North Bay Battalion. Kingston gave up 42 shots to a team not known for playing offensive hockey.
Sarnia vs Windsor
Elite goaltenders can make big differences in the playoffs. Michael DiPietro of the Spitfires is elite. He knows how to win and on Friday, he helped his team do that by making 43 saves and weathering late surge after late surge against the Sarnia Sting. Sarnia gave up six goals (one was an empty-netter) and needed to come back on Saturday to avoid dropping a second game at home.
DiPietro didn’t make it easy on them as he stopped 20 shots in the first period that helped the Spitfires lead 1-0 despite only three shots of their own. Sean Josling finally broke the ice behind DiPietro 14:56 into the second period and then Hugo Leufvenius scored just over two minutes later and then added a couple of empty netters to win 4-1 and tie their series.
Up next
The series shifts to London for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Thursday of next week. During the regular season, London went 2-0-1 against the Attack at Budweiser Gardens. The loss came in overtime at the end of an opening-season 1-8-1 stretch that saw Owen Sound head coach Todd Gill proclaim the Knights to be “just fine” despite the way their year began.
All games can be heard on 980 CFPL, at http://www.980cfpl.com and on the RadioPlayer Canada app.
Tickets to playoff games are on sale and can be purchased in person at the Knights Armouries off Talbot Street, by calling 519-681-0800 or by going to http://www.londonknights.com
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