Climbing uphill, even if it isn’t a steep incline, is never the easiest thing to do.
An early goal by the Greyhounds had the London Knights doing that for most of the game in an eventual 5-3 loss at Budweiser Gardens on Friday night.
London’s climb was made all the more taxing by the 32 pucks that were kicked, batted and knocked aside by Los Angeles Kings draft pick Matthew Vilalta who stood tall in the Sault Ste. Marie net.
The Knights fought back to tie the game three separate times, but could never find a way to tilt the landscape their way and a deflection by Joe Carroll of the ‘Hounds with under five minutes remaining found its way past London goalie Joseph Raaymakers to put the Sault ahead for a final time and an empty-netter with just over a minute left provided the insurance the Greyhounds needed for their second straight victory following an opening night loss to Saginaw.
The Knights are now 1-1 on the year.
The game marked the return of Raaymakers and Liam Foudy who were both with the Columbus Blue Jackets. It also saw the debut of Chicago Blackhawks prospect Adam Boqvist in a London uniform.
You can check out some of the things he is capable of below:
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How the goals were scored
The first period was all Coles.
Cole Mackay managed to pounce on a puck in tight near the end of an early Sault Ste. Marie powerplay to give the Greyhounds a 1-0 lead.
Cole Tymkin tied the game just under 10 minutes later as he took a feed from Billy Moskal that put him behind the ‘Hounds defence and popped a shot between Vilalta’s legs.
Before the end of the first, Cole Mackay was back at it, converting an Anthony Demeo feed for his second of the night to make it 2-1.
Tonio Stranges tied the game 6:18 into the second period with his first in the OHL.
Keeghan Howdeshell see-sawed things back for the Sault at 13:10 as he and Ryan Roth took a turnover down the ice. Roth fed Howdeshell and he picked up his first goal of the season and it was 3-2 after two periods.
Connor McMichael deflected an Alec Regula shot into the Greyhounds net just three-and-a-half minutes into the third period to tie the game for a third time and things remained that way until Carroll’s deflection at the other end of the ice at 15:40.
Morgan Frost was credited with the final goal into an empty net.
And then there were two
In very early September, 10 players on the London Knights roster went away to NHL training camps. Nearly a month later, only two remain in the National Hockey League. Alex Formenton is bidding to start a second straight season with the Ottawa Senators. Waiving Zack Smith opened up another spot at forward on the Sens and Formenton may get as many as nine games to show he can fill it. Evan Bouchard may get a similar audition into the regular season in Edmonton. The Oilers selected Bouchard 10th overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and he has played some serious pre-season minutes. Through three games, Bouchard was averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time, had a goal and two assists and maybe most impressively was a team-best plus-7. That ranked Bouchard tied for second among every NHL player who has played in at least one game.
Positive news about David Matsos
On Saturday, Sept. 22, Hamilton Bulldogs head coach David Matsos collapsed while on the bench with roughly 20 seconds remaining in a game in Barrie. Players threw gloves and sticks on the ice to get officials attention and stop the game. Hamilton trainer J.P. Laciak and eventually other emergency personnel came to the aid of Matsos and he was eventually taken to hospital where he underwent a number of tests. Matsos, a former Western Mustang player, was released from hospital and even spent time with the team this week. He was not behind the bench for the Bulldogs’ home opener, but continues to rest and recover. In a team statement this week, Matsos said, “I’m extremely grateful for the messages of support and encouragement both my family and I have received from our Bulldogs fans and people throughout our great hockey community.”
Next up for the Knights
London will play their first road game on Saturday, Sept. 29 in Flint, Mich. against the Flint Firebirds. The game will be Flint’s home opener. In their three seasons in mid-Michigan, the Firebirds are 3-0 in their first home game of the season. The franchise was sold and moved from Plymouth in time for the 2015-16 season. The Firebirds have had a tough start to the season, losing 6-2 to Kitchener, 12-1 to Erie and 4-1 to the Sarnia Sting. You will be able to hear the pre-game show and play-by-play beginning at 6:30 p.m. on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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