When you put in the effort to get something done, any kind of reward can feel gratifying.
The London Knights didn’t get the two points they were after in Guelph on Sunday afternoon, but they managed to come back and earn a single point to wrap up three games in less than 48 hours, losing 3-2 to the Storm in overtime.
Liam Foudy scored both London goals, and Joseph Raaymakers made 43 saves in goal for the Knights to hold the fort all day.
“He was amazing. He went in and he battled,” said Knights assistant coach Rick Steadman. “After the first period, we probably didn’t deserve to win, and he gave us every chance, and by doing that we were able to get a point.”
Raaymakers made 18 stops in the first 20 minutes.
Still, Knights defenceman Andrew Perrott admitted, the team really felt they had a shot at winning the game.
“We hold ourselves to high expectations,” said Perrott. “We came out with three points on the weekend, but there were things we could have done better in all three games.”
Guelph outshot the Knights 46-26 overall on Sunday. The Knights were without three regular defencemen. Jacob Golden is out with an injury, and Alec Regula and Will Lochead both missed the game, serving suspensions for being assessed instigator penalties in the final five minutes of regulation on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Regula is eligible to return this Friday, Oct. 19 against Oshawa. Lochead will be back in the lineup on Saturday afternoon, when London hosts Kitchener at 3:30 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens.
How the goals were scored
Two first-period goals came on rebounds and had the teams tied 1-1 at the end of 20 minutes.
Foudy put London ahead at the five-minute mark as he banged in a rebound from Knights forward Billy Moskal for his fifth goal of the year and sixth point.
Just 2:18 later, Zach Poirier of the Storm popped a rebound past Raaymakers at the other end of the ice.
Raaymakers stood tall, with 18 saves in the first period and 11 more in the second.
The only puck to get by either goaltender in the second period came off the stick of San Jose Sharks prospect Ryan Merkley, who skated to the middle of the blue line from the left point in the London zone and slid a hard shot along the ice through a crowd and in to put the Storm ahead 2-1.
The Knights came to within a glove pass of tying the game in the third period, as Matvey Guskov put the puck into the Guelph net, but after a review, it was ruled that the puck had struck a London hand before Guskov knocked it into the net so the goal was disallowed.
Undeterred, the Knights kept pushing and caught a break when a Moskal pass hit a stick and deflected right to Foudy, who had an open side of the net to look at as he scored his sixth goal of the year, evening things up at 7:27 of the third period.
There were chances the rest of the way through regulation but no goals, and the teams headed to overtime.
Right before the end of the third period, Moskal’s stick came up and caught Domenic Commisso of the Storm in the face, and that gave Guelph a power play heading to OT.
The Storm converted 21 seconds in, as Merkley set up Nate Schnarr for his sixth goal and a 3-2 win for Guelph.
Tips from someone who has been there
Knights rookie defenceman Gerard Keane entered the OHL with a bit of an advantage. His older brother, Joey, has been playing in the league for the past two seasons. Now, it isn’t like Gerard has been able to see many games. He has been in Chicago playing in the famed Chicago Mission systems, and Joey has been an eight-hour drive northeast in Barrie as a member of the Colts. He talked about how that has helped him early on.
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Oh captain, my captain
The Peterborough Petes are off to an excellent start at 8-2. They have been one of the stingiest teams in the league defensively, but they are going to have to play the next 10-12 weeks without their captain, Zach Gallant. He suffered a high ankle sprain on Thursday, Oct. 11 against the Erie Otters when he went feet first into the boards at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. Gallant did not break any bones, but the Red Wings prospect is going to need surgery to repair ligament damage.
Up Next
The Knights have four days to rest up for another busy weekend that will see them play three games in three days. Their schedule will be slightly easier, as two of the games will be on home ice and the third is only an hour away in Sarnia. The weekend begins with a game against the Oshawa Generals at Budweiser Gardens on Friday night, continues with a visit from the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. and then ends on Sunday afternoon with a road game against the Sting.
You will be able to hear every game on 980 CFPL at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app. Friday’s coverage will start at 6:30 p.m.
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