The London Lightning added to their winning streak on Sunday afternoon at Budweiser Gardens with a 115-104 victory over the K-W Titans.
The win was London’s fifth in a row and improved their record to 17-16 on the season.
Lightning head coach Elliott Etherington implemented an offense that focused on ball movement after a loss to the Windsor Express on February 6 and Etherington credited London’s execution for Sunday’s outcome.
“What’s been different is not the number of attempts, but where and when we are getting our shots,” said Etherington. He also credited the number of passes, the ball movement and how his team made better use of spacing on the court.
Mo Bolden led the way for the Lightning with 19 points. Derek Hall of K-W led all scorers with 22.
The Lightning has beaten Windsor and K-W twice during their winning streak and earned a 124-107 victory over the Sudbury Five less than 24 hours before their win over the Titans.
London is now just percentage points behind the Express for second place in the NBL Canada’s Central Division.
Windsor lost 115-107 to the division-leading St. John’s Edge on Sunday.
The Lightning will be home to St. John’s on Thursday, February 21 at 7 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens.
Fanshawe women’s basketball team finishes season for the history books
From being ranked No. 1 in the country to setting all kinds of team records, the Fanshawe Falcons women’s basketball team wrapped up their 2018-19 season on February 16 with a 74-57 victory over the Niagara Knights. Fanshawe lost just once and set new team highs in The 2018-19 Falcons set several Fanshawe Women’s Basketball single-season team records including wins (19), points scored (1627), field goal percentage (42.7), free throw percentage (70.3), made field goals (646), made 3-pointers (143), assists (425) and rebounds (1030). They will meet the 2-15 Centennial Colts on Saturday, February 23 at 1 p.m. at the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre.
The Falcons men’s basketball team finished the year 13-7 and will be on the road for a cross-over playoff game on February 23 against the Durham Lords.
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Both Fanshawe Volleyball teams will be competing at the OCAA championships starting on February 21. The Falcons men’s team has been ranked No. 1 in the country for much of this year.
Fanshawe’s women’s and men’s curling teams also earned double gold at the OCAA curling championships. The Falcons have already set a record for most provincial championships in a single year with more opportunities still to come.
Western Mustangs vs Brock Badgers in men’s hockey
Every single best-of-three series in the first round of the OUA men’s hockey playoffs ended in a two-game sweep. The Western Mustangs took care of the Laurier Golden Hawks with a pair of 3-2 victories. The first went to overtime where Spenser Cobbold scored the game winner. The second saw Western build a lead and hang on when Laurier scored two goals in the final minute of the second period. The Brock Badgers got by York 2-1 and 3-2.
Western Women’s hockey team to meet Waterloo in round one
The Mustangs wrapped up their regular season with a 3-1 loss to the Lancers in Windsor on February 16, but it had no bearing on their spot in the standings. The Mustangs ended the year with a 14-5-1-4 record and earned the second seed in the OUA. They will take on the No. 7-seeded Waterloo Warriors in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
Hurtubise does it all
You would have to look far and wide through the history of hockey in all countries and at all levels to try to find anything like what St. Thomas Stars goaltender Anthony Hurtubise did against the Komoka Kings. The game went to overtime tied 0-0. Not only did Hurtubise finish off a shutout, but he also scored the game-winning goal. With Komoka in need of points in the standings, they elected to pull their goalie. The puck came to Hurtubise in the Stars end and he flipped it the length of the ice and into the empty net.
Gagner back where it all began
The Edmonton Oilers acquired former London Knight Sam Gagner on February 16 from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for another ex-OHLer, Ryan Spooner. Edmonton drafted Gagner sixth overall in 2007 and elected to keep him as an 18-year old and put up 49 points as a rookie. He played seven seasons before being traded to Tampa Bay in 2014. An hour after being acquired by the Lightning, Gagner was dealt to Arizona. From there, he went to Philadelphia, signed with Columbus and then landed in Vancouver. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom and Kyle Brodziak are the only players currently on the Oilers who were there when Gagner last played for them. Gagner spent just one season in London, but alongside Patrick Kane, he recorded 35 goals, 83 assists and 118 points in 53 games and played for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Oilers add Anthony Stolarz
Sam Gagner wasn’t the only former Knight that joined Edmonton on their road trip on February 16. The Oilers swapped goalies with the Philadelphia Flyers, getting Anthony Stolarz in exchange for Cam Talbot. Stolarz joined the Knights in 2012-13 and was part of a goaltending tandem with Jake Patterson that won on Ontario Hockey League championship. Stolarz made a second appearance at the Memorial Cup in 2014 and then began his pro career. Prior to this season, he has played most of his minutes with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, but whenever injuries hit, he was usually the first recall. Stolarz has spent this season with the Flyers and has appeared in 12 games with a 3.33 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. With Carter Hart doing well in Philadelphia, the Flyers were looking for a veteran goalie. With only Mikko Koskinen in Edmonton, Stolarz will get a chance to compete for the number one job. Under a strange provision in the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, if Stolarz does not play in ten games with the Oilers, he will be able to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this year.
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