London Knights captain Luke Evangelista picked up his 30th goal of the season to complete a hat trick and give the Knights a 6-3 victory over the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday afternoon at Budweiser Gardens.
As smooth as that might sound, the game was anything but for London.
The Knights initially dominated possession and play.
The shot clock was tilted completely London’s way.
But with just over 13 minutes remaining in the game the scoreboard read: Kitchener 3 and London 2.
That’s when London forward Ty McSorley stepped on the ice and stepped into a Kitchener Ranger with a big body check. Then McSorley hit another Ranger with another body check. Then a third. Then a fourth.
In a 9046-seat arena with only 500 spectators due to COViD-19 restrictions anyone inside the building could hear the crescendo rising from the players on the London bench. By the time McSorley had finished his fourth check the bench was electric and captain Luke Evangelista hopped over the boards, took a pass from Tonio Stranges and scored to tie the game.
London never looked back. That goal sparked a four-goal output in period three and the Knights second victory in less than 24 hours.
The Knights held Kitchener without a shot on goal for the first 12 minutes and 41 seconds of the game but Kitchener ended up opening the scoring as Reid Valade found Joseph Serpa in front of the London net on the power play. Serpa scored to make it 1-0 on the Rangers second shot. Kitchener would not record another shot for the next 14 minutes and 33 seconds.
The Knights scored twice. Luke Evangelista slammed in his 28th goal of the year, as he finished a three-way passing play from Tonio Stranges and Camaryn Baber to tie the game 1-1 with 59 seconds remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
London defenceman Gerard Keane struck early in the second period on a power play. Evangelista and Liam Gilmartin assisted and the Knights led 2-1.
Despite a lack of overall chances, the Rangers kept making good on the best ones they got. Serpa sent a pass ahead to a speeding Reid Valade in centre ice. A move to the inside at the London blue line gave Valade a breakaway and he scored to knot the game 2-2 heading into the final period.
Just sixteen seconds into period three Kitchener took a 3-2 lead as veteran Mike Petizian stuffed a puck over the London goal line.
Then came the McSorley shift and the final twist in momentum.
Evangelista’s second of the game was a bullet off the post, past former Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs goalie Marcus Vandenberg who was just making his third appearance of the season due to injuries to Kitchener’s other goalies, Pavel Cajan and Jackson Parsons. Vandenberg played like a National Hockey League draft pick, making 42 saves on the day.
Tonio Stranges celebrated his 20th birthday with three points including his 10th goal of the season on a power play at 12:18 of the third. Stranges now has seven points in his last two games against the Rangers.
With the Kitchener net empty, Evangelista lifted a puck down the ice from the right corner of his own zone to hit 30 goals on the season and stay on a potential 60-goal pace.
London outshot the Rangers 48-28.
The Knights are now 5-0 against Kitchener this season and have not lost to the Rangers since December, 2019.
Federkow delivers on short notice
Connor Federkow did an on-ice workout Friday afternoon that left him feeling as though he had played a game. He was not scheduled to play against the Windsor Spitfires that night. But in the warm-up, Logan Mailloux came off the ice with an injury and Federkow found himself stepping into that spot — despite a dinner of pulled pork nachos.
The St. Catharines, Ont. native didn’t just play. He was noticed in every area of the game with his usual physicality, his second goal of the season and his willingness to block shots at any time.
“I don’t like being scored on (when I’m on the ice),” said Federkow. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to stop that from happening.”
A block came with the Knights already up 4-1 late in the third period.
Tkachuk sparking Flames
Matthew Tkachuk has always been the kind of player who can make things happen. Knights fans can think back to his last appearance in a London uniform when Tkachuk opened the scoring in the 2016 Memorial Cup final and then took the shot in overtime that won the Knights’ second Memorial Cup championship.
His current team, the Calgary Flames, went on a 6-2 run heading into the All-Star break and Tkachuk put up 13 points in those eight games including a five-assist effort against his hometown St. Louis Blues. Tkachuk now has 20 goals and 45 points in 42 games for Calgary.
He has scored at least 20 goals in four of his six seasons in the National Hockey League. Tkachuk’s career high is 34 in 2018-19.
Up next
The Knights will play their first road game since January 22 when they visit the Attack on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m.
London and Owen Sound played each other five times in less than a month to begin the 2021-22 season but have not gone head-to-head since November 27. The Knights have owned the season series. They are a perfect 6-0 against the Attack, although five out of the six games have been decided by a single goal, one in overtime and two in a shootout.
Owen Sound is currently in 6th place in the Western Conference.
Coverage of the game will begin at 1:30 on 980 CFPL, at http://www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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