Denver Barkey and Logan Mailloux each had a goal and an assist as the London Knights outlasted the Sarnia Sting 7-5 in Sarnia, Ont., on Friday night.
Before the game the rivalry between the Knights and the Sting got an extra injection with the unveiling of the Battle of the 402, sponsored by Finch Auto Group in London, Ont., and by Finch Ford-Lincoln (operated by former Knight Mark Guy) in Sarnia, Ont.
The regular season games between the teams will be counted up and a trophy will have the regular season series winner’s name engraved on it year after year.
Both teams came out hungry and hitting off the opening faceoff but London quickly took control with three first period goals.
Mathieu Paris scored his first in the OHL at the 3:45 mark as Jacob Julien found him with a pass and Paris snapped a shot behind Nicholas Surzycia for a 1-0 Knights lead.
Barkey worked a puck into the Sting slot less than three minutes later and set up Sam Dickinson for his fourth goal of the season.
Just over four minutes after that Brody Crane stole a puck in the Sarnia end and slid a pass to Easton Cowan for his ninth and a 3-0 lead through 20 minutes.
Isaiah George and Logan Mailloux scored just 20 seconds apart on two rocketed shots during a 4-on-4 situation in the second period to stretch the London lead to 5-0, before the Sting cashed in on a couple of power play opportunities to tighten things to 5-2.
Those goals had the sold-out crowd at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena buzzing, but Knights veterans George Diaco and Sean McGurn went to work to quiet things back down. McGurn kept a puck in at the blue line and slid a pass to Diaco on the left side of the Sarnia zone and snuck into the slot. Diaco fed McGurn and he ripped home his 14th goal of the year and it was 6-2 for the Knights heading into the third period.
In a game featuring a four-goal lead, the third period can sometimes be a little sleepy. London and the Sting kept everyone wide awake as they combined for four more goals. Nolan Burke completed the hat trick as he sandwiched goals around Barkey’s eighth of the year.
Later in the period, Porter Martone of Sarnia went hard into Knights goalie Zach Bowen, a skirmish broke out and London’s Mailloux was assessed a match penalty.
Martone was given a two-minute minor on the play and Sarnia’s Nolan Dillingham cashed in on the ensuing 4-on-4 to bring the Sting to within a pair and that is where the scoring finally stopped.
Bowen made 22 saves for London as Sarnia edged the Knights in shots 27-26.
London has now won 17 of their past 19 games.
The Battle of the 402
The Knights and the Sting have been playing a home-and-home series to end one calendar year and often begin another dating back to the 2002-03 season. London has a decided advantage with a record of 29-6-4.
The Knights have swept the head-to-head matchup 11 times. Sarnia is still looking for their first series sweep. London’s last regulation loss in the two game set goes all the way back to New Year’s Eve of 2009 when Sting goaltender Shayne Campbell made 40 saves in a 4-3 Sarnia win.
Bowen coming up big
Zach Bowen ran his personal winning streak to six games as he fended off the Sting for his sixth victory overall in his rookie season in the OHL. Bowen has made 104 saves in his past three wins. The Kanata, Ont., native was London’s fourth round pick in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection.
Bowen posted save percentages of .930 with the Embrun Panthers and .933 with the Ottawa Jr. Senators in 2021-22.
Up next
London and Sarnia will round out 2022 with a second meeting in less than 24 hours.
The teams will square off at 4 p.m. on New Year’s Eve at Budweiser Gardens.
Coverage will begin at3:30 p.m. on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.