The London Knights travelled to Guelph on Saturday and walloped the Storm 5-1 for their eighth consecutive victory.
This was easily the most hectic part of London’s 2022-23 schedule with six games in nine days. The Knights swept the entire half dozen and outscored their opponents 37-12 while doing it.
They got off to another fast start as they struck three times in the opening 20 minutes to lead 3-0.
Ryan Humphrey scored London’s 200th goal of the year as he lifted a Logan Mailloux rebound past Brayden Gillespie in the Storm net.
Mailloux and George Diaco then scored goals 57 seconds apart late in the period. Ruslan Gazizob set up Diaco with a sneaky feed that had everyone on the Guelph side believing he was heading behind the Storm net, but instead he put the puck on Diaco’s stick and the Londoner fired home his 22nd of the year.
Ryan Winterton broke up a play in his own zone and began a rush back the other way in the final minute of period one. Winterton found Denver Barkey and he dropped a pass off to Mailloux who had time to pick his spot on Gillespie for Mailloux’s 19th goal of the year.
After Braden Bowman scored on an early Guelph power play in the second period to get them on the board the Knights restored their three goal lead, when Ryan Humphrey found Barkey sneaking in front of the Storm net. Barkey deked and scored his fourth goal in three games. Barkey had a goal and an assist in the game.
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Humphrey deflected in his second of the game in the third period on another Logan Mailloux shot. That gave Humphrey two goals and an assist on the night and it gave Mailloux a goal and two assists.
Zach Bowen didn’t have to deal with the 33 shots that came his way a night earlier against Erie but he came up large with two cross-crease saves as part of the 25 stops he made against the Storm.
Bowen has now won 13 games in a row.
London is a league-best 18-4 on the road.
The Windsor Spitfires remained one point ahead of London for first place in the Western Conference standings. The Knights still have one game in hand.
Where are they now: 2019-20
Connor McMichael: The Knights leading scorer in the season that never reached its conclusion spent all of last season in the National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals where he had nine goals and 18 points in 68 games. McMichael has spent most of this season in the American Hockey League. The Ajax, Ont., native was assigned to the Hershey Bears in November and is sixth in team scoring with 22 points in 33 games.
Liam Foudy: London’s first round pick in 2016 found himself in the AHL for much of 2021-22. This season he has been exclusively in the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Foudy has three assists in 32 games played.
Alec Regula: The big defenceman from West Bloomfield, Mich., has put together a couple of solid seasons with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs and has earned a few games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks as well. Regula’s National Hockey League resume is 22 games long. He scored his first NHL goal last season against the Calgary Flames.
Prospect watch
James Hagens was selected by the Knights in the sixth round of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection. Hagens is a late birthday and he is considered a top prospect for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. He has played with the U.S. National Development Team Program and has scored some highlight reel goals this year. Hagens is a dynamic offensive player who sees and does things most players cannot. Hagens remains uncommitted to an NCAA program but that isn’t unusual. He will only turn 17 in November.
Up next
On Valentine’s Day the Knights will head for Kitchener for a game featuring two teams with zero love for one another.
The Rangers made a coaching change on Jan.10 as general manager Mike McKenzie replaced Chris Dennis behind the bench. The new coach bump resulted in an 8-1 Kitchener drubbing of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Kitchener remains in 8th place in the Western Conference but their roster suggests they should sit a whole lot higher than that.
London has won three of the four meetings between the clubs this season. Denver Barkey capped off a comeback on Feb. 8 when he scored the game winner with 32 seconds left in regulation.
Coverage will begin at 6:30 on 980 CFPL, at http://www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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