Not every milestone goal can be memorable, but Logan Mailloux’s 20th of the season definitely was.
Mailloux got the puck at the right point of the Kitchener end in overtime skated down the boards and cut in front where he beat Rangers goalie Marco Costantini for the game winning goal.
George Diaco assisted on it. Diaco celebrated his 21st birthday with three helpers on the night.
The victory was London’s ninth in a row and moved them one point ahead of the Windsor Spitfires for first place in the Western Conference. Each team has 17 games left to play.
Knights rookie goalie Zach Bowen made his fourth consecutive start as Brett Brochu sat out with a lower body injury. Brochu is getting close to returning. Bowen has won all four of those starts and is now on a personal 14-game winning streak.
The teams actually came through the first period without a goal on either side.
London started the scoring at 3:53 of the second period when Landon Sim tipped a Sam Dickinson shot past Marco Costantini in the Ranger net.
That lead lasted just one minute and 53 seconds when Reid Valade took a feed to the left of the London goal and snapped a shot over Zach Bowen of the Knights to make it 1-1.
Flip Mesar was hauled down on a breakaway later in the period and awarded a penalty shot and the Montreal Canadiens first rounder made good to give Kitchener a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes.
Max McCue tied the game in the third period on a backhand as he found a bouncing puck in front of the Ranger net and put it in.
Valade’s second of the game came short-handed and put Kitchener ahead 3-2 with just over 10 minutes to go in the third period but London tied the game again when George Diaco found Easton Cowan in front on a different Knight power play at 13:13.
London killed off a late Ranger man advantage and the game went to overtime where Mailloux won it.
The Knights outshot Kitchener 37-24.
Sean McGurn named Player of the Week
London Knights co-captain Sean McGurn had himself a week.
On Monday afternoon the Ottawa, Ont., native took home OHL Player of the Week honours after putting up five goals and eight assists for 13 points. McGurn was also a plus-eight.
The thing is, if the award had been for the week plus-one game McGurn’s numbers get even more impressive. Through five games played over a span of just eight days, McGurn had six goals and 10 assists for 16 points.
McGurn currently leads the Knights in scoring.
Bowen named OHL Goaltender of the Week
Zach Bowen has started to get some major recognition for his play as a rookie in the Ontario Hockey League.
Bowen has won 13 consecutive games and his last three victories led Bowen to be named OHL Goaltender of the Week. After an injury sidelined Brett Brochu on Feb. 6, Bowen entered the Knights crease and reeled off wins over the Kitchener Rangers, Erie Otters and Guelph Storm and posted a goals against average of 2.70 and a save percentage of .920.
London selected Bowen in the fourth round of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection after he went undrafted as a 16-year old in 2021.
Up next
The Knights will play rounds three and four of the Battle of the 402 against the Sarnia Sting on Friday, Feb. 17 at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ont., and Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena in Sarnia, Ont.
This season the Knights and the Sting are playing the Battle of the 402 where the winner of their regular season series will be crowned champion.
So far London has a 2-0 series lead with four games left to play.
Coverage will start at 6:30 on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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