Brett Brochu earned his third shutout of the 2023 OHL playoffs as the London Knights blanked the Kitchener Rangers 5-0 on Tuesday night at the Aud.
Brochu made 25 stops in the game and has those three shutouts in just eight games. London now has a 3-1 series lead on the Rangers, coming back home for game five at Budweiser Gardens on Thursday, April 20.
Denver Barkey scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Knights offensively.
Barkey tipped in a Logan Mailloux point shot on a London power play at 13:28 of the opening period for Barkey’s fourth goal of the playoffs to put the Knights ahead 1-0.
George Diaco made it 2-0 London with 19.6 seconds remaining in the first as he carried a puck into the Rangers zone on a two-on-one and rung a shot inside the left post. That was the fifth time in the series that the Knights had scored a goal inside the first minute or final minute of a period.
London extended their lead to 3-0 on another power play as Sean McGurn kept his scoring streak going. McGurn has at least one point in every playoff game he has played in 2023. He scored on a deflection at 6:24 of the second period.
The early/late magic continued for the Knights as they struck for the sixth time in the series in the first minute or last minute of a period. Ryan Humphrey smacked a puck through former teammate Marco Costantini for his sixth goal of the post-season with 14.4 seconds to go. Easton Cowan picked up an assist to move him into the OHL Rookie playoff scoring lead.
After London killed off the remaining three minutes of a major penalty to Alec Leonard for cross-checking, Barkey found Connor Federkow who was serving the penalty as Federkow came out of the box. The St. Catharines native went in alone and deked Costantini before putting in his third goal of the playoffs.
Cowan and Mailloux each had two assists in the game. McGurn had a goal and an assist.
The Knights outshot Kitchener 31-25.
Area connections chasing the Calder Cup
There are 21 players who have connections to the London Knights or the London area who will compete for the Calder Cup in 2023. The American Hockey League playoffs began on Tuesday night as Londoner Ryan McAllister and the Charlotte Checkers took on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Here is a complete list of players:
Bakersfield – Seth Griffith (Wallacetown, Ont., Knights 2009-13), Greg McKegg (St. Thomas, Ont., Knights 2011-12)
Charlotte – Ryan McAllister (London, Ont.)
Colorado Mitch Vande Sompel (London, Ont., Knights 2017), Ryan Merkley (Knights 2019-20), Keaton Middleton (Stratford, Ont.)
Hartford – Bryce McConnell-Barker (London, Ont.)
Hershey – Connor McMichael (Knights 2017-20)
Iowa – Dakota Mermis (Knights 2012-15)
Laval – Mitchell Stephens (Knights 2017), Santino Centorame (Knights 2012-14)
Milwaukee – Isaac Ratcliffe (London, Ont.), Luke Evangelista (Knights 2018-22), Michael McCarron (Knights 2013-15)
Providence – Brett Harrison (from Dorchester, Ont.)
Springfield – Hunter Skinner (Knights 2019-20)
Rochester – Michael Houser (Knights 2009-12)
Rockford – Brett Seney (London, Ont.), Alec Regula (Knights 2017-20)
Texas – Antonio Stranges (Knights 2018-22), Ben Gleason (Knights 2014-16)
Tucson – Vladislav Kolyachonok (2018-19)
OHL Priority Selection takes place on Friday, Apr. 21
The London Knights completed two pre-draft trades ahead of Friday’s OHL Priority Selection. London sent a 3rd round pick in 2024 to Ottawa for a 4th round pick in 2023. The move gives the Knights a 1st, 2nd, two 3rd, a 4th and a 6th round pick in the top part of the 2023 OHL Priority Selection.
London also swapped one of their two 10th round picks this year for a 10th round pick next year in a deal with the Peterborough Petes. The Knights did not have a 10th round pick in 2024 before the trade. You can hear live coverage of the first three rounds of the draft beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 21 at www.980cfpl.ca
Up next
The Knights and Rangers will play Game 5 on Thursday, Apr. 20 at Budweiser Gardens.
Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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