Sam O’Reilly’s first-ever Ontario Hockey League goal stood up as the game winner as the London Knights defeated the Niagara IceDogs 2-1 at Budweiser Gardens on Sept. 29.
London got through a hard charge by Niagara to begin the game and locked up the IceDogs late to pick up Dale Hunter’s 902nd career win. The Knights head coach is now just six wins behind the late Bert Templeton for second place in all-time OHL coaching victories.
The first period was highlighted by 19 saves from new London goaltender Michael Simpson.
The only shot that got by Simpson came off the stick of former Knight Mathieu Paris. Paris snapped a shot into the London net at the 3:02 mark of the game to make it 1-0 IceDogs.
San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen tied the game on a power play at 15:36 of the first period as Denver Barkey slid a no-look pass to Halttunen and he fired a shot from a very sharp angle past former Knight Owen Flores in the Niagara net.
O’Reilly’s first career OHL goal broke the 1-1 tie with 5:39 to go in the second period as he went hard to the IceDogs net after Kaeden Johnston flipped a puck on goal. O’Reilly got a piece of it and got it across the goal line to make it 2-1.
Simpson and the Knights shut the door in the third period. Simpson turned aside nine shots and earned his first win for his hometown team.
Niagara outshot London 35-28.
Jenken officially becomes a Knight
Defenceman Noah Jenken has signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the London Knights. Jenken joins what is shaping up to be a brand new core of stars on the London blue line who are currently 17 years of age or under.
Jenken was the Knights’ 4th round pick in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection. He is from Ilderton, Ont., and came up through the Elgin-Middlesex Canucks system. Jenken played his first pre-season game with London against the Erie Otters on Sept. 22.
Still at camp
After the Boston Bruins reassigned defenceman Jackson Edward to London on Friday afternoon, Easton Cowan is the lone Knights player remaining in the NHL. Cowan has played in two pre-season games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and has a goal and an assist.
Edward had an impressive camp with the Bruins. Jacob Julien (Winnipeg), Denver Barkey (Philadelphia), Kasper Halttunen (San Jose), Max McCue (N.Y. Rangers), Isaiah George (N.Y. Islanders) and Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia) have all returned to London, Ont.
Up next
The Knights and the IceDogs will play the second of a back-to-back games on Saturday, Sept. 30 in St. Catharines, Ont.
That game will conclude the two-game regular season series between the two clubs.
The only way the two teams could see each other again this year would be if both made it to the OHL Championship series.
That has actually happened twice in the past. London won the OHL Championship by defeating Niagara in both 2012 and 2016.
Coverage will begin at 6:30 on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.