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The Ontario Hockey League ultimate has became a London spotlight reel.
It has change into a literal Knight-mare for Oshawa, too.
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The Knights blasted the Generals once more, this time 9-1 in Sport 2 of an more and more uncompetitive OHL ultimate earlier than 9,036 Saturday at Budweiser Gardens.
London’s 17-goal mixture is the third-most via the primary two video games of the championship sequence prior to now 90 years. Solely the 1945 St. Michael’s Majors (21 towards Galt) and 1984 Ottawa 67’s (18 towards Kitchener) have scored extra within the opening 120 minutes.
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“We’re enjoying as a workforce, transferring the puck nicely and enjoying good defence,” London coach Dale Hunter mentioned plainly.
That’s an understatement. This sequence is Tower of Pisa-calibre tilted after London routed the Gens by seven and eight in consecutive house outings.
Saturday night time, Kasper Halttunen scored 3 times, the Knights added 4 power-play targets for a half-dozen thus far and chased OHL goaltender of the yr Jacob Oster once more.
“Now we have quite a lot of ability on this workforce,” Halttunen, the Sharks prospect, mentioned. “We’re enjoying with good guys. They’ll make performs. Now we have 5 good gamers on the ice (with the person benefit) and we have now so some ways to attain.
“It’s onerous for the killers. In the event that they take me out, there are at all times another choices.”
HEADING HOME: Derek Laxdal was a deserving league coach of the yr with the Generals this season. However it’s onerous to assume there are sufficient changes obtainable to get his workforce again on this sequence.
“It’s powerful to observe them undergo that,” he mentioned. “On the finish of the day, these are youngsters. They poured out their hearts to get right here and the primary two video games are gone. We’ll decide ourselves up and prepare for Monday.”
They may have house cooking, final change and maybe a few injured our bodies again on obligation. The Gens sorely miss dynamic ahead Beckett Sennecke and stud defender Connor Punnett.
“Take out Cowan, take out Dickinson (with the Knights), it’s nonetheless a reasonably good workforce,” Laxdal mentioned by comparability.
However not the identical, in fact.
Oshawa additionally took a few unhealthy penalties, significantly over-ager Connor Lockhart’s pointless offensive-zone infraction throughout a Gens push whereas solely down a objective within the first.
“Too many,” Laxdal mentioned of the eight sin-bin journeys.
Ryan “Pucks” Pyette on the OHL
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MCCUE MICHIGAN: Max McCue put a significant exclamation mark with an uncontested ‘Michigan’ objective within the second interval. It was London’s first lacrosse-style tally since defenceman Logan Mailloux in Erie final season.
Naturally, Mailloux and Knights grad George Diaco, who also scored one while with Hamilton, reached out instantly.
“They each texted me,” McCue mentioned. “They’re in my grill already.”
Does he work on the transfer so much in follow?
“Everyone practises it,” Dale Hunter mentioned with a smile. “Everyone needs to do it.”
McCue, although, isn’t militant about it.
“Generally after follow, you’re flicking pucks round and do it for a bit of little bit of jokes,” the over-age ahead mentioned. “I most likely shouldn’t have (celebrated the eighth objective), however I simply blacked out and ended up on the blue line.”
SHIFTING EAST: 9 years in the past, Erie’s Connor McDavid was the centre of consideration when OHL ultimate video games have been performed in Oshawa.
Now that the Maple Leafs have cleaned out their lockers and fired their coach, quite a lot of Toronto consideration will shift to first-rounder Easton Cowan. The Knights star and league MVP, who had eight factors in two video games, is prepared for the GTA limelight.
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“It doesn’t faze me in any respect,” the Mt. Brydges native mentioned. “London is just like the Toronto of the OHL. It’s cool to have extra folks coming to observe and cameras on you. It’ll be good for the subsequent degree. I like having (folks) watching me and it’s good for maturity each on and off the ice. Physique language is vital.”
AROUND THE RINK: Knights followers began a ‘You bought London’ chant for the second straight sport, referencing the over-zealous Oshawa supporters who began a refrain of ‘We wish London’ on the finish of Sport 7 towards North Bay within the east ultimate . . . London coach Dale Hunter pulled goaltender Michael Simpson after taking a David Bedkowski knee within the head within the third interval. “Simply defending him,” Dale Hunter mentioned. “He acquired bumped there fairly onerous.” Is he OK? “Yep,” he mentioned. Owen Willmore stopped all 5 photographs he noticed in reduction . . . That goalie interference penalty prompted Knights followers to chant “We wish 10 (targets)” on the following energy play. They didn’t get it . . . London ahead Ruslan Gazizov scored three straight targets – the ultimate two in Thursday’s blowout and the opener Saturday. The violin celebration has been busy . . . Halttunen has 12 playoff targets, 5 of them on the facility play. The Finn scored 32 targets within the common season, 16 of them with the person benefit. He’s constant . . . . Shout out to Oshawa defenceman Ben Danford. He ended up plus-1 in a 9-1 loss and scored his workforce’s solely objective . . . Evan Van Gorp scored his first OHL playoff objective in his 16th sport this spring. The 17-year-old speedster began the season with the Strathroy Rockets . . . Drummondville goaltender Riley Mercer shut out powerhouse Baie-Comeau twice to offer the Voltigeuers a 2-Zero lead within the Quebec Maritime league ultimate this weekend. Mercer’s older brother Dawson, now with the New Jersey Devils, was a part of Dale and Mark Hunter’s gold medal-winning Canadian world junior workforce in Czechia 4 years in the past . . . The Knights know the Generals might be a distinct workforce at house, however are nonetheless wildly assured. They’re 6-1 on the highway thus far this spring. “They’ll have a sold-out constructing behind them,” McCue mentioned. “We’re going to must take their crowd out of it early. We’re sticking to our sport plan. We’re doing job of scoring targets after we get possibilities.”
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rpyette@postmedia.com
OHL PLAYOFFS
Knights 9, Generals 1
(London leads best-of-seven championship sequence 2-0)
London targets: Kasper Halttunen (3), Easton Cowan, Ruslan Gazizov, Evan Van Gorp, Denver Barkey, Max McCue, Jacob Julien
Oshawa objective: Ben Danford
Subsequent: Sport Three is Monday, 7 p.m. at Tribute Communities Centre.
Saturday at Budweiser Gardens
Knights 9, Generals 1
First interval
1., London, Gazizov 6 (O’Reilly, McCue) 9:27
2. London, Halttunen 10 (Barkey, Bonk) 11:48 (pp)
3. London, Cowan 9 (Barkey, Bonk) 17:09 (pp)
4. London, Van Gorp 1 (S. Boulton, R. Boulton) 17:29
Penalties – Lockhart, Osh (cross-checking) 11:21, O’Reilly, Ldn (slashing) 12:37, Rolofs, Osh (interference) 16:08, Lockhart, Osh (cross-checking, roughing), McCue, Ldn (roughing) 19:53.
Second interval
5. London, Halttunen 11 (Brzustewicz, Nicholl) 3:26
6. London, Barkey 5 (Dickinson) 5:32
7. London, Halttunen 12 (Cowan, Bonk) 14:52 (pp)
8. London, McCue 3 (George, Nicholl) 16:48
9. Oshawa, Danford 4 (Toms) 17:36
Penalties – Rodriguez, Osh (roughing) 13:14, Bedkowski, Osh (cross-checking) 14:08. Edward, Ldn (tripping) 19:23.
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Third interval
10. London, Julien 9 (Cowan, Barkey) 3:20 (pp)
Penalties – Griffin, Osh (cross-checking) 2:15, Roobroeck, Osh (head examine) 2:47, George, Ldn (roughing) 5:55, Bedkowski, Osh (goalie interference), Lockhart, Osh, Julien, Ldn (roughing) 9:19, Lockhart, Osh, McCue, Ldn (10-minute misconduct) 11:26, Halttunen, Ldn (elbowing) 12:19.
Photographs on objective by
Oshawa 5 9 8–22
London 17 16 6–39
Energy performs: Osh 0-4. Ldn 4-8.
Goalies (shots-saves): Oster, Osh (33-25) (L, 12-7), Bender, Osh (6-5, 0:00 of third interval). Simpson, Ldn (17-16) (W, 14-2), Willmore, Ldn (5-5, 9:19 of third interval).
Referees – Jason Faist, Mac Nichol. Linesmen – Spencer Knox, Justin Noble.
Attendance – 9,036 (9,036)
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