It’s no secret that it’s a tight race for the final spot for home ice in the Western Conference.
The London Knights and the Owen Sound Attack are separated by 2 points for the 4th seed in the West. This is the time of the year when they become must-win games.
London and Owen Sound only have 5 games left. If the Knights want home ice in the first round, this is the weekend where they can pull away from the Attack.
Friday
The London Knights play the Erie Otters for the final time this season. The Knights have had great success against the Otters, with a record of 4-1 in the season series.
The key for the Knights? Not to play catch-up.
The last time the two teams met, the Otters had a 2-0 lead in the first 6 minutes of the game. The Knights ended up winning the game on a Liam Foudy overtime goal.
The Knights enter tonight’s game on a 4 game win streak, fresh off defeating the Guelph Storm two days ago, which was one of the most exciting game Knights fans have seen this season.
Puck drop at Budweiser Gardens is scheduled for 7:30.
Players to watch
London
Liam Foudy is one goal shy of 25 for this season.
The last time the two teams met, he scored two goals including the ot winner.
Foudy’s draft stock continues to rise. He has become one of the more reliable forwards for Dale Hunter in the second half of the season.
Foudy has 7 points against the Otters this season, and will look to extend his point streak to 6 games.
Erie
Knight’s fans should keep an eye out for Otters captain Kyle Maksimovich.
The fourth-year forward has 28 goals and 32 assists this year.
Maksimovich always finds his way on the score sheet against London as he has 6 points against the Knights this season.
Saturday
The London Knights travel to Flint to take on the Firebirds at the Dort Federal Event Center.
The Knights are 2-0-0-1 against the Firebirds this season.
In those 2 London wins, they won with a combined score of 17-2. However this time they won’t have Cliff Pu, Robert Thomas, Sam Miletic and Max Jones, who combined to score 9 of the 17 goals.
Flint will look to rebound from an 8-2 loss Thursday night against Niagara.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7.
Players to Watch
London
Alex Formenton will look to continue his strong play against the Firebirds.
He has 7 points against Flint this season in the 2 games he has appeared in.
Formenton is one goal shy of 25 on the season.
Flint
Maurizio Colella has had a career-year with the Firebirds this season.
Colella can hit 60 points on the season if he registers one point against the Knights.
Around the League
Western Conference
London will keep a close eye on Owen Sound this weekend.
The Attack are fresh off a 6-5 overtime win against the Barrie Colts.
They host the Saginaw Spirit Saturday and are home to the CHL’s top ranked team, the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds Sunday.
Race for 6th
The Windsor Spitfires, Saginaw Spirit and Guelph Storm are in a dog fight for 6th place in the Western Conference.
The 3 teams are separated by 1 point.
Windsor and Guelph have 5 games left, Saginaw has 6 remaining on their schedule.
Eastern Conference
The Mississauga Steelheads clinched the last seed for this year’s playoffs.
The point difference from 4th to 8th place is separated by 7 points.
