Antonio Stranges gets congratulated after scoring a goal against the Erie Otters (Courtesy: Matt Hiscox)
The London Knights will play a pair of home games this weekend. On Friday, the Flint Firebirds will be in town. Then Sunday, the Kitchener Rangers will visit London for the first time this season.
Flint Firebirds – Friday, 7:30 pm
The Flint Firebirds come into the weekend leading the OHL Western Conference. They have a record of 12-6-0-0, leading the Knights by two points in the standings.
The Firebirds have been led by their top line of Ty Dellandrea, Evgeniy Oskentyuk and Jake Durham. The trio have combined for 54 points in their collective 48 games. Despite the Firebirds’ strong record, they do not have any players within the top 40 of OHL scoring. Oskentyuk and Dellandrea both have 19 points (8g,11a; 7g, 12a, respectively), while Durham has 16 points (9g, 7a).
Complicating the Firebirds’ start further, their special teams have been lacklustre this season. They possess the OHL’s worst powerplay, functioning at 13.9 per cent. Their penalty kill is also near the bottom of the pack, operating at 76.6 per cent – 12th in the league.
Between the pipes, the Firebirds have split work between two different netminders. The arguable “starter” is Anthony Popovich. The 2015 seventh-round pick of the Guelph Storm has an 8-4 record with a 3.37 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. Backing Popovich up is Luke Cavallin. The Greely, Ontario native has a 4-2 record with a 3.93 goals-against and a .897 save percentage.
The Firebirds will be coming off a 5-1 loss to the Sarnia Sting where they directed 51 shots on the net of former Knights goalie, Jordan Kooy. Friday’s game will be the second of three for the Firebirds on the week. They will return home on Saturday to host the Ottawa 67s. The winner of Friday’s game at Budweiser Gardens will hold the top spot in the OHL Western Conference.
Kitchener Rangers – Sunday, 2 pm
The Knights and Rangers have a long history of entertaining games. This year, however, might be a different story. Kitchener has struggled this season, coming into the weekend in ninth place in the Western Conference with a 6-6-2-2 record.
Brett Brochu stretching the pad to stop Danny Katic of the Saginaw Spirit.
Courtesy: Matt Hiscox
Like Flint, the Rangers do not have a defacto game-breaker. Their leading scorer is their captain, Riley Damiani, who has eight goals and 12 assists in 15 games this season. Rookie defenceman Ville Ottavainen has impressed on Kitchener’s blue line. He leads the Rangers’ defensive core with four goals and 10 assists, only taking four minor penalties so far this season. Ottavainen hails from Finland, being Kitchener’s first pick in this past year’s Import Draft.
The Rangers have had average special teams this season. Their ninth-ranked powerplay has scored 13 times with a success rate of 22.8 per cent. Their penalty kill is ranked 11th, killing off 77.3 per cent of infractions.
Kitchener’s long history of elite goaltenders looks to be continued by Jacob Ingham. The Barrie, Ontario native was selected in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. This season for the Rangers, Ingham has a 6-3-2-1 record, a 3.28 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
The Rangers have struggled as of late, losing their last three games heading into the weekend. Kitchener will host Kingston on Friday before heading to London on Sunday.
The Hottest Team in the OHL
The London Knights have played their best hockey of the season. They come into the weekend having won their past five games, picking up points in eight straight.
Connor McMichael has been a large part of the recent success. He is currently leading the OHL in scoring with 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 16 games this season. The Washington Capitals draft pick is currently on a gaudy nine-game point streak, where he is averaging three points per game. Since October 18th, McMichael has scored 11 goals and 16 assists. On top of his success with the Knights, McMichael also scored two goals for Team OHL during the Canada-Russia Series.
A snipe if there ever was one 🎯@Capitals prospect @con91mcmichael of the @GoLondonKnights rips it top shelf to put Team #OHL up 3-0 after two. @cibc #CANvsRUS 🇨🇦🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/w2KbuH6Mzv
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) November 8, 2019
Liam Foudy has also scored a point in every game since October 18th. He has seven goals and seven assists over that stretch, while also representing Team OHL alongside McMichael and Ryan Merkley.
London’s special teams have also been elite this season. Their penalty kill is ranked second in the OHL, operating at 86.4 per cent, giving up just nine goals on the man-advantage. Their powerplay is just as good, also ranked second in the league at 31.6 per cent.
The Knights appear to have solved their goaltending situation during their recent success. They pulled the trigger on a trade that sent career-Knight Jordan Kooy to the Sarnia Sting. In exchange, they got Dylan Myskiw, who was picked up off waivers from the WHL. In his four appearances, Myskiw has picked up four wins. He has a minuscule 1.83 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage, giving up just six goals while wearing green and gold. Brett Brochu continues to impress as the other netminding option for London. The 17-year-old rookie has a 6-1 record with a 3.18 goals-against and a .880 save percentage. Myskiw took over for Brochu in a 7-6 barn burner against Oshawa. He has been given the start in the three subsequent games for the Knights.
