Knights crowned OHL champions for second consecutive year

Photo credit: Wildave Photography

The London Knights have gone back-to-back.

For the second straight year, the Knights have been crowned OHL champions.

Victorious in five games over the Oshawa Generals, the Knights claimed their sixth J. Ross Robertson Cup in franchise history and their fifth since 2012.

After a Game 1 loss, the Knights rattled off four consecutive victories that were punctuated by a 5-2 win in Thursday’s Game 5.

Furthermore, the Knights are the first CHL team to repeat as league champions in 12 years – an honour they most recently claimed in 2013 – while they are only the fifth CHL club of this century to win consecutive league titles.

Kasper Halttunen (SJ) was the recipient of the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the OHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player after he scored 15 goals – nine of which came in the OHL Championship Series. The Finnish native is just the fourth European player in CHL history to collect a Playoffs MVP Award and the first in OHL history.

OHL CHAMPS AGAIN 🏆#OHLChampionship | #RoadtoMemorialCup pic.twitter.com/SzncngdMuo

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 16, 2025

Easton Cowan (TOR) – who won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award last season – led all OHL postseason skaters with 39 points while Sam Dickinson (SJ) topped all d-men with nine goals and ranked second with 31 points.

In goal, Austin Elliott’s astonishing first OHL season concluded with a 16-1-0 postseason record alongside a 2.46 GAA and .906 save percentage.

As OHL champions, the Knights will join hosts Rimouski Oceanic, the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats and the eventual WHL winner at the 2025 Memorial Cup that will take place May 24 – June 1.

In a season in which they spent all 24 weeks ranked inside the CHL Top 10, Dale Hunter’s squad claimed a second straight Hamilton Spectator Trophy as OHL regular season champions. It was the eighth 50-win season in the Knights’ history, while their 55 wins and 112 points were the second most in a single season.

A familiar sight in London! ⚔️#LetsGoFlyers prospect and @LondonKnights captain Denver Barkey hoists the J. Ross Robertson Cup! 🏆#OHLChampionship | #RoadtoMemorialCup pic.twitter.com/12ZTYnmHNP

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 16, 2025

The Knights made quick work of the first three rounds of the OHL Playoffs as they used the minimum 12 games to reach a second straight OHL Championship Series.

London dispatched of Owen Sound in the first round, Erie in the second round, and then Kitchener in the OHL Western Conference Championship Series.

After they suffered their first loss of the postseason in Game 1 of the OHL Championship Series – a 4-2 loss on home ice – the Knights never looked back.

A 5-2 win – where Easton Cowan had five points (2G/3A) – levelled the series before a 7-5 win on the road in Game 3 – highlighted by a Halttunen hat-trick – gave the Knights their first lead of the series.

Halttunen’s second straight hat-trick powered London to a 6-2 victory in Game 4 before he scored twice more in Game 5 to secure a 5-2 victory and a second straight OHL title.

All in all, London scored 27 goals in just five games at an average of 5.40 per game.

The year prior in 2024, London won its fifth J. Ross Robertson Cup after a comprehensive four-game sweep of the Generals where they outscored Oshawa 31-9.

Cowan was the recipient of the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as OHL Playoffs MVP after a 34-point postseason before the Knights advanced to the 2024 Memorial Cup final where they suffered a 4-3 defeat to hosts Saginaw.

London will open its 2025 Memorial Cup campaign on May 24 against Moncton while a day later they will face Rimouski. They will close out the round-robin on May 27 against the WHL champion – either Medicine Hat or Spokane.

The 2025 tournament will be London’s seventh appearance at a Memorial Cup which moves them into a tie for second most all-time alongside Kamloops and Gatineau. Peterborough’s nine appearances are the most.

Furthermore, their seven appearances since 2000 are the most among any CHL club, while they are the seventh team since the turn of the century to make consecutive appearances at the tournament.

London is a two-time Memorial Cup champion, having hoisted the trophy in 2005 and 2016.

Scheduled from May 22 – June 1 in Rimouski, Québec, every game of the 2025 Memorial Cup will air on TSN and RDS in Canada and be available via live stream on TSN.ca, the TSN app, RDS.ca, and the RDS app. In addition to full coverage in Canada on TSN and RDS, the 2025 Memorial Cup will be available to stream live for free on Victory+ for viewers outside of Canada.

2025 Memorial Cup schedule:

May 23 – Game 1: WHL vs. Rimouski — 7:00pm ET
May 24 – Game 2: Moncton vs. London — 6:00pm ET
May 25 – Game 3: Rimouski vs. London — 6:00pm ET
May 26 – Game 4: Moncton vs. WHL — 7:00pm ET
May 27 – Game 5: London vs. WHL — 7:00pm ET
May 28 – Game 6: Rimouski vs. Moncton — 7:00pm ET
May 29 – Tie-breaker (if necessary) — 7:00pm ET
May 30 – Semi-final — 7:00pm ET
June 1 – Final — 7:00pm ET