KNIGHTS HEAD SOUTH OF THE BORDER FOR GAME THREE
Knights Head South of the Border for Game 3
By Yannis Economopoulos
LONDON, Ont. – The London Knights took a 2-0 series lead after defeating the Saginaw Spirit 3-1 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday afternoon. The Green and Gold can put the Spirit on the brink of elimination with a win in Saginaw tonight.
Scouting the Knights (10-0-0)
The Knights entered the playoffs on a seven-game win streak and a 16-3-1-0 record in their last 20 contests. Now, including the postseason, they have won 17 straight games.
In Sunday’s win, Ruslan Gazizov, who hadn’t scored since returning from injury, buried two goals in his seventh game back. The Russian forward had a team-leading 36 markers in the regular season and has five playoff points this year.
Kasper Halttunen extended his goal and point streak to five in Game 2. In that span, the San Jose Sharks prospect has six goals and 10 points.
Easton Cowan, who has five points in his last three outings, recorded a second consecutive multi-point game on Sunday.
Postseason Special Teams (Remaining Teams)
- Power play: 28.6% (1st)
- Penalty kill: 82.5% (2nd)
Know the Foe – Saginaw Spirit (8-5-0)
The Saginaw Spirit swept the Owen Sound Attack in round one, then defeated the Soo Greyhounds in round two to advance to the Western Conference Final.
For the second straight game, Rodwin Dionicio scored the lone Spirit goal. The Anaheim Ducks prospect, who finished third in points (73) among defencemen league-wide, has a team-leading 10 points in 13 playoff appearances.
Michael Misa and Zayne Parekh have also been tremendous for Saginaw all year. In 2022, Misa became the sixth player to be granted exceptional status by the OHL. He is coming off a 75-point season and has 131 in 112 career games. Meanwhile, Parekh (96) led the league in points among defensemen.
Postseason Special Teams (Remaining Teams)
- Power play: 13.7% (4th)
- Penalty kill: 77.5% (4th)
The puck drops from the Dow Event Center at 7:05 p.m. EST.