KNIGHTS HOPING TO TAKE A 2-0 LEAD IN FINALS
Knights Hoping to Take a 2-0 Lead In Finals
By Yannis Economopoulos
London, Ont. – The London Knights took a 1-0 series lead in the OHL Championship Series after defeating the Oshawa Generals 8-1 in Game 1 on Thursday night.
Scouting the Knights (13-2-0)
The Green and Gold went into the playoffs on a seven-game win streak and a 16-3-1-0 record in their last 20 contests. They went a perfect 10-0-0 before losing their first game to Saginaw in the West Final.
Last week, the OHL awarded Easton Cowan the Red Tilson Trophy as the league’s Most Outstanding Player. In his 54-game regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect’s sophomore campaign consisted of 34 goals, 62 assists, 96 points, and a point-per-game average of 1.78. In Game 1, the Mount Brydges, Ont. native notched five points on a goal and four assists. He is the first Knight to record a five-point playoff game since Mitch Marner and Matthew Tkachuk did so in 2016.
Denver Barkey (1G, 1A), Oliver Bonk (2G), Ruslan Gazizov (2G), Jared Woolley (1G, 1A), Sam Dickinson (3A), and Jacob Julien (1G, 2A) also had multi-point outings on Thursday night. The top line, which consisted of Cowan, Barkey, and Julien, combined for 10 points.
Special Teams
Regular Season
- Power Play: 32.6% (1st)
- Penalty Kill: 85% (1st)
Playoffs
- Power Play: 30.4%
- Penalty Kill: 81.2%
Know the Foe – Oshawa Generals (12-4-2)
In the first round, the Oshawa Generals defeated the Barrie Colts in six games, swept the Ottawa 67’s in round two, and then defeated the North Bay Battalion in seven games to advance to the OHL Championship.
Calum Ritchie, the second overall selection by Oshawa in the 2021 OHL draft, broke out this season with a team-leading 80 points and 52 assists through 50 appearances. This postseason, the Colorado Avalanche prospect leads the league with 19 assists, while his 25 points are good for second. Out of Ritchie’s 17 postseason games, 10 have been multi-point outings.
Beckett Sennecke, who missed Game 1, had a career-high 68-point campaign, and in 16 playoff games, his 22 points are fifth league-wide, while his 10 goals are tied for second. In his last 11 contests, the Toronto, Ont. product has seven goals and 16 points. Sennecke, a 6-foot-3 winger, is eligible for the 2024 NHL draft.
Dylan Roobroeck, a London native, also had a career year with 72 points on 26 goals and 46 assists. His 21 playoff points are fifth league-wide, while his 10 goals are tied for second. Roobroeck, a 6-foot-7 forward, was a sixth-round selection to the New York Rangers in the 2023 NHL draft.
Special Teams
Regular Season
- Power Play: 21.5% (9th)
- Penalty Kill: 83.2% (2nd)
Playoffs
- Power Play: 20.9%
- Penalty Kill: 79.6%
Game 2 goes tonight from Budweiser Gardens. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. EST.
