Friday Knight

By MORRIS DALLA COSTA, SUN MEDIA
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LONDON KNIGHTS (25-16-2-2) vs. PETERBOROUGH PETES (20-22-0-3)
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WHEN: Tonight, 7:30 p.m. at the John Labatt Centre.
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THE MATCHUP: The teams only meet twice this season. They played in Peterborough Nov. 1, with London winning 6-1. The Knights scored five goals in the first 17 minutes to chase goalie Trevor Cann.
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POWER SURGE: The Knights have struggled on special teams all season. But their power play is improving, moving to sixth overall. The Petes’ power play is ninth. Even though the Knights had a pair of short-handed goals in a9-3 win over Kitchener on Sunday, their penalty-killing ranks 17th.
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WALKING TALL: Defensive specialist Andrew Wilkins is back from a foot injury. He’s a welcome addition when it comes to killing penalties. Knights captain Scott Aarssen, who was expected to play this week, is still doubtful for tonight with a foot injury. The Petes will have Pat Daley back from a shoulder injury. He was their leading scorer when he went out two weeks ago.
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WHO TO WATCH: Petes defenceman Zach Bogosian. Rated as one of the top five North American players for the NHL draft this summer, Bogosian played in the top prospects game Wednesday and scored a goal. The Knights’ Phil McRae also participated and had an assist. Bogosian leads the Petes in scoring. Bobby Davey is second in the OHL in penalty minutes. The Knights’ Pat Maroon has begun to put multiple-point games together again. Knights defenceman Steve Tarasuk leads the league in plus-minus with a +29.
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ZACH ATTACK: For what it’s worth, Petes coach Vince Mallette can’t just yell "Zach" when he wants Bogosian on the ice. He has four of them in the lineup –Bogosian, Zach Harnden, Zach Tatrn and Zack Kassian.
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CANN STILL CAN: The Petes netminder was a late addition to Canada’s junior team selection camp last season. He was cut along with then-Knight Steve Mason. Cann wasn’t invited this year and ranks well down the OHL when it comes to goaltender stats with a 3.79 goals-against average. But the Petes give up a lot of shots, 51 and 38 in Cann’s last two games. Since coming to the Knights, Jhase Sniderman has a 3.02 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
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ALUMNI WATCH: Corey Perry was added to the Western Conference team for the NHL all-star game Sunday in Atlanta. He has 26 goals and 45 points for the Anaheim Ducks. The only player younger than Perry to have more goals is Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin. Former Knights blue-liner Marc Methot probably feels like a a yo-yo. Whenever the Columbus Blue Jackets need a defenceman, he’s called up from the AHL. In two years, he’s made the trip six times from Syracuse. He’s played six NHL games this season, but went back to the AHL for the second time earlier this week.
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WHAT’S NEXT: The Knights are in Mississauga on Sunday to play the transplanted St. Michael’s Majors.