KNIGHTS TAKE 2-0 SERIES LEAD

It isn’t very often that a first period penalty against you can become a turning point in a hockey game.  An interference call in Game 2 between London and Windsor on Saturday at Budweiser Gardens made quite the difference as it allowed the Knights to build the lead that propelled them to a 6-3 win and a 2-0 series lead.

The penalty was called on Nikita Zadorov after he rubbed out Ben Johnson of the Spitfires while the two players were chasing after a loose puck in the London end.  Zadorov wasn’t happy with the penalty.  When he came out of the penalty box, he turned frustration into full-out offense.

Zadorov was set up by Max Domi and Josh Anderson for the first goal of the night and then he set up Domi on the power play 2:35 later for a 2-0 London lead.

Then came a shot that London fans will tell stories about for years to come.  With 19 seconds to go in the first period, Chris Tierney sent a soft pass to the blue line and Zadorov skated into a shot that rocketed into the Windsor net.  NASA would have been proud of the velocity the puck traveled at.  The goal made it 3-0.

The Knights had been outshot 5-3 through eight minutes of the game and ended the period with a 24-12 edge on the shot clock.

The talk of the second period will be a melee that saw five game misconducts handed out as Brett Welychka, Zach Bell and Michael McCarron of the Knights and Patrick Sanvido and Andrew Burns of Windsor each received game misconducts after Christiano Di Giacinto of the Spitfires and Gemel Smith of the Knights got into a scuffle at centre ice.  Di Giacinto was given an instigator on the play.  All of that happened at the 10:56 mark.

London had built their lead to 5-0 by that point on a power play goal by Chris Tierney and another by Brett Welychka.

The Spitfires inched closer on goals by Nikita Yazkov and Ben Johnson, but Bo Horvat converted a Matt Rupert pass on power play, as he wired a puck off the post and in for the final goal of the game.

London outshot Windsor 53-36.  Zadorov ended the game with two goals and two assists.  Chris Tierney ended the game with three points on a goal and two assists.

The Knights now head to Windsor on Tuesday and Thursday for Games 3 and 4.

Mike Stubbs
NewsTalk 1290 CJBK – Play by Play Voice of the London Knights
www.cjbk.com