McRae delivers for Knights

By MORRIS DALLA COSTA
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Phil McRae played the role of Old St. Nick last night.
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His overtime goal packaged two points for his London Knights as they struggled to beat the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 5-4 in Ontario Hockey League play at the John Labatt Centre.
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McRae jammed a puck in from the side of the net 46 seconds into extra time.
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“We weren’t happy with the way we played, but we look forward to the break, come back and start over,” said Knights assistant coach Pat Curcio.
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Like everything on the night, the goal was hardly a thing of beauty.
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“Nazem (Kadri) made a good play, but the puck was rolling and I almost missed it,” McRae said. “I don’t think we played our best game, but we won.”
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It was the first time the Knights had taken the lead.
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McRae has started to score some big goals.
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The Knights outshot the Greyhounds badly, but couldn’t connect on their chances.
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In the first period alone, the Knights fired 20 shots on starter Cody St. Jacques, but came out of that period trailing 2-1. The Greyhounds had three on Knights starter Michael Zador.
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London would play well for a period of time and then suddenly let up.
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“We knew it would be tough to motivate the guys with the snow and Christmas around the corner,” Curcio said. “Sault Ste. Marie came in. They were hungry and wanted to make their presence felt and they played well. Our guys just did enough to win, but we weren’t real crazy about the game.”
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The Knights, with the best power play in the league, gave up two short-handed goals and even though they had 46 shots on net, they couldn’t bury a lot of their best chances.
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Some of that frustration was evident late in the second period.
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The Knights’ Akim Aliu was floating behind the Greyhound defence. When teammate Matt Clarke failed to get him the puck, Aliu repeatedly slapped his stick on the ice in frustration as he headed to the bench.
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When he got there, assistant coach Mark Hunter had a stern word with him. Aliu didn’t see his first shift of the third period until there were eight minutes gone.
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“It wasn’t the right thing to do at the right time. You shouldn’t do those things at any time I guess,” Curcio said. “But it wasn’t taken lightly by Dale (Knights head coach Dale Hunter.)”
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The Knights are happy the holiday break is here. They have a hospital list that would keep a M.A.S.H unit busy.
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Missing from last night’s game through injury were goalie Trevor Cann, Scot Aarssen, Steven Tarasuk, Garrett Hunter and Phil Varone. Defenceman Vladimir Roth is with the Czech world junior team.
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One guy who has stepped up his game is forward Jason Wilson. He’s had five goals in five games, including a hat trick, and while he didn’t score last night, he made a great play to set up Kadri’s goal. He’s doing what he can to earn more ice time.
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“I’m just playing my game,” Wilson said. “That’s a hard-hitting power forward game. I’m getting more ice time and getting some scoring chances and capitalizing on them. I can’t complain.”
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As for Kadri, he’s one player who is disappointed the break has arrived. He played his second game since missing more than four weeks with a broken jaw and his time at Canada’s national junior team camp.
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Kadri is still trying to round into game shape but the longer the game went last night, the stronger he got.
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By the end of the night he was flying.
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“It kind of sucks coming back two games and then going on a break,” Kadri said. “But it’s good. We’ve played 34 games and we’ve had a hell of a season so far and everyone needs time.
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“For me, I’m definitely getting close. Going to (junior camp) my conditioning and my legs feel like they are almost there.”
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The Knights are now off until December 30th when they play in Saginaw.
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Next game: December 30 when the Knights travel to Saginaw for a 7 p.m. game against the Spirit.