HIGHLIGHTS: Knights 6 | Greyhounds 3
By Yannis Economopoulos
Gazizov pots four goals as Knights defeat Greyhounds 6-3
LONDON, ON – Ruslan Gazizov buried four goals to help propel the London Knights to a 6-3 win against the Soo Greyhounds at Budweiser Gardens on Friday night.
The Russian forward, who now has 34 goals and 76 points on the campaign, capitalized on the man advantage three times.
Early in the opening frame, London (47-14-1-3) received their first power play, which saw Gazizov wire a shot past Soo (42-17-3-2) netminder Charlie Schenkel from inside the left circle.
Less than ten minutes later, he gave the Knights a 2-0 lead after burying another power-play goal like the first, but this time from the top of the left circle.
In the second period, Gazizov added two more goals. With London ahead 2-1, the 5-foot-11 winger solidified his hat-trick with a wrist shot in the slot after stealing the puck in the neutral zone along the right-wing boards. He later scorched a one-timer on the man advantage to cap off his four-goal outing. With an assist on Gazizov’s fourth marker, Easton Cowan tied the franchise’s point streak record at 33 games.
Brodie McConnell-Barker, Jacob Frasca, and Bryce McConnell-Barker scored for the Greyhounds, while Gavin Hayes tallied three assists to extend his point streak to eight games. Jacob Julien and Kaleb Lawrence rounded out the scoring for London.
Michael Simpson had a 33-save win for the Knights, while Schenkel turned away 25 shots in the loss.
The Knights are in Windsor on Sunday evening for a date with the Spitfires.