McDavid, Betz lead Otters rally in 6-5 loss
Stratford, Ontario – Connor McDavid and Nick Betz lead a great comback effort to push the London Knights into the shootout, splitting the weekend with London in the 6-5 loss.
After being shutout last night, the Knights came out in full force. Mitchell Marner put the opening goal behind Otters netminder Jake Lawr only 41 seconds in with help from Ryan Valentini and Tristen Ellie. It took just over another three minutes for Owen MacDonald to put another puck behind Lawr, this time with Victor Mete notching the assist. Much like last night’s parade to the penalty box, the Otters and Knights traded power plays and penalties with Lawr making big saves to keep Erie in the game.
Joel Wigle put Erie on the board not long into the second period with a shot from the right circle and an assist from Betz. Not wanting to relinquish the lead, Benjamin Gleason bounced the puck off Lawr’s back to give the Knights another two-goal lead. Trent Fox started the come-back attempt for Erie with a five-hole goal on Kevin Darveau, bringing the Otters within one. Both London and Erie opted for goalie changes, bringing out Tyler Parsons and Daniel Dekoning. Looking for a little insurance heading into the third period, London’s Tait Seguin bounced a puck behind Dekoning to put the Knights up 4-2 before the end of the second.
The Otters’s rally continued into the first minute of the third with Alex DeBrincat going from an assist to a goal and bringing Erie within one. Erie had another chance on the power play with MacDonald in the box for two minutes, but the Otters were unable to capitalize before London had a man advantage of their own. Unfortunately for the Knights, McDavid grabbed the puck on a breakaway and tied the game at four with a shorthanded goal. The next goal belonged to the Knights, though, as John Warren put London up 5-4. With a couple of penalties on the board and three minutes left in regulation, the Otters and Knights went to 4-on-4 with Erie looking to tie things up.
With 18 seconds left, Betz sent the game to a shootout with the tying goal sailing behind Parsons. In the shootout, McDavid took the first shot but was denied before Dekoning kept Kevin Klima off the board. Parsons stopped the next shot by DeBrincat, but Marner scored on Dekoning to put the Knights up. Betz took the final shot of the night but missed wide, giving the Knights the 1-0 shootout decision and the 6-5 win.
The Otters head to Mississauga, Ontario tomorrow afternoon to finish out the exhibition schedule at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex against the Steelheads. Faceoff is set for 3:00 p.m.
