Friday Night Faceoff: Spitfires at Knights

The first #FridayNightFaceoff didn’t disappoint as the Kitchener Rangers edged the Erie Otters. We figured we’d stay in the Western Conference for a clash of age-old 401 rivals as the London Knights host the Windsor Spitfires with first place on the line.

The Knights (30-6-1-0) and Spits (29-7-2-1) are deadlocked at 61 points apiece atop the OHL standings, with Friday’s matchup at Canada Life Place marking the third of six encounters between the two teams this season.

Windsor visits London riding an eight-game winning streak, featuring the OHL’s top point producer in LA Kings prospect Liam Greentree (29-39–68). Offseason addition Ilya Protas (25-35–60), a Washington Capitals draft pick, has joined veterans in Ryan Abraham (14-25–39), Noah Morneau (13-27–40) and sophomores Cole Davis (16-14–30) and Jack Nesbitt (17-23–40) a well-balanced attack. First overall 2024 OHL Draft pick Ethan Belchetz (12-14–26) is also one to watch, doing what he does on the wing at 6-foot-5 and 230Ibs.

The Knights, who have been riding top spot in the weekly OHL Power Rankings for eight straight weeks, will we back to full strength following the conclusion of the World Juniors as Kasper Halttunen (2-4–6) and Jesse Nurmi (4-12–16) bring silver medals back from Ottawa, being joined by Canadians Easton Cowan (15-13–28), Oliver Bonk (6-15–21) and Sam Dickinson (15-31–46) in green and gold. Knights goaltender Austin Elliott is making OHL history, starting his tenure in the league with a remarkable 16-0 record.

The Spitfires beat the Knights 3-2 in their last meeting back on Dec. 14th, and will look to unseat London atop the standings with a win on Friday. They’ll be up against the OHL’s top power play as the Knights run a man advantage going at 29.9%.

See the game live, streaming for free across OHL social channels X and Faebook, on the League’s YouTube account as well as where you can always find the action – OHL Live on CHL TV. The puck drops at 7:00pm!