Game Notes: Knights host Generals in Game 1

2024 OHL Championship Series – Game 1

Oshawa Generals (40-19-7-2) at London Knights (50-14-1-3) – Thurs., May 9, 2024 

The series at a glance:

Knights in pursuit of fifth OHL Championship: The London Knights are in the OHL Championship Series for the second straight year, pursuing their first title since 2016. Their four previous OHL titles include championships in 2005, 2012, 2013 and 2016. The Knights eliminated the Flint Firebirds, Kitchener Rangers and Saginaw Spirit to capture their eighth Wayne Gretzky Trophy in franchise history.

Generals back in OHL Final for first time since 2015: The Oshawa Generals are winners of an OHL record 13 J. Ross Robertson Cup titles, with the most recent coming in 2015, the same year they went on to win the Memorial Cup on an Anthony Cirelli game-winner in Quebec City. Oshawa’s previous OHL titles have come in 1938, ’39, ’40, ’41, ’42, ’43, ’44, ’66, ’83, ’87, ’90, ’97 and 2015.

See tonight’s game on TSN 3: TSN will carry the 2024 OHL Championship Series in its entirety, with Games 1-4 on TSN 3. A possible Game 5 will be carried on TSN 5 before Games 6 and 7 would be on TSN 3. Game 2 of the series will also be picked up on NHL Network in the United States. Victor Findlay will provide the call on play-by-play, joined by London Knights alumnus and long-time NHL blueliner Marc Methot on colour.

Simpson, Lockhart on opposite sides of Championship matchup: Former teammates who won an OHL Championship with the Peterborough Petes against London last spring, Knights goaltender Michael Simpson and Generals forward Connor Lockhart are on opposite sides of this year’s final matchup. Lockhart scored in Monday’s Game 7 win and enters tonight’s action with 14 points (6-8—14) over 17 games. Simpson is 12-2 in these playoffs with a 2.59 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and one shutout. He was voted last year’s OHL Playoff MVP.

Top goaltenders battle it out: The aforementioned Michael Simpson and Oshawa’s Jacob Oster were frontrunners in OHL goaltending this past season. Oster was the recipient of the Jim Rutherford Trophy as OHL Goaltender of the Year, with Simpson finishing as runner-up in the voting. Oster led the OHL with 35 wins and 3,569 minutes played (a Generals single-season record) during the regular season. Simpson posted a league-low 2.61 goals-against average, equaling Oster’s .905 save percentage.

London Notes:

Knights have been tough at home: The London Knights have lost just once at home in these playoffs with their last regular season home loss coming against these Oshawa Generals by a score of 6-4 on Feb. 28^th. Jacob Oster was the first star, making 37 saves in that encounter while Calum Ritchie had a goal and two assists.

Knights short-manned coming into Championship Series: The London Knights are short two veteran bodies up front due to five-game suspensions to both LA Kings prospect Kaleb Lawrence and St. Louis Blues draftee Landon Sim. Both players have served the first game of that sentence. On the back end, veteran defender Alec Leonard is out long-term with a lower body injury suffered in Game 1 of the West Final against Saginaw. Physical winger Sawyer Boulton has served a two-game suspension and is eligible to return to the lineup tonight.

Knights had historic showing on special teams this season: London’s top-ranked regular season power play operated at 32.6 percent this past season, the highest percentage on record since the league began tracking the stat in 1997-98. London’s penalty kill was also the best in the OHL, operating at 85 percent. The Knights were the most penalized team in the OHL, taking 1,065 minutes in penalties.

Knights on Central Scouting radar: As always, the Knights have intriguing draft eligibles in their lineup led by 7^th ranked Sam Dickinson on the blue line. He’s followed by forward Sam O’Reilly (24^th), blueliner Jared Woolley (73^rd) and high-scoring winger Ruslan Gazizov (192^nd).

Oshawa Notes:

Generals’ Ritchie sits second in OHL playoff scoring: Colorado Avalanche prospect Calum Ritchie’s 25 points (6-19—25) through 17 games are the second-most in the OHL, two behind forward Sandis Vilmanis of the North Bay Battalion. Ritchie enters play off a two-assist effort in Monday’s 6-1 Game 7 victory over North Bay.

Punnett, Sennecke, Buckley up in the air for Generals: Not only did the Oshawa Generals have to overcome the North Bay Battalion, they had to deal with injuries along the way. Connor Punnett left the series with a lower body injury in Game 3, and returned to play one shift in Game 7, coming up with a shot block in the 6-1 win. Matthew Buckley was injured in Game 4. He returned for Game 6 but did not play in Game 7. Top 2024 NHL Draft prospect Beckett Sennecke, has 22 points (10-12—22) in 16 games in these playoffs. He didn’t play in Game 7 against North Bay.

Roobroeck, Franssen play in front of friends and family: The Generals feature a pair of London products in 6-foot-7 centreman and New York Rangers prospect Dylan Roobroeck along with 6-foot-3 rookie Harrison Franssen. Roobroeck has been a big part of Oshawa’s success, playing down the middle to produce 21 points (10-11—21) in 17 playoff games. Franssen spent the season with the GOJHL’s St. Thomas Stars, getting the call for Oshawa’s playoff run after producing 40 points (14-26—40) in 46 games at the Jr. B level. Both are graduates of the London Jr. Knights AAA program.

Generals persevering through slow starts: They bucked the trend in Game 7 against North Bay, but Oshawa has struggled to come hot out of the gate with consistency in these playoffs, scoring first in just six of their 17 playoff outings. By comparison, London has scored first in nine of their 14 playoff contests, going 9-0 in those games.

Generals on Central Scouting radar: NHL scouts have flocked to Oshawa throughout the season to see their young draft eligible. Beckett Sennecke (13^th) is the OHL’s highest ranked forward by NHL Central Scouting heading into the 2024 Draft. He’s followed by defencemen Ben Danford (35^th) and Luca Marrelli (46^th) who have both logged big minutes in these playoffs. Goaltenders Noah Bender (19^th) and Jacob Oster (24^th) also made the final list.