Thursday Highlights: Closing the gap

Thursday March 3, 2016

The London Knights are hungry for their first Western Conference crown since 2013 and it showed on Thursday.

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mitch Marner had three assists while Matthew Tkachuk and Christian Dvorak each had a goal and an assist in a 6-1 win over the Midwest Division leading Erie Otters on home ice.

The Knights handed the Otters their fourth loss in the last 10 games to draw within four points of the Western Conference lead. The win also sees the Knights even their season series with the Otters at two wins apiece. The two clubs will meet in a home-and-home set of potentially high stakes to close out the regular season on March 18th and 19th.

The London win came in one of five games around the league on Thursday.

LONDON 6 ERIE 1 – The London Knights made a statement on Thursday as Mitch Marner led the way with three assists in a 6-1 win over the Erie Otters. Matthew Tkachuk and Christian Dvorak each had a goal and an assist as the Knights drew to within four points of first place Erie in the Midwest Division. Tyler Parsons turned away 24 shots to earn first star honours for London as the Knights won their sixth straight at home. Owen MacDonald, Max Jones and J.J. Piccinich also had goals for the Knights while Kyle Maksimovich had the lone goal for Erie. The Knights improve to 13-6-1-0 against divisional opponents this season.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

PETERBOROUGH 7 HAMILTON 4 – The Peterborough Petes surged back from a 4-3 deficit with four unanswered to defeat the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 7-4. Overage veteran Hunter Garlent had 11 shots on goal and netted a hat-trick, one that included the game winner and his 100th career OHL goal in the process as the Petes picked up two points in Matt Mancina’s return to the crease. Mancina made 29 saves for his fourth straight victory to give him 20 on the season in his first start since February 19th. Carolina Hurricanes prospects Kyle Jenkins (1-2–3) and Steven Lorentz (1-1–2) each had multi-point performances along with forward Logan DeNoble (1-1–2) to help the Petes snap a four game skid. The Bulldogs initially trailed 3-1 but rallied for three straight to take a lead before seeing it slip away. Brody Morris scored his first career OHL goal while Trent Fox, MacKenzie Entwistle and Matthew Strome also scored. Hamilton trails Oshawa by two points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the Generals holding a game in hand.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

SAULT STE. MARIE 5 SARNIA 2 – The Soo Greyhounds continue to be road warriors, picking up at least a point in their ninth straight game away from home in a 5-2 win over the Sarnia Sting on Thursday. The Hounds had three point performances from Boston Bruins first round pick Zach Senyshyn (2-1–3) and overage centreman Gabe Guertler (1-2–3) while New York Rangers prospect Brandon Halverson made 29 saves in goal. Greyhounds captain Blake Speers had a goal and an assist while blueliner Mac Hollowell scored his first goal of the season as the Greyhounds improved to 1-4-1-0 against the Sting this season. Sarnia sees a four game winning streak come to an end as New Jersey Devils first round pick Pavel Zacha provided both goals in the loss. Sting goaltender Justin Fazio suffered his first loss since January 24th after stringing together six straight victories.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

OWEN SOUND 4 NORTH BAY 1 – The Owen Sound Attack kept pace with Sault Ste. Marie with a road win of their own as Kevin Hancock scored twice in a 4-1 victory over North Bay. Defencemen Thomas Schemitsch (1-1–2) and Jacob Friend (0-2–2) both had multi-point outings while Jonah Gadjovich also scored as the Attack won their seventh in the last 10 games. After a four game winning streak in mid-February, the Battalion have dropped three of their last four decisions as they were outshot 40-17 on home ice. Maurizio Colella scored the lone goal for the Troops while Mike Amadio collected his 130th career assist, moving ahead of Cody Hodgson for second in Battalion franchise history. Owen Sound sits two points ahead of Sault Ste. Marie for sixth in the Western Conference.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

BARRIE 6 OTTAWA 2 – The Ottawa 67’s managed to stay with the Barrie Colts through 42 minutes before Kevin Labanc took over with assists on three of four unanswered markers as the Colts took a 6-2 decision on home ice. Labanc finished the night with four assists, surpassing his Colts single-season franchise mark of 76 from last year to bring his season total to 80. Michael Webster and Anthony Stefano each scored twice while Rasmus Andersson, Julius Nattinen and Andrew Mangiapane all collected two assists. Colts goaltender David Ovsjannikov made 35 saves in the win, being beaten twice on the night on a pair of goals from 67’s sophomore Travis Barron. The Colts were outshot 37-28 but still managed to take two points as they lead second place North Bay by five points in the Central Division. Ottawa’s third straight loss sees them trail sxith place Peterborough by a point in the Eastern Conference.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS