London Knights win third straight game after goal from Hawkins in third period

Kaeden Hawkins’ goal with 5:13 remaining in regulation lifted the London Knights to a 5-4 victory over the Attack in Owen Sound on Jan. 17.

The win was the third straight by the Knights and second in under 24 hours following a 4-1 decision in Sarnia the night before.

Former Sting forward Ryan Brown scored twice for London and added an assist. Henry Brzustewicz added three assists for London, and Knights centre Braiden Clark locked in a goal and an assist.

London grabbed an early lead with a power play goal from Brown that gave him three goals in his past five games.

That came just 96 seconds into the game.

After not surrendering a single shot to Sarnia in the third period a night earlier in Sarnia, the Knights did not allow a shot on goal for the first 9:47 of the first period in Owen Sound.

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The first shot by the Attack that made it to the London net was deflected into the net by veteran Attack forward Jake Crawford, making the score 1-1.

The Knights cashed in on another power play as Will Nicholl spun a pass in front to Jesse Nurmi, and the Islanders prospect connected on his third goal of the year at 10:48 of the opening period and London led 2-1.

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Just over two minutes later the Attack tied the game again on another deflected as Masen Wray tipped in a puck at the left post and the teams ended the first 20 minutes in a 2-2 tie.

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Owen Sound broke that tie at the 10:18 mark of the second period on Wray’s second goal of the game. That one also came on the man advantage but some dogged work by Brown wound up in a steal and Brown fed Clark for his 12th goal and a tie game again.

The Attack went in front before the end of the second period when Max Delisle finished a two-on-one for his second career OHL goal and it was 4-3 for Owen Sound.

Attack forward Caden Taylor was assessed a major penalty for a check to the head with 1:05 remaining in the second, and just eight seconds into the five-minute power play, Brown scored. The score sat 4-4 after 40 minutes and stayed that way until the late stages of the third, when Hawkins scored on a wicked spinning backhand after a pass from Evan Van Gorp, putting the Knights ahead to stay.

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London outshot Owen Sound 41-29.

The Knights were 3-for-6 on the power play.

The Attack were 2-for-2.

A true shutdown in the third period

In their 4-1 win over the Sting in Sarnia on Jan. 16, the London Knights kept the Sting without a single shot on goal in the third period.

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Knights goalie Seb Gatto touched the puck on dump-ins, but other than that, it rarely came near him as London wrapped up their fourth win of the season over Sarnia.

The feat by the Knights came exactly one year and two days after the Buffalo Sabres were held without a shot in a third period against Carolina in a National Hockey League game.

The Sabres actually scored a goal in that period without registering a shot.

With Buffalo ahead 3-2 and the Hurricanes’ net empty, former OHLer Ryan McLeod found himself chasing down a puck that had been shot off the end boards in the Carolina zone with the net empty.

McLeod was denied a tap-in on the play by Hurricanes defenceman Brent Burns but because Burns tripped McLeod before McLeod could put the puck in the net, McLeod was awarded a goal without taking a shot.

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Up next

The Knights will head to Sault Ste. Marie to play the Greyhounds on Jan. 21.

It will be London’s first look at Carter George in a Sault Ste. Marie uniform after he was traded north by the Owen Sound Attack at the deadline.

The Knights have faced George in the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, and the way the OHL standings are shaping up with 25 games remaining, there is a possibility that it happens again.

Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. on 980 CFPL, at 980cfpl.ca and on the iHeart Radio and Radioplayer Canada apps.