London Knights lose to Barrie Colts in exchange for preseason action – London | The Canadian News

In a “what you can do, I can do it too” show, the Barrie Colts defeated the London Knights 5-3 on Friday night at Budweiser Gardens.

After London scored three consecutive goals in the second period to take a 3-1 lead, Barrie rallied with four goals in the third to win in a game that took just two hours and two minutes to play.

The Knights played the September 3 and 4 games and then had three weeks off before returning to the ice in London.

After a miscommunication created an own goal for the Knights in the first period, London found its rhythm in the midfield with goals from 19-year-old Sean McGurn, 16-year-old Mike Levin and 16-year-old Denver Barkey.

McGurn had two cracks on a puck and threw a shot past Matteo Lalama on the Colts to put the Knights on the board just 1:17 into the period.

Levin gave London their first lead with a perfect shot that passed Lalama overhead at 10:02 when Levin came in down the left wing.

Then Brody Crane found Barkey with a skillful pass on a 2v1 and slid the puck to make it 3-1 for the Knights heading to third.

Just as London had come off quickly in the second period, Barrie did the same in the third. Chris Grisolia’s second of the game at the 1:27 mark put the Colts within a goal and then veteran Anthony Tabak tied the game less than two minutes later as he used his reach to sweep home a rebound up front.

Power play goals from Beau Jelsma and Jacob Frasca put Barrie ahead to stay and they held on from there.

Brett Brochu made 23 saves at the net after his return from the Pittsburgh Penguins rookie camp. Lalama stopped 22 for the Colts.

The game was played in front of 1000 fans. Capacity will increase to around 4,500 fans for London’s final preseason home game against Hamilton on October 1.

Number one win for Martin and the Nationals

Colin Martin grew up in London, won an OHL championship with the Knights in 2012 and now leads the London Nationals as their head coach. He earned his first win behind his bench on Friday night when London defeated St. Thomas 4-2 to open the GOJHL regular season.

The Nationals erased an early 2-0 Stars lead in the game.

Doing it Raine

Former London defender Kevin Raine is heading into his fourth year with the Belfast Giants and is part of the mental health fundraiser.

Raine has always had one of the best examples of hockey hair and has decided to shave the mane that is currently on the top of his head in support of Action Mental Health.

Every donation of £ 10 or more is automatically entered into a drawing for one of two limited edition t-shirts. For more details visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/returntoplay

Out to camp

The London Knights and Windsor Spitfires lead the way in the OHL with eight players each on the training grounds of the National Hockey League. Tonio Stranges is in Dallas, Ben Roger is with the Ottawa Senators, and Bryce Montgomery is in Carolina. Gerard Keane received a free agent invite to Columbus Blue Jackets rookie camp and later earned a spot in main camp.

Shark prospects Max McCue and Liam Gilmartin showed off their things for San Jose and both received invitations to the main camp. Gilmartin has since returned to London after sustaining an injury. An upper body injury prevented Luke Evangelista from heading to Nashville.

Two Knights at the camp are not expected to make an appearance in London this year, although they technically still have junior eligibility left. After a strong year in the American Hockey League, Connor McMichael could break the Capitals in 2021-22 and Hunter Skinner has signed an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers and is expected to step up to the ECHL where he was last season for the AHL this year.

From Russia with love?

The Knights are waiting to find out if defender Kirill Steklov will return to North America. He has been playing in the Kontinental Hockey League with Vityaz Podolsk to start the year. London is also looking forward to hearing that forward Ruslan Gazizov is on his way to Canada. He is fully vaccinated but is waiting for a visa.

Gazizov was chosen by the Knights in the 2021 CHL import draft. He is a dynamic 17-year-old forward who has had excellent international success.

Until next time

The London Knights will be in Hamilton on September 28 to play a game that was originally scheduled for September 17. The Bulldogs have one of OHL’s most experienced rosters in 2021-22.

Coverage will begin at 6:30 AM on 980cfpl.ca