OHL: Spitfires Host Knights

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The OHL’s top team looks to extend a four-game winning streak tonight, as the London Knights (43-12-2-2) visit the Windsor Spitifires (24-29-1-6) in a 7:05 p.m. meeting.

KNIGHTS CONTINUE TO SHINE

The Knights are 6-3-1-0 in their last ten games and are on a four-game winning streak. They sit at the top of the conference as well as the top of the league and are one of eight teams in the OHL to have already secured a playoff spot.

Here’s how the Knights match up to the rest of their OHL counterparts:

• 1st in wins and points
• 2nd in goals-for (Plymouth edges the Knights by a pair)
• Third-best in goals-against (Owen Sound 144, Belleville 145, London 154)

London has a number of players ranked in the top leaders of the OHL in points, goals and other statistics. Max Domi is seventh in the OHL with 35 goals in 56 games; Seth Griffith ranks 11th in that statistic.

Griffith is sixth in assists, with 49 on the season, while London’s Bo Horvat ranks second in the OHL in power play goals. He has 15 power play goals on the season, second only to Sarnia’s Reid Boucher.

Rookie Nikita Zadorov is eighth in the OHL and first among rookies in plus-minus, with a plus-31 on the season.

Domi leads the Knights with 35 goals, while Griffith leads in assists (49) and points (82). London is fatal on the power play, with Griffith, Domi and Horvat combining for 37 power play goals on the season. Altogether, the team has 69 goals on the power play – which means 28 percent of their goals have come with the man advantage.

Goaltender Kevin Bailie is fifth in the OHL in GAA (2.50) and save percentage (.921). He has 18 wins in 27 games this season with London. Jake Patterson has 17 wins in 28 games and a 2.54 GAA and .916 save percentage. Finally, Anthony Stolarz has won eight of 13 games he’s appeared in this season and has a 2.18 GAA and .927 save percentage.

After tonight’s game, the Knights host a pair of games this weekend, first with Sarnia on Friday followed by Kitchener on Sunday. They’ll finish the season with a six-game road trip that will see them take on Owen Sound, Sarnia, Windsor, Erie, Saginaw and Sault Ste. Marie before the playoffs begin.

SPITFIRES LOOK FOR A SPARK

The Spitfires are ninth in the Western Conference, ahead of only the Erie Otters in the standings. Windsor’s 184 goals-for is the lowest in the Western Conference and fourth-lowest in the OHL, while their 240 goals-against are second-most in the conference and fourth-most in the league. A team that is 3-7-0-0 in its last ten games but is coming off a win looks to build something in tonight’s game, as Windsor looks to feed off a 6-5 win over Plymouth on February 24.

Future NHL draftee Kerby Rychel leads the Spitfires with 77 points in 60 games this season; he also leads Windsor in goals (35) and assists (42). Thirteen of his 35 goals this season have come on the power play, most on the team, and he averages 1.28 points per game.

Right winger Alex Aleardi has a total of 62 points on the season, including 33 in 20 games with Windsor. Center Brady Vail has 47 points (18-29) in 60 games, while rookie Josh Ho-Sang has 39 points in 55 games.

Rychel is ninth in the OHL in points and tied for sixth in goals, while Ho-Sang is seventh in rookie scoring.

Jaroslav Pavelka has appeared in 48 games this season, stopped 1449 of 1605 shots faced and carrying a 3.57 GAA and .903 save percentage. Rookie Jordan DeKort has appeared in 22 games and has a 4.19 GAA and .888 save percentage.

THE MATCHUP

Tonight’s game is the fifth of six meetings between the Knights and Spitfires this season, with each team taking a pair of games so far. The teams most recently met on January 18, when Windsor defeated London by a score of 5-2.

Nick Ebert, Alex Aleardi, Adam Bateman, Josh Ho-Sang and Remy Giftopoulous all scored for Windsor, with London goals coming from Dakota Mermis and Ryan Rupert. Pavelka stopped 32 shots for Windsor, while Patterson and Stolarz shared goaltending duties for London.

They’ll meet once more this season, a March 10th matchup in Windsor.