Kasper Halttunen scored two third period goals to bring the London Knights back against the Saginaw Spirit as London earned a 3-1 victory in the first game of the best-of-seven Western Conference Championship.
With London trailing 1-0 heading into the final 20 minutes, Halttunen blasted a one-timer from the top of the left circle past Saginaw goalie Nolan Lalonde on a power play. That tied the game at the 11:45 mark of the third period.
Less than two minutes later, Knights defenceman Sam Dickinson brought the puck into the Spirit end and wired a shot that went wide but it came off the end boards and Halttunen was there to lift the puck over Lalonde for the eventual game winner.
Easton Cowan added an empty-net goal with 19.7 seconds remaining in the game to seal things after several Michael Simpson saves as Saginaw pressed over the final two minutes with their net empty and an extra attacker on the ice.
Cowan had a goal and an assist in the game. Dickinson and Barkey each had a pair of assists.
Simpson made 30 saves in goal for London.
The Knights have now won nine straight playoff games and 16 consecutive games overall.
Rodwin Dionico of the Spirit scored the first goal of the series as the teams played 4-on-4 in the first period. Vegas prospect Matyas Sapovaliv juked back and forth just above the hash marks on the right side of the London zone looking for a teammate and he found Dionicio and the Anaheim Ducks draft pick snapped a shot over the should of Michael Simpson for a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes.
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Knight defenceman Alec Leonard went hard into the end boards in the London zone early in the second period after getting tangled up with Spirit forward Sebastien Gervais. Leonard had to be helped off the ice and did not return.
London also played without Jackson Edward who missed the game for personal reasons.
Saginaw was missing defenceman Zayne Parekh and goaltender Andrew Oke. They are both out with injuries.
Kaleb Lawrence of the Knights and James Guo of the Spirit both missed Game 1 due to suspensions.
The Spirit outshot London 31-30.
The Knights were 1-for-3 on the man advantage and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Jacob Julien named OHL Player of the Week
Becoming the first player since 2016 to record two hat tricks in the same playoff series helped Knights forward Jacob Julien to earn OHL Player of the Week honours.
Julien didn’t just record three goals in two games against the Kitchener Rangers. The Winnipeg Jets prospect did it in back-to-back games both on the road inside a raucous Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Julien had six goals and an assist in just two games as London swept the Rangers in four-straight.
Drake Rymsha on top of Austrian Hockey world
Drake Rymsha recorded two assists in Game 7 of the finals as EC Red Bull Salzburg captured their third consecutive championship in Austria’s top league. Salzburg is the first team to ever accomplish that feat.
Rymsha was a Knights draft pick in 2014 and spent his rookie season in London before moving to Ottawa and then Sarnia during his five year OHL career. Rymsha played one game for the L.A. Kings in the 2020-21 season.
Up next
Game 2 will take place at 2 p.m., on Sunday, April 29 at Budweiser Gardens. Coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
After that the series will shift to mid-Michigan for games 3 and 4.
Game 2 – Sunday, April 28, at London, 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Monday, April 29, at Saginaw, 7:05 p.m.
Game 4 – Wednesday, May 1, at Saginaw, 7:05 p.m.
Game 5 – Friday, May 3, at London, 7 p.m.*
Game 6 – Sunday, May 5, at Saginaw, 2 p.m.*
Game 7 – Monday, May 6, at London, 7 p.m.*
* game if necessary
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