London’s Michael Simpson made 35 saves to thrash his hometown team 3-0 at the Peterborough Memorial Center on Thursday night.
Simpson came through the London Junior Knights system before being drafted by the Petes in 2019.
He added a few percentage points to his Ontario Hockey League-leading save percentage in the process.
Avery Hayes scored two of Peterborough’s three goals in the third period to seal the victory. The first came at 10:16 on the power play when Simpson blocked a huge short-handed chance by London.
Hayes then cleared a puck down the ice and into an empty net with 2:48 remaining as the Knights pushed to come back.
The Petes took a 1–0 lead at 15:59 of the first period on a goal by Brennan Othman, who took a puck on a turnover outside the Peterborough blue line and ran the other way to score his 18th. The year.
Brett Brochu came up big several times in the London nets. He made two breakaway saves on the side of the Knight net with his left pad and stoned the Seattle Kraken draft pick.
Peterborough made life difficult for the London shooters all night, finding bodies and sticks in the face of bullets.
Pets also won 72 percent of faceoffs.
London played the game without Oliver Bonks and Denver Barki, who were on the ice the night before in Langley, B.C., as part of the 2023 Top Prospects Game.
Knights forward Ryan Humphrey was assessed a match penalty for sleeve-footing with only two minutes remaining in the first period. The league office can review the play but has the ability to come up with a two-game suspension.
London beat Peterborough 35–30.
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Bonk, Barky and Robertson on the big stage
Team White defeated Team Red 4-2 last night in the 2023 Top Prospects Game in Langley, BC. From a local perspective Oliver Bonk triumphed over London Knights teammate Denver Barkey and North Bay Battalion Londoner Charlie Robertson.
Bonk showed his steady play in the defensive zone and finished the game with a plus/minus of plus-1. Barkey recorded two shots on goal, was a fixture on the penalty kill and won three of four faceoffs, and Robertson had 11 goals on 13 shots as he played the second half of the game for Team Red.
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Ryan Merkley traded to the Avalanche
The day his two former junior teams met, defenseman Ryan Merkley was traded to the National Hockey League.
Merkle and forward Matt Nieto were traded from San Jose to Colorado for defenseman Martin Coutt and forward Jacob McDonald. Merkle began his OHL career with the Guelph Storm before being traded to the Peterborough Petes in 2018.
The Knights acquired Merkle in 2019 as they prepared themselves for a run at a championship before the COVID-19 pandemic ended that season. Merkle has played 39 games in the NHL and has one goal and five assists.
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The Knights will be in Ottawa on Friday, January 27 for a game against the 67’s.
The first meeting between the teams saw exactly one goal and was taken to a shootout.
London and Ottawa went 65 scoreless minutes due to former elementary school teammates Brett Brochu and Max Donoso and their combined 65 saves.
Knights co-captain George Diako led the shootout with a goal and it ended up being the difference in a 1–0 London victory.
Coverage of the rematch begins at 6:30 PM on 980 CFPL www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
The Knights will be in Kingston on Saturday, January 28, to complete their eastern road trip against the Frontenacs.
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