London Knights captain Denver Barkey scored twice and added three assists as the Knights defeated the Owen Sound Attack 6-3 in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarter-final series.
London leads the series 2-0, but the second win of the series was anything but easy.
After the Knights zoomed ahead with four goals in the opening period on Sunday at Canada Life Place, the Attack nearly caught up in the second, scoring three times to make it 4-3. The game sat that way until a power play goal by Kasper Halttunen with 3:13 remaining gave London some breathing room.
Barkey led it all off with his second goal of the post-season on what was meant to be a pass. Barkey was looking for Easton Cowan at the side of the net but the puck hit the skate of an Attack defender and deflected through the legs of Owen Sound goalie Carter George for a 1-0 London lead.
One second short of four minutes later, Barkey did find Cowan at the side of the net and despite the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect breaking his stick on the shot, the puck found its way across the goal line for Cowan’s first of the playoffs at the 9:37 mark of the first period.
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Barkey found Landon Sim for his second of the post-season on a power play at 11:40 and the L.A. Kings prospect Jared Woolley joined a rush and finished a three-way passing play to score the fourth goal of the first 20 minutes and the Knights took a 4-0 advantage to the intermission.
Owen Sound climbed back into the game in the second period with three goals of their own.
The Attack scored on a power play, short-handed and at even strength as Pierce Mbuyi, Bruce McDonald and Tristan Delisle all found the back of the London net and got to within one heading into the third period.
Knights goalie Austin Elliott was called on to make some key saves in the third period. George kept the puck out at the other end of the ice until an Oliver Bonk shot was stopped by George and Halttunen pounced on the rebound to score his second goal of the post season to put London ahead by a pair.
Barkey sealed things into an empty net with 1:07 remaining.
Owen Sound went 1-for-8 on the power play.
London was 2-for-4.
The Knights outshot the Attack 41-25.
The playoff bump
OHL teams combined to score 7.32 goals per game in the 2024-25 regular season.
Through the first 10 games of the playoffs that number was up. Way up.
Teams combined for 8.9 goals per game.
The Erie Otters and the Saginaw Spirit have been key contributors. The Otters have come out on top in the first two games by scores of 8-5 and 9-5.
The Windsor Spitfires have scored seven goals in each of their first two games and the Knights hit six goals in each of their first two playoff games.
Up next
The series between London and the Attack now shifts to Owen Sound for Games 3 and 4.
The teams will play the third game on Tuesday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
Game 4 will happen on Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m.
Coverage of both games will begin at 6:30 p.m., on 980 CFPL, at 980cfpl.ca and on the iHeart Radio and Radioplayer Canada apps.
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