Knights are Western Conference champs
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan has led the London Knights to the Ontario Hockey League final.
Cowan scored twice and added an assist as London beat the Saginaw Spirit 4-2 on Sunday to win the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as the OHL's Western Conference champions.
London won the best-of-seven series 4-2.
The Knights become the first team to win back-to-back Wayne Gretzky Trophies since the franchise last did so in 2012 and 2013.
“We had a total team game going,” said Knights head coach Dale Hunter. “Our big guns came out and played really well and the young guys who came in and filled spots played really well too.”
Sam O'Reilly and Jackson Edward scored the other goals for the Knights, while Michael Simpson made 33 saves for the win.
Joey Willis and Jorian Donovan replied for Saginaw as Nolan Lalonde stopped 22-of-35 shots in net.
Saginaw's OHL playoff run came to an end, but the Spirit are the host team of the Memorial Cup starting May 24.
Neither team scored on the power play Sunday. London went 0 for 1 with the man advantage and the Spirit were 0 for 3.
Also Sunday, Owen Van Steensel had two goals and two assists as the North Bay Battalion forced a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference final with an 8-1 win over the Oshawa Generals.
Sandis Vilmanis scored and had two assists for North Bay. Dalyn Wakely, Brice Cooke, Liam Arnsby, Justin Ertel and Jacob Therrien rounded out the attack.
Ben Danford was the lone scorer for the Generals.
Oshawa hosts the Battalion on Monday in the deciding game of the series with the winner meeting London for the OHL title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2024.
Round 1 schedule
(1) London Knights vs. (8) Flint Firebirds
Game 1: Fri., March 29 – London 3 Flint 0
Game 2: Sun., March 31 – London 6 Flint 4
Game 3: Tues., April 2 – London 4 Flint 3
Game 4: Thurs., April 4 – London 3 Flint 2
Round 2 schedule
(1) London Knights vs. (4) Kitchener Rangers
Game 1 – London 5 Kitchener 3
Game 2 – London 5 Kitchener 1
Game 3 – London 6 Kitchener 4
Game 4 – London 4 Kitchener 3
Western Conference Championship Series
(1) London Knights vs. (2) Saginaw Spirit
Game 1 – London 3 Saginaw 1
Game 2 – London 3 Saginaw 1
Game 3 – Saginaw 6 London 2
Game 4 – London 7 Saginaw 3
Game 5 – Saginaw 4 London 2
Game 6 – London 4, Saginaw 2
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial has fined him US$1,000 for violating his gag order and sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
When grief and AI collide: These people are communicating with the dead
AI tools can offer recommendations, answer questions and 'talk' with users. But some users are using them to recreate the likeness of the dead.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
WestJet, mechanics union agree to tentative deal to avoid strike
A potential strike between WestJet and its mechanics union appears to have been avoided.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.