'Overall fatigue': Cowan misses practice again, questionable to play on road trip

The London Knights took the ice for practice Wednesday without Easton Cowan for the second consecutive day.

“He's just going to get reevaluated,” said Dylan Hunter, Knights assistant coach. “He’s just getting through some bumps and bruises. It’s basically a day-to-day kind of thing."

Cowan got banged up Saturday in Saginaw. Without getting into specifics, Hunter called it “overall fatigue.”

“It's just over how much he plays,” said Hunter. “We have had a strong schedule the last couple of weeks. So just making sure he's 100 per cent ready to go into December.”

Before practice, Cowan was at Canada Life Place and told CTV News he’s hoping to play on the road trip.

“We'll see here in the next couple days how I'm feeling,” said Cowan, who has recorded a point in a Knights team record 54 straight games. “We're going to take it day-by-day, and practice by practice.”

London Knights assistant coach Dylan Hunter watches practices at Canada Life Place on Nov. 27, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

The Knights have a busy weekend ahead with three games in four days. They’ll head east to Peterborough Thursday, play Friday in Kingston, and after a day off, face the 67’s in Ottawa on Sunday.

The next game Cowan suits up, he’ll need a goal or an assist to equal Doug Gilmour’s all-time mark of 55 straight games with a point.

“I'm just going to try my best to keep it going, and that's all I can do,” said Cowan, who was seen leaving the arena before the start of practice.

His teammates have been feeding him the puck consistently, trying to keep this run alive.

“Every time he has the puck, you kind of got butterflies hoping he scores because it's such a cool thing,” said teammate and Knights forward Landon Sim. “You never see that anywhere. My buddy was telling me a joke the other day that he hasn’t brushed his teeth 55 days in a row. To get a point 55 games in a row is absolutely crazy.”

Easton Cowan speaks to CTV News before leaving London Knights practice at Canada Life Place on Nov. 27, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

Hunter said it’s a fine line between teammates trying to get him on the scoresheet, and making sure they do what’s best for the team.

“He (Cowan) is a down to earth kid, so he would never want to a guy to pass up a scoring opportunity,” said Hunter. “But as a teammate, it's in the back of your head. You want to make sure he gets that one to at least tie that streak.”

But the pressure to keep this run alive has taken a physical and mental toll on Cowan.

“Every day he has to come up for these games, not just be targeted for being the best player and knowing he's been tried to get shut down, but he's got this streak he's got to contend with as well,” said Hunter. “It shows how mature he is and how he comes to the rink every day with a plan. That's why it (the streak) hasn't been even touched in 30 years. It's a tough streak to attain.”

Knights riding 15-game win streak

Cowan’s mark isn’t the only streak the Knights have going. The team has won 15 consecutive games heading into Peterborough Thursday.

"We didn't get to get to 15 wins [in a row] last year,” said Sim.

“We lost in a shootout to Peterborough at 14, so getting up to 15 was pretty special. It's the biggest win streak that I've probably ever been a part of, and we’ve got to keep rolling here."

London knew they would be really good when they started getting their NHL draft picks back in the lineup. They’ve jumped to number one in the Canadian Hockey League rankings.

“We just got Halts (Kasper Haltunnen) back, but you still have to mesh him into the lineup,” said Hunter. “Guys are kind of monkeying around on different lines, but they've done a good job. Every time you add a new guy, it changes your identity a little bit but they've done a good job taking that information in and applying it.”

London Knights goaltender Austin Elliott prepares to face a shot in practice at Canada Life Place on Nov. 27, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

Unbeaten goaltender Austin Elliott

Goaltender Austin Elliott has not lost since coming to London from the Western Hockey League after the team acquired his rights from Barrie.

He stopped 29 shots Sunday to improve to 9-0 in the London crease.

“I heard about London out west,” said Elliott. “You hear about how great of a team it is here and how, how awesome the place is. It's everything I would have thought it would be, and I'm loving it here. We have a really good team too so that makes things a bit better.”

The overage goalie said they have a “confident group” and believes they can keep this run going.

“I just wanted to come in and play my game,” said Elliott. “Obviously winning is what you strive for, and that's my focus every game. It’s been really cool. We lost the first game I was here, but since then we've been on a really good run.”