HIGHLIGHTS: Knights 5 | Otters 3

By Yannis Economopoulos

Gazizov double dips as Knights beat Otters to kickstart three-in-three weekend

LONDON, Ont. – Ruslan Gazizov scored twice to help lift the London Knights past the Erie Otters 5-3 on Friday night at Budweiser Gardens.

Approaching the midway mark of the opening frame, Gazizov put the Knights (33-11-0-3) up 1-0 with his 20th of the year. Standing wide open on the right faceoff dot, the Russian forward received a cross-ice pass from Jacob Julien before burying a one-timer over the left pad of Erie (22-20-4-0) netminder Jacob Gibbons. Gazizov later slotted home an empty net goal.

Roughly 35 seconds later, the green and gold extended their lead to 2-0, thanks to Max McCue’s 21st tally. An extremely similar play to their first goal, McCue capitalized on a one-timer – this time, near the bottom of the right faceoff circle.

Erie’s Pano Fimis cut the deficit in half with his 16th of the campaign on a shot that beat the blocker of London goaltender Owen Willmore. The OHL’s 2020 second overall pick leads the Otters in points (53) and assists (37).

London started the second period with a two-goal lead, but it didn’t take long for Erie forward Malcolm Spence to make it 3-2. Two minutes into the frame, the Mississauga, Ont. native capitalized on a shorthanded opportunity that extended his goal streak to three games. Within the opening five minutes of the third period, Spence added a second tally on a wraparound.

Easton Cowan and Denver Barkey, who each had an assist, rounded out the scoring for London. Meanwhile, Julien collected two helpers, marking a third consecutive multi-point outing for him.

Willmore made 19 saves in his third straight start and 10th win of the season for London, while Gibbons turned aside 24 shots for Erie in the loss.

The Knights outshot the Otters 29-22 in their 5-3 victory.

London returns to action on Saturday night when they visit Owen Sound for a date with the Attack.

NOTES

With Cowan and Barkey scoring shorthanded for London, the team now has 22 goals when down a man this season, a league lead.

Both teams were unsuccessful on the power play. London went 0-for-1, and Erie went 0-for-3.

With two points in the contest, Cowan extended his point streak to 16 games, notching 34 in that span.