OHL: Guelph, London rivalry redeveloping
Posted December 16, 2011 11:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A rivalry is brewing between the London Knights and the Guelph Storm.
It may not have the cachet of the London-Kitchener rivalry, but the Storm and Knights matchup is becoming an intriguing one in the Ontario Hockey League. The two teams met in a playoff series in five of the last eight years, with the Knights holding a 4-1 edge during that span.
Guelph’s series victory over London in 2004 halted a potential back-to-back champion. The Knights went on to win the MasterCard Memorial Cup the next year on home ice, defeating the Storm in a first-round series sweep after the previous year’s seven-game series to determine the Western Conference champion.
Watch the Knights host the Storm on Sportsnet ONE and Ontario at 7 p.m. ET.
Those players are long gone, but the close proximity and recent meetings are rekindling the healthy hatred between both teams.
“They are a rival,” said Chris Hajt, Storm assistant coach, who is taking over for head coach Scott Walker, an assistant on Canada’s world junior team. “You want to play against London and going into their building — it’s a great building to play in and a great atmosphere with lots of energy.”
The Knights lead the season series with three wins in three games. Two of the three meetings were decided by a goal and in extra time. The Storm held the high-powered Knights offence to two goals or less in two of the three meetings.
Can the Storm’s defence continue to slow down the Knights offence?
Few teams have had the success disrupting London’s offence as much as the Storm. Although they lost all three games so far, two of them could have gone either way. As Hajt indicates, his team finds success through work ethic, goaltending and a chip on their shoulders.
“Our team needs to work hard, they need to compete and the games we’ve played them, we’ve gotten good goaltending,” he said. “I think any time we’re playing the No. 1 team in the country, you have a certain amount of fear that these guys are No. 1 for a reason and we better be ready to play.”
London assistant coach and assistant general manager, Misha Donskov, is preaching his team shoot the puck more often. He feels his team’s high-octane offence is a result of some gained maturity and development.
“When they get their opportunities, whether it’s on the rush or the cycle or special teams for that matter, we’re capitalizing more,” Donskov said. “I think it’s a combination of having a year under your belt and having some pretty skilled players on our hockey club that have good hockey sense and can make plays.”
Will this matchup produce another goaltending battle?
Part of the reason the Knights offence sputtered against the Storm is because of the play of Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Garret Sparks. The sophomore goalie was in net in both low-scoring meetings and is quickly becoming the Storm’s MVP.
“Garret’s improving every game and he’s playing real hard,” Hajt said. “The games that he’s played really, really well, he looks as good as any other goalie in the league, which is great. He needs to continue to improve and get better every day.”
Not to be outdone, the Knights are receiving stellar goaltending from Michael Houser. A surprise omission on Team USA’s world junior camp roster, Houser is having one of the best statistical performances in the league again this season.
“Michael’s a huge part of our team and he’s been a big part of our success in the first half of the season,” Donskov said.
Will the Storm have the advantage on special teams?
London leads the league in points, but is uncharacteristically a middle-of-the-pack team on special teams. Neither their power-play nor their penalty kill is among the best in the league, an area of concern if there ever was any for Donskov’s team.
“I think there’s room for improvement with our hockey club in a lot of areas and that’s certainly one of them,” he said. “It’s something that is at the top of our priority list and something that we’re always focusing on in practice and trying to make adjustments, whether it be personnel or strategy in games. We need to continue to improve in that area.”
Although their power-play could improve, the Storm’s penalty kill is among the league leaders and often provides momentum swings in games.
“Guys have bought into whatever system that we’re doing and have competed really hard in those areas just to try and keep that momentum and kill off penalties or try to get it going on the power-play,” Hajt said.
Will shorthanded goals play a factor?
If a power-play isn’t clicking, don’t be surprised to see a shorthanded goal. Both teams scored seven times while down a man so far this season, five of which came from Seth Griffith in London.
“Griff’s got great offensive instincts,” Donskov said. “He’s got a good stick, he can smell the net and he can finish. He’s been very, very good for us and he’s certainly a huge part of our hockey club.”
“You can’t relax for a second against the No. 1 team and a player like Griffith,” Hajt said. “Tons of dangerous players and they’re not afraid to do it on the PK either.”
