Logan Hawery wired home a Max Crete pass with 34.1 seconds remaining in the third period as the London Knights edged the Sarnia Sting 6-5 to open the 2025 OHL pre-season.
The goal was Hawery’s second of the night. The 2024 first rounder also added an assist.
Rene Van Bommel also had two goals for London and Jaxon Cover added a goal and two assists for the Knights.
Ryan Chamberlain opened the scoring for Sarnia at the 12:49 mark of the first period as he jumped on a loose puck that rolled out into centre ice and raced in alone on Aleksei Medvedev, where he put a puck between Medvedev’s legs for a 1-0 lead.
Sarnia went ahead 2-0 when Liam Beamish banged in a rebound for his first goal on the night on a Sting man advantage at 15:25.
Rene Van Bommel got the Knights on the scoreboard just over two minutes later as he ripped a pass from behind the net past Evan Maillet, cutting Sarnia’s lead to 2-1.
Before the end of the opening period, Sarnia restored their two-goal lead with just 10.9 seconds remaining as rookie defenceman Kaden Aucoin snapped a wrist shot from the right point that found its way through a crowd and into the London net.
The Knights clawed their way back into the game early in the second period as Logan Hawery found Henry Brzustewicz coming in from the blue line and Brzustewicz got a puck on goal, which bounced right to Kaeden Hawkins and the overager from St. Louis buried his first goal in a London uniform to get the Knights to within one.
Jaxon Cover tied the game at three just four minutes and 18 seconds later as he found a space past Maillet from a sharp angle on a London power play.
Beamish’s second goal of the game on the man advantage and put Sarnia back in front 4-3 with 5:12 to go in the second period, but Hawery’s first of the game on a snap shot from the slot on a Knights man advantage knotted things up 4-4.
Sarnia’s power play struck again just five seconds off a faceoff at 7:30 of the third period as James Barr scored to give put the Sting ahead 5-4.
The game stayed that way until Van Bommel’s wraparound found its way past Sarnia goalie Patrick Quinlan with 7:30 to go in the game.
That set the stage for a furious finish and some magic between Crete and Hawery that gave London the victory.
The Sting outshot the Knights 33-30.
Up next
London and the Sting will meet in Sarnia, Ont. on Saturday Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. to complete their pre-season home-and-home.
Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m., on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the iHeart radio and Radioplayer Canada apps