Sam Dickinson scored once and added four assists and Sam O’Reilly and Easton Cowan each had two goals and two assists as the London Knights defeated the Owen Sound Attack 7-4 in Game 3 of their Western Conference quarter-final series on Apr. 1.
London leads the series three games to none.
Owen Sound forward Ben Cormier got the first goal of the game and got the home crowd going as he banked a backhand off a skate and over the goal line at 3:21 of the opening period and the Attack had their first lead of the series.
That lead lasted until Sam Dickinson went to work in the final minute of the period.
After an icing call brought a faceoff back into the Owen Sound zone the puck came back to Dickinson at the left point and he fired it into a crowd and scored his third goal of the post-season at 19:17 to tie the score 1-1.
The Knights were given a penalty putting them down a man but Dickinson grabbed a puck short-handed and found Sam O’Reilly going to the net for his second goal of the playoffs and London led 2-1 through 20 minutes.
The Dickinson and O’Reilly goals came 25 seconds apart.
The doors opened wide on the second period and the game flew wide open as the teams combined for five goals that locked the game up in a 4-4 tie.
Landon Hookey tied the game at two as he scored a goal on a two-man advantage just 1:23 into the middle frame.
Jared Woolley came out of the penalty box just over two minutes later and got a puck to O’Reilly in behind the Attack net and he found Denver Barkey in the slot for his third goal and eighth point of the post-season and London led 3-2.
Easton Cowan made it 4-2 at the 8:07 mark as he scored short-handed on a pretty feed from Jesse Nurmi.
Owen Sound got one back on a goal by Tristan Delisle set up by Hookey and then tied the game on a wrist shot from the blue line by Declan Waddick.
The Knights pushed ahead in the third period outshooting the Attack 15-4 and scoring three times.
O’Reilly’s second goal of the game proved to be the eventual game winner. Cowan and Barkey combined to feed him at the side of the Owen Sound net and despite breaking his stick on the shot, the puck cross the line and gave London a 5-4 lead.
Cowan found Jared Woolley for some London insurance with 4:08 remaining in the game as Woolley scored for the second time in two games.
O’Reilly fed Cowan to seal the game into an empty net with 1:23 to play.
Dickinson picked up his fourth assist and fifth point of the night on the play.
The Knights outshot the Attack 39-22.
London was o-for-1 on the man advantage.
Owen Sound went 1-for-6.
How are last season’s overage players doing?
Michael Simpson: Belleville Senators
His back-to-back OHL championships led to a professional contract with the Ottawa Senators organization and Simpson has spent most of his time in 2024-25 with the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League. Simpson began the season heading back and forth between Belleville and the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL where he put up a .926 save percentage in six appearances. With the Baby Sens Simpson has appeared in 10 games and has a 3.35 goals against average and an .880 save percentage.
Max McCue: Cleveland Monsters
McCue has played his entire first professional season with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. The former second round pick of the Knights has played a third and fourth line role with Cleveland and has racked up 107 penalty minutes and eight points in 43 games. The Monsters currently sit in fourth place in the AHL’s North Division and are currently trying to hold off Simpson and the Senators along with the Syracuse Crunch to try to secure one of the five playoff spots available in that division.
Kaleb Lawrence: Ontario Reign and Greenville Swamp Rabbits
The hulking L.A. Kings draft pick has split his first professional season between the AHL’s Ontario Reign and one of the best names in hockey in the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. Lawrence has three goals and four points in 17 games with the Reign and seven goals and 16 points in 27 games in Greenville. Ontario is locked into a playoff spot. The Swamp Rabbits are not.
Up next
Game 4 between the Knights and the Attack will take place on Thursday, Apr. 3 at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre at 7 p.m.
If a Game 5 is necessary it will be played on Friday, Apr. 4 at 7 p.m., at Canada Life Place.
Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m., on 980 CFPL, at 980cfpl.ca and on the iHeart Radio and Radioplayer Canada apps.