London blanks Peterborough, 3-0, to open OHL final
Petes coach Wilson says his team will be better in Game 2
LONDON The Peterborough Petes expect to be much better for Game 2 of the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series, says their head coach.
They’ll have to be as the London Knights remained unbeaten on home ice in the playoffs, drawing first blood in the league final by handing the Petes their first shutout loss of the post-season Thursday night before 8,429 fans at Budweiser Gardens.
Rookie goalie Zach Bowen outdueled the Petes’ Michael Simpson, a
London native, stopping 24 shots in a 3-0 victory while Simpson made 29 saves with one empty-net goal.
The game was scoreless until Easton Cowan broke through with 5:05 left in the second period. The Knights added two goals in the final 6:29 of the third.
London, now 9-0 at home, leads the best-of-seven series 1-0 with Game 2 set for 7 p.m. on Saturday in London. The series moves to the Peterborough Memorial Centre for Game 3 on Monday at 7 p.m. and Game 4 on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Petes head coach Rob Wilson said playing the extra conference final game Monday combined with travel may have contributed to a sluggish start.
“I thought London was just a little bit crisper than us tonight,” Wilson said. “I thought they were a little bit better than us. I think we have more and we can play better than what we played today.”
Rookie goalie Zach Bowen outdueled the Petes’ Michael Simpson, a London native
Bowen, pressed into action with Brett Brochu injured in the conference final, was tested by a quality Brennan Othmann shot in the opening 90 seconds.
“Their goalie played extremely well,” Wilson said. “We’ve watched a lot of him. He had a really good game and is a great young goaltender. He made big saves at the right time.”
“Both goalies played well,” said Knights head coach Dale Hunter. “It was a playoff hockey game and they basically made no mistakes. We had to score legit goals.
“It was defensive hockey with both teams playing hard.”