SASKATOON, Sask. – The London Knights get another crack at the Portland Winterhawks in the MasterCard Memorial Cup semifinal.
The Winterhawks defeated the Knights 6-3 in tournament round robin play on Monday. London fell behind 3-0 midway through the second period before tying it back up, only to see the Winterhawks regain the lead and never look back.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Knights captain Scott Harrington said of the rematch. “We didn’t give them our best game last time. It’ll be important for us to get off to a good start and go from there.”
The Knights will be playing their second game in as many nights after defeating the tournament host Saskatoon Blades 6-1 in Thursday’s tiebreaker. Back-to-backs haven’t been kind on the team playing them, with those teams losing all three games by a combined 20-5 margin.
London rolled its bench late in Thursday’s game with the outcome already determined, which should help keep their players a little more refreshed for this game.
“It’s not our first back-to-back in the tournament or in the season,” Harrington said. “It’s something that’s not new to us.”
The Winterhawks gave their players a maintenance day Thursday to rest and recuperate after their 4-2 win over the Blades on Wednesday.
“I think it’s just that time of the tournament where you have to refocus, reenergize you body and reenergize your mind,” Winterhawks head coach Travis Green said.
WHICH TEAM CAN RISE TO THE CHALLENGE OF AN ELIMINATION GAME?
These are unchartered waters for the Winterhawks, who have yet to have their backs pushed against the wall. They never played a game where they could be eliminated throughout their playoff run, but Green doesn’t think the pressure of the semifinal will catch his players by surprise.
“I think we’ve almost come to a point the last two games felt almost like elimination games in their own way,” he said. “Everyone knows the circumstances. It’s about how we play our game and if we play the way we can.”
The Knights are a perfect 4-0 when faced with such a challenge. They rallied to win three straight in the Ontario Hockey League final after falling behind the Barrie Colts 3-1 in the series.
“When we get to a do or die game, we don’t get too nervous,” defenceman Olli Maatta said. “It’s the kind of game everybody wants to play, (like a) game seven. You know if you don’t win you’re going to go home and the season’s done so everybody wants to win the game but nobody is too nervous about it.”
WILL THE WINTERHAWKS BREAK THROUGH THE KNIGHTS’ TRAP?
The Knights trapped the Winterhawks more than any other team in their four games at the tournament. At times, the Knights were playing all five players between the red and blue lines to make it difficult for the Winterhawks to carry the puck through the neutral zone. That plan will be dusted off and used again.
“They got a solid first line,” Knights forward Seth Griffith said. “Obviously, we want to trap it up in the neutral zone when they’re coming down on us and force them to turn it over because that’s what’s going to get us those odd-man rushes and create those chances on them.”
The Winterhawks used their speed and were fairly good in their puck management after the first period in their previous meeting. Once they took a 3-0 lead over the Knights, London was forced to change their style into a more offensive approach.
CAN THE KNIGHTS KEEP ROLLING?
After such a convincing victory over the Blades on Thursday, the Knights are hoping their many good habits carry over to Friday’s game. Their offence clicked, while their defensive game allowed goaltender Jake Patterson to settle in.
“You have to step up your game to another level,” Griffith said. “We were solid all around. It was not just the forwards that were playing offence, we were playing good defence too.”
“We have to play as a team and we have to defend as a team,” Maatta said. “Our fourth and fifth guys have to be aware of (Portland’s defencemen jumping in the rush). They have good D who can play real good offence, so that’s a big thing for us.”
WILL THE WINTERHAWKS’ POWER-PLAY ADJUST APPROPRIATELY?
The Winterhawks have seen just about every look from a penalty killing unit trying to neutralize their strengths. The Knights were aggressive and trying to take away the point shot, while the Blades were more passive and played a tight box, keeping everything to the outside.
With all the firepower the Winterhawks have in their lineup, Green doesn’t believe the Knights can throw anything at them they haven’t seen before.
“Our power-play’s been together all year and they’re smart enough now where we can just, in a matter of 10 seconds on the bench, make an adjustment and they understand what we’re talking about,” he said. “I would say almost every game we’ll make an adjustment as to how the other team is killing a penalty.
“It is a bit of a chess match, but at the end of the day, you have to get pucks to the net. I find a lot of times on the power-play it’s about getting good shots, maybe finding a rebound.”
Green felt the ice conditions on Wednesday made it difficult to set up one-timers, which gives them a new set of adjustments.
“When the ice is bad, sometimes it’s harder to get the passes to be flat,” he said. “You can’t start forcing plays just because you want to make them. You have to take what’s available.”
