Linus Funck and Ryan Brown each had a goal and an assist as the London Knights downed the Saginaw Spirit 5-3 at the Dow Event Center on Saturday.
The win gave London 23 straight seasons in which they have reached the 30-win milestone, a record dating back to 2001-02 when Rick Nash was in his second year with the team and Corey Perry was in his first.
Braiden Clark gave the Knights an early lead, scoring the first goal of the game on a two-man advantage at 11:48 of the opening period. He had returned to the London lineup the night before after missing four games due to an injury he suffered against the Sarnia Sting on Jan. 23.
Brown scored his fourth goal in three games at 3:32 of the second period, putting the Knights ahead 2-0 as he snapped a puck high over the glove of Saginaw netminder Stepan Shurygin. Brown’s point streak is now at nine games.
Will Nicholl scored his second goal in as many nights at 15:41 when he buried a wrist shot from the right side.
Nicholl had ended the game 24 hours earlier against Niagara in overtime. Henry Brzustewicz assisted on the goal to bring his point streak to 11 games.
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Less than two minutes, later Levi Harper deflected in his ninth goal of the year to get the Spirit on the scoreboard, but London went to the final 20 minutes ahead by two.
The Knights killed the remaining one minute of a Spirit power play to begin the third period and then restored their three-goal advantage when Caleb Mitchell wired a wrist shot inside the left post at the 2:16 mark.
Saginaw’s Nikita Klepov made it 4-2, scoring off a faceoff at 6:56.
The Spirit then closed the gap to a single goal with 5:09 remaining in regulation time as Dima Zhilkin banged in a rebound in front of the London net. But just 34 seconds later, Funck was rewarded for his strong defensive play when his shot found its way into the Spirit net to end the scoring.
Knights goalies Aleksei Medvedev made 29, and London outshot Saginaw 33-32. The Knights were also 1-for-3 on the power play. The Spirit were 0-for-1.
Evan Bouchard hits Olympic break leading all NHL defencemen in scoring
Evan Bouchard’s offence has been big for the Edmonton Oilers in 2025-26.
The former Knights captain has 15 goals and 63 points in 58 games to put him atop the scoring race for National Hockey League defencemen.
Bouchard highlights this year include a six-point effort in an overtime victory over the Washington Capitals on Jan. 25. That game saw Bouchard record his first career hat trick and also join Paul Coffey and Kevin Lowe as the only other Oilers players to hit that mark.
Bouchard is in his fifth full season in the NHL.
Up next
London heads to Kitchener on Tuesday, Feb. 10, where the Knights will meet the Rangers for the second time in less than two weeks.
London came back from a 3-1 deficit on Feb. 4 to force overtime. But former Knight Sam O’Reilly scored the game winning goal for the Ranger in the return of O’Reilly and Jared Woolley to Canada Life Place.
The Knights host Guelph on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 6:30 p.m., which will also be Sam Dickinson Bobblehead Night. The first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive a bobblehead featuring Dickinson, now a defenceman for the San Jose Sharks, holding the Memorial Cup.
Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 and at 6 p.m. on Feb. 11 on 980 CFPL, at http://www.980cfpl.ca and on the iHeart Radio and Radioplayer Canada apps.
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