The city of London, Ontario, and the OHL’s London Knights will host the 2014 Mastercard Memorial Cup, the league announced Tuesday.
The Knights earned the right to hold the CHL’s annual tournament, which includes champions of the OHL, WHL and QMJHL and the host club, over the Barrie Colts and Windsor Spitfires. Officials from all three clubs made formal bid presentations to the site selection committee this past April 17.
The Knights’ potential roster, which has more than 22 players eligible to return from a team that won a second straight league championship Monday, proved to be in the Knights’ favor. “The site selection committee determined that while all three clubs possess sufficient elements for a suitable host city,” OHL legal counsel Gord Kirke, a committee members, said in a statement, “it is the projected quality of the London Knights Hockey Club next season that is the decisive factor.” The 96th annual tournament will be held at Budweiser Gardens in London May 16-25, 2014. The Knights begin play in the 2013 Memorial Cup Friday in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, against the host Saskatoon Blades.

LONDON, Ontario – The London Knights made sure the Erie Otters had no chance to win Monday afternoon.
The Knights scored twice in the opening four minutes of a three-goal first period, and added five more in the third, on the way to beating the Otters 8-1 in front of 9,046 fans at Budweiser Gardens. The defeat moved the Otters (17-33-3-5) closer to official OHL playoff elimination.
Any combination of Otters losses, as well as Saginaw Spirit wins and overtime defeats, totaling three points officially ends Erie’s postseason hopes. That number could shrink to one if the Spirit beat Windsor tonight. Meanwhile, London (41-12-2-2) set out to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Otters Friday night at Erie Insurance Arena.
The Knights took control from the outset, as Bo Horvat scored the opening goal 50 seconds into the game and Josh Anderson followed at the 4:09 maek of the period. J.P. Labardo sliced that lead in half 45 seconds later. The overage forward recorded the first 20-goal season of his five-year OHL career. But London regained a two-goal lead at 3-1 on Max Domi‘s power-play score with 2:30 left in the period.
After a scoreless second period, the Knights capitalized three times on a five-minute power play, including a 5-on-3 chance for two minutes, to spark a five-goal third. The Otters were left short-handed by a series of penalties early in the period , including a major cross-checking infraction and game misconduct against defenseman Adam Pelech. Domi scored his second of three goals at the 3:45 mark, followed by Matt Rupert‘s goal 20 seconds later. Then Nikita Zadorov scored 7:09 into the period to open a 6-1 Knights’ lead.
Domi capped his hat trick, and Alex Broadhurst also scored, to cap the stretch of five unanswered goals in less than seven minutes. Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk allowed the first seven goals on 33 shots before being replaced by Devin Williams, who stopped five of six shots.
Domi finished with four points for the Knights, while Horvat, Zadorov and Matt Rupert had a goal and assist apiece.

Erie Otters at (17-32-3-5) at London Knights (39-12-2-2)
When: Today, 2 p.m.
Where: Budweiser Gardens – London, Ontario
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Thursday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.; Friday at Sarnia, 7:05 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters have split the first four games of the six-game season series with the Midwest Division rival Knights, including a 4-3 win at Erie Insurance Arena Friday night. They meet for the final time March 13 in Erie. … The Otters are five points away from being officially eliminated from playoff contention. Any combination of Otters losses and Saginaw wins/overtime losses totaling five points will end Erie’s postseason hopes. … The Otters are on pace to earn the No. 2 pick in the OHL Priority Selection. They have the second-worst record in the league, behind only Ottawa (15-37-0-4). Peterborough stands third worst at 20-29-3-4. … C Connor McDavid (24 goals, 30 assists, 54 points) holds a three-point lead over Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (24-27-51) in the league’s rookie scoring race. Brampton LW Blake Clarke (18-25-43) trails McDavid by 11 points. … RW Connor Brown set a new single-season career high with his 26th goal of the season in a 4-2 loss to Kitchener Saturday night. He already has new career highs with 40 assists and 66 points. … C J.P. Labardo needs one goal for the first 20-goal season of his five-year OHL career. His 34 assists and 53 points nearly equal his totals from the previous four seasons. … C Luke Cairns (10-28-38) has set a new career best in assists and points. … F Dane Fox (12-16-28 in 28 games) has averaged a point per game since returning from a foot injury. He had two goals and an assist Friday against the Knights, his former team. … D Jimmy McDowell has 12 goals this season, four more than in his previous three seasons. He ranks among the league’s top goal-scoring defensemen. … G Oscar Dansk stopped 75-of-81 shots the past two games after allowing 16 goals on his previous 106 shots. … Rookie D Darren Raddysh has played 14 games as an affiliated player, although nine count toward the total of 10 allowed by league rules. He has been a healthy scratch the past two games. … The Knights snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 win at Niagara Sunday. … They remain nine points ahead of Barrie by in the race for the league’s regular-season championship and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. … The Knights are playing without RW Seth Griffith (33-49-82), who is reportedly out with a broken hand. … Rookie G Anthony Stolarz stopped 40-of-41 shots against the IceDogs after making 29 saves on 31 shots in relief of starter Jake Patterson Friday in Erie. … The Knights are 8-9 since posting a 24-game winning streak, which fell one shy of tying the CHL record. … They lead the league with 229 goals scored.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters had plenty of jump against the OHL-leading London Knights Friday night.
The Otters built an early 2-0 lead and then held on for a 4-3 win in front of 3,060 fans at Erie Insurance Arena. Dane Fox had two goals and an assist against his former team while Connor Brown added three assists for the Otters (17-31-3-5). Oscar Dansk made 30 saves for the Otters.
Matt Rupert, Ryan Rupert and Bo Horvat score while Max Domi had two assists for the Knights (39-12-2-2), which played without injured leading scorer Seth Griffith. Anthony Stolarz took the loss despite stopping 29-of-31 shots in relief of starter Jake Patterson.
Surprisingly, the Otters jumped on the Knights early on the way to taking a 2-0 lead and chasing Patterson from the net after only five minutes and five shots on goal. Luke Cairns opened the scoring by slipping a shot past Patterson for his 10th goal of the season 3:13 into the game. Then linemate Fox, who assisted on Cairns’ goal, flicked a backhand past Patterson at the 5:12 mark.
That goal sent Patterson to the bench in favor of Stolarz. He immediately was tested by Otters rookie Connor McDavid, the first of Stolarz’s 10 saves on 10 shots in the first period. He robbed Cairns of another goal with a right pad save in the final seconds of the period.
But the Otters, which ranked near the bottom of the OHL with 169 goals scored entering the game, continued to pressure one of the league’s stingiest defenses in the second. Erie gained momentum during a trio of 5-on-3 opportunities in a span of four minutes early in the period.
The Otters also regained a two-goal lead at 3-1 on Fox’s second goal of the night 5:51 into the period. Brown earned his third assist of the game on the goal. The Knights pulled within a goal at 3-2 on Horvat’s goal off a rebound 4:22 into the third period.
A great individual effort from McDavid led to his 24th goal of the season and a 4-2 lead with 6:27 left. McDavid slipped from behind the net, and then appeared to mesmerize two Knights’ defenders with his stickhandling, before sliding a shot past Stolarz.
The Knights once again sliced Erie’s lead to a goal at 4-3 with 5:01 left, as Ryan Rupert‘s scored a power-play goal with Stolarz on the bench for an extra attacker. Yet the Otters held on to even the season season with the Midwest Division rival Knights at two games apiece.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 4, Knights 3
London 1 0 2 — 3
Erie 2 1 1 — 4
1st Period — 1. Erie, Luke Cairns 10 (Fox, Brown), 3:13. 2. Erie, Dane Fox 11 (Brown, Kuzmyk), 5:12. 3. London, Matt Rupert 24 (Domi, Stolarz), 9:19. Penalties — Fox (E) high sticking, 9:31.
2nd Period — 4. Erie, Fox 12 (Brown, Pelech), 5:51 (pp). Penalties — Maatta (L) high sticking, 3:58; M. Rupert (L) delay of game, 5:18; Hughes (L) delay of game, 6:43; Fox (E) roughing, 7:17; Horvat (L) roughing, 7:17; R. Rupert (L) interference, 7:44; Pelech (E) roughing, 13:09.
3rd Period — 5. London, Bo Horvat 25 (Domi, Broadhurst), 4:22. 6. Erie, Connor McDavid 24 (Labardo, Donnay), 13:33. 7. London, Ryan Rupert 9 (Domi, Maatta), 14:59 (pp). Penalties — Betz (E) 14:06.
Shots on goal — London, 10-7-16—33; Erie, 15-13-8—36.
Goaltenders — London, Jake Patterson (5 shots, 3 saves), Anthony Stolarz 4-2-1-0 (31 shots, 29 saves); Erie, Oscar Dansk 9-16-2-3 (33 shots, 30 saves).
Power plays — London (1-3), Erie (1-4).
Referees — Jason Goldenberg, Bob Langdon. Linesmen — Ryan Holmstead, Drew Jackson.
Attendance — 3,060.

Three stars
* Dane Fox, Otters (2 goals, assist) ** Connor Brown, Otters (3 assists) *** Max Domi, Knights (2 assists)

Lineups for tonight’s game between the Erie Otters and London Knights …

ERIE OTTERS
Goaltenders
Oscar Dansk
Devin Williams

Defense
Abraham-Pelech
McDowell-Donnay
Wood-Kuzmyk

Forwards
Fox-Cairns-Brown
Labardo-McDavid-Hodgson
Evans-Harper-Wigle
Kuleshov-Pettit-Betz

LONDON KNIGHTS
Goaltenders
Patterson-Stolarz

Defense
Mermis-Harrington
Maatta-Hughes
Zadorov-Sefton

Forwards
Tierney-Horvat-Anderson
R. Rupert-Ferry-M. Rupert
Welychka-Domi-Broadhurst
Liberati-Platzer-Elie

London Knights (39-11-2-2) at Erie Otters (16-31-3-5)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Erie Insurance Arena
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Saturday vs. Kitchener, 7 p.m.; Monday at London, 2 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters have lost nine of their last 10 games to fall 18 points behind eighth-place Saginaw in the chase for the final playoff spot in the OHL’s Western Conference with 13 games left in the regular season. … Any combination of Otters losses and Spirit wins totaling nine points officially will eliminate the Otters from playoff contention. … The Otters have lost five straight home games by a combined 27-9 score. They have the league’s third-worst home record (9-12-1-5). … Ottawa (15-36-0-4), which lost 10-1 at home to Eastern Conference-leading Barrie Wednesday night, remains ahead of the Otters in the race for the No. 1 pick in the upcoming OHL Priority Selection. Peterborough entered Thursday night’s game against Brampton with an 18-29-3-4 record. … F Connor Crisp completes a five-game suspension for a game misconduct incurred Feb. 2 against Sudbury. He was ejected for being the aggressor in a fight with D Charlie Dodero. Crisp is eligible to play Saturday against Kitchener. … C Connor McDavid (23 goals, 30 assists, 53 points) holds a three-point lead over Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (24-26-50) in the league’s rookie scoring race after Goldobin was held scoreless in an 8-0 loss to Sault Ste. Marie Wednesday. The Sting play in Windsor Thursday night. Brampton LW Blake Clarke (18-25-43) trails McDavid by 10 points. … McDavid leads all rookies with 30 assists and trails Goldobin by one goal. … The Otters face the league-leading Knights three times in the final month of the regular season, including Monday in London and March 13 in Erie. The Otters have lost two of the first three meetings, including a 4-3 shootout loss at home Oct. 16. … London leads Barrie by nine points in the race for the league’s regular-season championship and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. … The Knights have lost three straight games for the second time in the past month. … They have lost eight of 15 games since posting a 24-game winning streak, which fell one shy of tying the CHL record. … They lead the league with 221 goals scored and fourth with 143 goals against. … RW Seth Griffith ranks among the league’s top five with 33 goals, 49 assists and 82 points. … C Max Domi (33-38-68) also stands among the leaders in all three categories. … G Jake Patterson has a 17-6-1-1 record, 2.46 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and four shutouts in 27 games. … Kitchener (32-15-1-6) stands third in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Owen Sound and four ahead of Guelph. … The Rangers have won seven of their last 10 games. … They have won four of six meetings in the eight-game season series with the Otters. … They are third with 137 goals against.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters winger Stephen Harper stands eighth among OHL skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings for next summer’s NHL Entry Draft, which was released Tuesday. Ottawa center Sean Monahan tops the list, followed by Sault Ste. Marie defenseman Darnell Nurse, Windsor winger Kerby Rychel and London’s frontlin duo of Max Domi and Bo Horvat. Mississauga’s Spencer Martin headlines the list of the OHL’s top goaltenders, followed by Peterborough’s Michael Guigovaz and Barrie’s Alex Fotinos.

LONDON, Ontario – The Erie Otters produced an exciting and entertaining performance on national television Friday night.
Better yet, they produced a much-needed win. Connor Brown scored the only goal in a four-round shootout to hand the Otters a 3-2 come-from-behind victory in front of 9,046 fans at Budweiser Gardens and a nationwide viewing audience on NHL Network.
The Otters (3-6-1-1) snapped a four-game losing streak, as well as avenged a pair of earlier losses to the Knights – 8-2 in London Sept. 21 and 4-3 in Erie Oct. 6. In the last meeting, the Otters rallied from a two-goal deficit to force overtime before losing in a nine-round shootout. Erie also rallied from two goals down this time around to force overtime and a shootout.
London (5-3-0-1) took an early lead on Max Domi’s sixth goal of the season 46 seconds into the opening period. Then Josh Anderson’s goal at the 14:24 mark handed the Knights a 2-0 lead. But J.P. Labardo’s goal with 37 seconds left in the period sparked the comeback.
Connor McDavid and Troy Donnay assisted on the goal, with McDavid extending his point streak to 10 straight games. Then the Otters tied the score at 2 on Adam Pelech’s power-play goal 4:39 into the second period. After a scoreless third period and overtime, these Midwest Division rivals headed to a shootout. Yet it didn’t last as long this time, and the Otters enjoyed a better result.
Both teams failed to score on their first three shots. But Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk stopped Ryan Rupert to start the final round, and then Brown beat Knights goaltender Kevin Bailie for the winning goal. Dansk finished with 37 saves through regulation and overtime and four more in the shootout. Bailie stopped 34-of-36 shots in the first 65 minutes and three in the shootout.
Stephen Harper and Luke Cairns also had assists for the Otters, which head home to face Windsor today at 7 p.m. at Erie Insurance Arena.

WINDSOR, Ontario – The Erie Otters lost their fourth straight game Thursday night.
The penalty kill that extended their season-high skid was longer. Windsor took advantage of a rare seven-minute power play, scoring late in the second period and early in the third, on the way to handing the Otters a 2-1 defeat in front of 5,501 at WFCU Centre.
The Otters (2-6-1-1) and Spitfires (5-3-0-3) battled to a scoreless tie late in the second. Then Otters defenseman Adam Pelech received 17 minutes in penalties and a game misconduct, including two minutes for instigating and five for fighting, with 4 minutes, 4 seconds left in the period. The Spitfires scored twice on the power play – Kerby Rychel’s goal with six seconds left in the second and Derek Schoenmakers‘ goal 42 seconds into the third. That was enough offense for the Spitfires, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Standout rookie Connor McDavid’s fifth goal of the season, sliced Windsor’s lead in half at 2-1 with 9:30 left in the game. J.P. Labardo and Luke Cairns assisted on the goal. But the Otters couldn’t produce the tying goal against goaltender Jaroslav Pavelka, who finished with 26 saves. Rookie goaltender Oscar Dansk suffered the loss despite stopping 45-of-47 shots – two saves shy of his season high.
Former Otters winger Chris Marchese had an assist for the Spitfires. The Otters travel to London today for a 7 p.m. game against the Midwest Division rival Knights. The game will be televised on NHL Network, which can be found on Channel 157 (DISH Network), Channel 215 (DirecTV) and Channel 324 (Time Warner Cable).

The shootout already had ventured into the ninth round. Yet Erie Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk wanted it to last longer.
After eight failed attempts, Dansk hoped to give his teammates another chance against London Saturday night at Erie Insurance Arena. But Knights rookie Kyle Platzer scored the only goal of the nine-round marathon to hand the Otters a 4-3 loss in front of 2,667 fans.
The Otters (2-3-1-1) settled for one point and three out of four during their two-game weekend homestand. Meanwhile, the Knights (4-2-0-0) earned their second straight win despite squandering a two-goal, second-period lead. Dansk finished with 19 saves on 22 shots in regulation and overtime before his stellar effort in the shootout. His counterpart, Kevin Bailie, had 26 saves on 29 shots through 65 minutes of action and several more quality saves in the shootout.
No. 1 pick Connor McDavid, Connor Brown and Stephen Harper scored for the Otters. Brown added an assist for a two-point outing.
Seth Griffith and Bo Horvat had a goal and assist apiece for the Knights, while Max Domi added a goal.
McDavid continued his impressive start to his rookie season by scoring 1 minute, 55 seconds into the opening period – his third goal in two nights and fourth goal in seven games. He slid past the Knights’ defense and slipped a shot past Bailie to hand the Otters a 1-0 lead. But that lead didn’t last long, as Domi tied the score at 1 at the 6:23 mark with his fourth goal of the season.
Domi escaped a crowd of defenders behind the Otters’ net and squeezed a shot between the right post and Dansk’s left pad. Then Griffith, who burned the Otters for three goals in an 8-2 Knights’ win in London Sept. 21, scored his seventh goal in six games to snap the 1-1 tie with 8:28 left in the period. Griffth tied Oshawa’s Boone Jenner for the OHL lead in goals.
The Otters dominated at the start of the second. They held the Knights without a shot on goal for nearly eight minutes. Meanwhile, the Otters’ offense generated several quality scoring opportunities. Yet while Bailie stymied the Otters, including key saves in close on Johnny McGuire and Luke Cairns, Bo Horvat scored on the Knights’ first shot of the period to build a 3-1 lead at the 7:56 mark.
But the Otters converted their first power play of the game, as Brown turned a fortunate bounce off a defender in front of the net into his fourth goal of the season. His rebound to Bailie’s left with 2:48 left in the period sent the Otters into the third trailing 3-2.
Then the Otters capitalized on their second power play of the game 9:27 into the third to complete the comeback. After Nick Betz stole the puck from a Knights defender, linemate Jake Evans found Harper in front for his fourth goal of the season.
Harper appeared to give the Otters a 4-3 lead on a power play late in regulation. But the officials whistled the play dead for offsides, a call Harper disagreed with but Otters coach Robbie Ftorek defended. Scott Harrington nearly sealed the Knights’ win in overtime, but his shot from the point glanced off the post and into the ground. Then the Otters killed off a power play in the final 1:32 of the extra period, sending the game into the shootout. But the Otters couldn’t beat Bailie, while Platzer slipped a shot through Dansk’s pads
* News and notes: Head coach Dan Bylsma and former forward Bill Guerin headlined a group of Pittsburgh Penguins officials at the game. Knights defensemen Harrington and Olli Maatta are Penguins prospects. … Scott Howson, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ executive vice president of hockey operations and general manager, attended both games this weekend to watch Dansk, the NHL club’s second-round draft pick this past June. … The Otters scratched Anthony Cortellessa (flu) and Dane Fox (broken foot). Liam Maaskant, Justin Felker and Mitch Eisenberg were healthy scratches. Maaskant and Eisenberg haven’t dressed for a game this season.

- Victor Fernandes