London Knights (without Eastown Cowan) whip last-place Peterborough

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Forget his age and rookie status. Aleksei Medvedev has been one of the most consistent goaltenders in the Ontario Hockey League this season.

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The 17-year-old Knight turned aside 31 shots – including 18 in the third period – for his first major junior shutout to backstop London to its 16th straight win, 6-0 over the Petes before 3,830 Thursday at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

“This is a hard arena to come into because the boards bounce a little differently,” London assistant coach Rick Steadman said. “He stood tall. He didn’t have much work early but he was ready for every shot he got.”

Medvedev won his 10th game in just 14 appearances while splitting the net with undefeated over-ager Austin Elliott. That is the best win-to-start ratio in the league but it wasn’t enough for the Russian to grab a spot in the CHL USA Prospects Challenge series for first-year NHL draft eligibles earlier this week in London and Oshawa.

Knights d-man Henry Brzustewicz, an American sophomore with 17 points in 23 games, was also passed over for the two-game set.

“They both know there are a lot of good players in the league,” Steadman said. “They’ve been working hard every day to make sure they put their best foot forward for the draft. They go out there, have a chip on their shoulder, play hard and want to get drafted as high as they can.

“That’s their motivation every day. The scouts see what they’re doing and how well they play. They’re definitely on the radar.”

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COWAN OUT: London forward Easton Cowan did not make the bus trip east with the team while recovering from a lower-body injury suffered last Saturday in Saginaw. This was his second consecutive contest on the sidelines and his 54-game regular-season point-scoring streak remains on hold.

The Knights still won’t rule him out from playing this weekend, though that hope is clearly dwindling.

“It’s a true day-to-day (status),” Steadman said. “We have guys (in London) who can drive him up for any game coming up here. We want him back home with the Fowler (Kennedy) clinic. They do such a good job and make sure he’s getting good treatment and rest at home.”

Denver Barkey returned after sitting out a win over Ottawa Sunday with a minor injury. He registered an assist but didn’t play much when the score was out of reach.

“He’s our captain and leads by example,” Steadman said. “It’s a big boost to the team. When we got up, it’s nice to give the other guys a shot on special teams. We’re going to lose these guys eventually (to world junior camp) so we have to be ready.”

ANOTHER SUSPENSION: London sniper Kasper Halttunen missed the second of his four-game suspension for a check from behind in Saginaw. Forward Ryder Boulton learned a few hours before the Petes tilt that the OHL’s department of player safety determined he would serve eight games for a slash against Saginaw’s Zayne Parekh last weekend.

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“I don’t think he meant to do it,” Steadman said. “The league went with any time you swing your stick like that, it’s dangerous and they don’t want to see those plays. It was just in the play and you take your licks when they come.”

The league had not yet announced a suspension length for Parekh, who earned a cross-check match penalty Wednesday against Windsor. Fellow Spirit blue-liner James Guo also delivered a wild and high slash against a Spitfires opponent in the same game that has so far resulted in only a two-minute on-ice penalty.

rpyette@postmedia.com

OHL HOCKEY

Knights 6, Petes 0
London goals: Will Nicholl (2), Sam O’Reilly, Oliver Bonk, Blake Montgomery, Noah Aboflan
Shutout by: Aleksei Medvedev (31 saves)
Next: The Knights are in Kingston Friday at 7 p.m.

Thursday at Peterborough Memorial Centre

Knights 6, Petes 0

First period
1., London, Nicholl 9 (Dickinson, Woolley) 12:50
2. London, O’Reilly 6 (Montgomery) 15:08
Penalties – Brzustewicz, Ldn, Cameron, Pbo (roughing) 12:15, McCallum, Pbo (head check major, game misconduct) 16:56.

Second period
3. London, Nicholl 10 (Brzustewicz, Read) 5:47
4. London, Bonk 6 (Barkey, O’Reilly) 18:35
Penalties – Read, Ldn (slashing) 3:12, Page, Pbo (slashing) 17:36, Woolley, Ldn, McIntyre, Pbo (fighting) 20:00.

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Third period
5. London, Montgomery 2 (Sim) 10:00
6. London, Aboflan 2 (Jenken) 15:40
Penalties – Van Bommel, Ldn (fighting, 10-minute misconduct), Fitzgerald, Pbo (fighting) 9:18, Julien, Ldn, Faulkner, Pbo (roughing, 10-minute misconduct), Dickinson, Ldn, Jenken, Pbo (10-minute misconduct) 11:41, Woolley, Ldn (tripping) 12:52, Strohack, Pbo (10-minute misconduct) 15:40.

Shots on goal by
Ldn 17 10 11–38
Pbo 6 7 18–31

Power plays: Ldn 1-3. Pbo 0-2.

Goalies: Medvedev, Ldn (W, 10-2). Rye, Pbo (L, 1-4).

Referees – Tyson Stewart, Jarrett Burton. Linesmen – Justine Todd, Hayden Verbeek.

Attendance – 3,830.

Three stars: 1., Will Nicholl, Knights; 2. Sam Dickinson, Knights; 3. Blake Montgomery, Knights

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