Photo Courtesy: Shawna Lavoie - London Free Press

GOJHL West Playoffs

(2) London Nationals v. (5) LaSalle Vipers

The London Nationals and the LaSalle Vipers are going toe-to-toe in the GOJHL West semi-finals. The Nationals took four of the six regular season meetings against the Vipers, outscoring them 33-17 in those games. Three out of the four Nationals’ wins over the Vipers occurred in London. During the regular season, the Vipers were led by AJ Ryan who had a team-high 60 points (29g, 31a). The Vipers swept the Sarnia Legionnaires in four games in the opening round, with Brett Vorshuk scoring four goals and five assists in the series. The Nationals have been led in the playoffs thus far by James Turner and Christian Polillo, who both have 11 points in through six games so far. Turner has a team-high eight goals along with three assists while Polillo has five goals and six assists.

London now enjoys a 1-0 series lead after a 6-2 win at the Western Fair Sports Centre in Game #1 on Wednesday evening. The teams exchanged goals in the opening six minutes of the game, with Austin Jeffers scoring for London, then Zane Dalpe equalizing for LaSalle just three minutes later. The Nats restored their lead just seconds after the Vipers tied it as Noah Tooke was able to beat LaSalle goaltender Will Tragge. London would add one more before the first period ended off the stick of Cal Davis to go into the first intermission up 3-1. A scoreless second period led into another four-goal third period, but three of those markers went to London, including one on the powerplay. George Diaco and Adam Keyes both had two assists, Austin Jeffers and James Turner both recorded a goal and an assist each, while Max Vinogradov led the way with two goals and an assist. Game #2 of the Western Conference semi-final series will be played on Friday evening in LaSalle.

(1) Leamington Flyers v. (6) Komoka Kings

The Leamington Flyers and Komoka Kings opened up their semi-final series on Thursday night. The Kings are coming off an upset over the third-seeded Chatham Maroons in the quarter-finals, where they were led by the tandem of Joel Mazzilli and Jacob Rochford who both had eight points in the five-game series. Mazzilli was one of the league’s top scorers during the regular season with 30 goals and 43 assists in 48 games played, which was 11^th across the entire GOJHL but second in the Western Conference (Cal Davis 23g, 59a). Leamington had a strong second-half to their regular season which saw them take the top spot in the conference, losing only once in regulation on home ice all season. They were led Adam Jeffrey who had 19 goals and 29 assists, while their goaltender, Zach Borgiel had the fourth-best GAA (2.25) and the third-best save percentage (.924) in the entire GOJHL. Leamington also had a played a five-game series in the quarter-finals, eliminating the Strathroy Rockets. Thomas Michaud scored two goals and five assists to lead his team in the series.

Game #1 of the semi-final series saw Leamington continue their strong play on home ice, blanking the Kings 4-0. 11 different Flyers recorded a point in the win, despite Komoka staying equal in the shot clock. Game #2 of the series will be played on Saturday evening in Komoka.

NBL Basketball – London Lightning

The London Lightning are 20-16 so far this season, good for second in the NBL Central division. They have been led so far this season Maurice Bolden who has started in all 36 games this season and averages 16.8 points per game on 44% field goal shooting. He also leads his team grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game as well. The Lightning are the third-highest scoring team in the NBL averaging 110.4 points per game and hold the third-best team field goal percentage at 46.3%. London has won their last eight games in a row, most recently a 115-106 win over the Windsor Express on Wednesday evening in Windsor. Anthony Gaines Jr. was the story for London on Wednesday, scoring a team-high 22 points and 16 rebounds off the bench, while Marcus Capers also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Lightning’s next game will be in Kitchener on Saturday evening to take on the Titans.