Knights brace for a battle versus Guelph

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If the London Knights are going to get past Guelph in the second round of the OHL playoffs, Jake Patterson is going to have to be at his best.

There's a storm brewing in the Ontario Hockey League.

This series between the London Knights and the Guelph Storm has all the makings of a classic battle.

On one side, two time defending OHL champions. On the other side, it's this year's regular season champions.

Two teams with Memorial Cup aspirations and only one with a guaranteed berth right now.

This series marks the first time the Knights will start a playoff series on the road since 2011. They've dominated the league the past two seasons. This year, Guelph and the Erie Otters were up to the Knights challenge.

“They're a great team,” London captain Chris Tierney said to the London Free Press. “But I think we're going to be ready for them. It's tough to go in there and play two games in their barn but it's something you've got to do if you're going to win an OHL championship.”

“You've got to win big games on the road so we're going to have to do that at some point. I think our guys are looking forward to it.”

But this series comes with its own share of problems for both sides.

The Knights will be without goalie Anthony Stolarz, serving an eight-game suspension, and defenceman Zach Bell, who broke his leg in game four against the Windsor Spitfires.

Meanwhile, Guelph is without 43-goal scorer Brock McGinn, who's serving his own eight-game suspension for a check to the head of Connor Sills in game three of the Plymouth series. McGinn will only see ice time if this series goes to seven games.

NHL Draft prospect, forward Robby Fabbri, who tallied 45 goals this season, sat out the final four games of the Whalers series, after he was checked to the head by Yannick Rathgeb, who's serving a 10-game penalty.

Should the Knights not progress, Stolarz's suspension will be further reviewed to determine if it will carry over into the Memorial Cup.

But roster subtractions aside, this series still has plenty of promise.

“In the playoffs, you have to find a way,” Tierney said. “We've been through different goalies before and you have to overcome injuries to win. It is tough seeing Zach [Bell] go down like that because he's a huge part of our team and a guy everyone really likes in the room.”

“You want to win for him. We know it's not going to be easy, we're going to have to win a game on the road to do it and we think we have a team that can do it.”

Patterson remained unfazed. He's confident in his own abilities.

“I didn't think too much about [last season's final three games]” said Patterson. “All you can do is go out there and play. The guys in front of me have really helped and scored the goals we've needed to win.”

These two teams last met in the 2009/10 post season — London taking that series four games to one in conference quarters. The Storm's last OHL title was way back in 2004. They've been in four Memorial Cups so far, one more than London. They finished as runners up in 1998, losing to the Portland Winterhawks

Six years ago in the first round, Londoner Drew Doughty played spoilsport for his hometown team. He scored the overtime winner in game one and was a rock on defence. Guelph won all three games at the then John Labatt Centre.

This series should go the distance. It has all the ingredients needed to do so anyway. Either way it'll serve as a good tune-up for the Knights, as they get set to host the Memorial Cup in May.