CREDIT: CLAUS ANDERSON/GETTY IMAGES
Newcomer Dante Salituro made a name for himself as a Knight scoring the game-winning goal against the Saginaw Spirit Saturday night.

For the first time all season on Jan. 13, the London Knights iced a full line-up for a regular season game. It lasted all of five minutes.

With newcomers Mitchell Stephens, Dante Salituro and Mitch Vande Sompel in the line-up, there was a buzz around London, as fans anxiously waited to see the new faces put their talents to use.

But after a puck hit Victor Mete in the ear early in the first period against the Saginaw Spirit, a full roster was just not meant to be for the Knights.

London has been battling injuries all year. And they've still been winning.

Even without Mete on the back end, the Knights crushed the Spirit 5-1. Janne Kuokkanen led the way with two goals, while Salituro and Vande Sompel picked up a point each in their debuts.  

Returning for the Knights were Max Jones and goaltender Tyler Parsons; the latter was back between the pipes in the Forest City with a gold medal around his neck.

Winning gold over Canada may have made American-born Parsons an enemy to some fans north of the border, but he was welcomed back to London with open arms.

“It felt good to hear the fans cheer for me tonight,” Parsons said after the game. “They're great fans here and they've always treated us well and I appreciate that.”

On Saturday, London travelled to Saginaw for the second game of a back-to-back with the Spirit. They picked up another W on the road, this time, 4-3.

Cliff Pu led the way with a goal and an assist, while Mitchell Stephens picked up his first point as a Knight with an assist on Sam Miletic's powerplay goal in the first period.

Dante Salituro saved some magic for the third period, scoring in his second straight game. It turned out to be the winner.

The two wins set up a showdown with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Soo for first place in OHL standings. And the game didn't disappoint.

Zach Senyshyn, who never should have been left off Team Canada at the World Juniors, got the scoring started on a powerplay late in the first period for the Soo.

Olli Juolevi tied it up early in the second for the Knights, ripping a wicked wrister over the glove of Joseph Raaymakers from the top of the circle.

The third period saw end-to-end action, but Parsons and Raaymakers kept everything out until the last two minutes.

Adrian Carbonara flipped a pass to Max Jones, who found Robert Thomas just inside the hashmarks. Thomas beat Raaymakers to give the Knights a 2-1 lead at the 18:00 mark of the third frame.

But the Greyhounds wouldn't go away. With time winding down, Boris Katchouk wrapped a pass in front to Senyshyn, who tied the game with 16.9 seconds remaining.

Seventeen seconds from first place in the OHL. But it just wasn't meant to be for the Knights on Sunday afternoon.

Senyshyn completed the hat trick in overtime on a pass from Blake Speers, to give Sault Ste. Marie a 3-2 win.

With the victory, the Greyhounds remain in first place in the league, with 64 points. But London remains in second with 62, and two games in hand.

Regardless of the outcome, it was another winning weekend for the Knights. They picked up five of a possible six points, debuted three fresh faces and are as confident as ever heading down the stretch.

As Tyler Parsons told me after Jan. 13's tilt, the key is to take it one game at a time. But I wouldn't be shocked if a few of the Knights are already looking forward to the playoffs.