London Knights lost 2:7 to Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League on Sunday evening. The visitors made no mistake in taking all three points away from home, and the result ended a four-game winning streak for the hosts. By then the Knights had looked untouchable in their own rink.
The Firebirds moved up the table with the victory, while the Knights dropped from top of the standings. Nothing in the recent results suggested this kind of collapse. The hosts had won their previous four matches by an average of three goals.
London had beaten North Bay 4:1 on Saturday, Owen Sound 7:4 on the 25th, Windsor 6:2 and 3:2 in September, and Victoria 5:3. They had not lost since the season began, and the confidence was visible in every shift. And here's the thing — fourth place with zero games and zero points means the table says nothing yet, so the real story is what happened on the ice.
Flint came into the fixture with mixed form. They had lost 2:3 to Sault Ste. Marie and 2:5 to Niagara, but they had also beaten Windsor 4:2 and Saginaw 5:4. To be fair, the visitors had shown they could score against anyone. They simply did it more consistently on this occasion.
We had backed the home side with 53 per cent confidence, but the match went another way. The Knights never found their rhythm, and the Firebirds took every chance they were given. The prediction was wrong, and the scoreboard told the full story.
The result leaves the Knights searching for answers after a perfect start. The Firebirds have one foot in the next round of confidence, and they will carry that momentum forward. Seven goals in one night does not happen by accident.
