David Ovsjannikov faced only 19 shots and stopped them all as the London Nationals beat the LaSalle Vipers 2-0 Saturday afternoon at the Western Fair Centre.
The Nationals, in first place in the GOJHL Western Conference with 50 points, outshot the Vipers 41-19. LaSalle is tied for fourth place with 38 points.
The first period was scoreless, though the Nationals had a power play chance that carried over into the second period when LaSalle's Frank Zak went to the box for holding.
The stalemate was broken at 1:03 of the middle frame when Kyle Dawson scored for the Nationals on the power play.
LaSalle goalie Dershahn Stewart, who had 39 saves, was pulled for the extra attacker late in regulation but Carson Brookshaw sealed the win for London with an empty-netter.
Both teams are back in action Wednesday night. The Vipers host the Komoka Kings, while London welcomes St. Marys in their last game before the holiday break.
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The Leamington Flyers traveled to Komoka and skated to a 2-2 tie with the Kings.
The Flyers have 43 points and are in second place in the GOJHL Western Conference standings. Komoka has 19 points and are in seventh place.
The two teams exchanged goals late in the first period. Isaac McLean scored first for Komoka on an unassisted goal at 17:54. The Flyers tied things up 44 seconds later on a goal by Rory DeNiro.
The Kings regained the lead with the only goal of the middle frame, off the stick of Joel Mazzilli. The Kings' Alex Cunningham and Leamington's Parker Jacques got into a scrap midway through the period and each earned a game misconduct for their efforts.
Kenny Styles tied it up for the Flyers in the third period, but neither team was able to end the game in regulation. Both overtime periods passed without a winner and no penalties were called.
Leamington hosts the St. Marys Lincolns Thursday to wrap up the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule.
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Dylan Muzzatti scored the game winner late in regulation as the Amherstburg Integrity Admirals beat the Essex 73s 3-2 at the Libro Centre.
The Admirals are tied for third in the PJHL Stobbs Division with 38 points, one behind the second-place 73s following a battle between two teams in the thick of a tight division race.
A Cory Burns goal within the first three minutes of the game gave the Addys a 1-0 lead. Essex tied the game at 6:19 on a goal from Riley Meyerink.
The 73s broke the tie with 1:04 left in the second period when Dallas Anderson lit the lamp.
Amherstburg scored the equalizer and the game winner in the third period. Caleb Paquette tied the game 49 seconds into the period. Muzzatti's winner was with 1:14 left in regulation.
Ben Larder had 23 saves for the Addys in goal while Jax D'Hondt stopped 23 shots of his own for the 73s.
The two teams are in action again Sunday night. Essex travels to Blenheim while Amherstburg hosts the Lakeshore Canadiens.
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The St. Thomas Stars scored early and didn't look back in their 8-1 win over Rockets at Strathroy.
St. Thomas is just one point behind Leamington in the GOJHL Western standings with 42. Strathroy is in eighth place with 16.
The Stars scored two goals in the first period, within 21 seconds of each other. Ryan Bangs put St. Thomas up at 6:19, and Jake Robinson followed suit.
St. Thomas exploded in the second frame with four more goals. Kevin Hu had two of them, one that opened the scoring in the period and one that closed it. Thomas McLatchie and Adam Keyes also found the net for the Stars.
Two more goals came for the Stars in the third period, scored by Matt Couto, along with Keyes' second of the game. The Rockets avoided being shut out when Denis Novikov scored at 17:15 in the final frame.
Jesse Hodgson stopped all but one of 32 shots in net for St. Thomas. Joshua Diamond allowed all eight goals and got 22 saves for Strathroy.
Strathroy travels to Chatham Thursday night while St. Thomas heads to Sarnia.
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Duncan Core scored the overtime winner as the Mooretown Flags beat the Wheatley Omstead Sharks 3-2 at home.
Mooretown is in fifth place in the Stobbs Division with 36 points, still five behind division-leading Lakeshore. The Sharks are in seventh place with 22 points.
The Flags scored first at four minutes into the first period on a Joe Ferrara goal. Jake Pickersgill evened the scored for the Sharks at 7:46 on the power play. Mooretown took a 2-1 lead into the locker room at first intermission when Daniel Wellington found the net later in the frame.
The other Pickersgill, Cam, knotted things up for Wheatley with the only goal in the second period. The third period was perfect with no scoring or penalties. Core scored the winner at 3:48 in the overtime frame.
Nolan Hakr knocked away 31 shots in net for Mooretown in the win. Daniel Ronietto had 47 saves for Wheatley.
The Sharks host Petrolia Monday night. The Flags play their last game before Christmas on Friday in Lakeshore.
