Coaches clash over big hits as London Knights beat Kitchener in Game 1

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That didn’t take long. Dale Hunter and Jussi Ahokas are already trading serious verbal jabs.

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The London head coach and his Kitchener counterpart squabbled over two controversial hits that led to serious-looking injuries in the Knights’ dominant 5-2 win in the OHL Western Conference final opener before 9,061 Friday at Canada Life Place.

Ahokas called Finnish countryman Kasper Halttunen’s massive bodycheck that knocked Rangers forward Christian Humphreys from the game in the opening minute a head shot and a dirty play that the club promises to send to the league for another look.

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The referees initially issued a five-minute major to the big Knights sniper, but the penalty was rescinded after video review.

“For me, what I saw is straight contact to the head (that) pops his helmet off,” Ahokas, the OHL’s reigning coach of the year, said. “Those kinds of things, we have to get out of the game. It’s not hockey – head hits. It wasn’t a clean hit at all. I like physical play but that’s not what we need.

“We have too many concussions in this sport and those, we have to get out of the game.”

Ahokas declared he had a screenshot of the play and watched it many times. Hunter, the second-winningest coach in junior hockey history, called his bluff.

“It wasn’t a head shot,” the Knights boss said. “When the kid fell – if you watch the replay of it – he hits the boards and (his) helmet popped off.

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“He (Ahokas) is definitely wrong.”

Hunter objected to the way Kitchener acted after London built a four-goal lead in the first period. Knights captain Denver Barkey left the game late in the third period with a suspected ankle injury after being slammed into the boards by Rangers defenceman Max Dirracolo.

The Flyers prospect couldn’t put any weight on his left foot as he was helped off the ice.

“It was a late hit,” Hunter said. “At the end of the game, they (the Rangers) were running around trying to take a piece of our best players and trying to get them out.”

Ahokas felt it was, in his opinion, a clean hit.

“He’s wrong again,” Hunter said.

Neither coach had a post-game update on the status of the two key players. But Hunter bristled at the suggestion that both teams were at fault for the rough play.

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“When you play hockey and you’re up, who’s frustrated?” he asked. “It’s always the losing team frustrated. It’s always been that way.”

TURNING POINT: Ahokas laid the blame for Kitchener’s lousy start on the Humphreys injury.

“We didn’t play well,” he said. “We weren’t ready for what is needed in this series. The first period, we played really bad. We got caught in the head hit. We’re going to submit that for sure – a straight hit to the head. We’ll do that. We’ll probably send that to the league and see what happens.”

The Knights were up 3-0 before the game was seven minutes old. They fired 21 shots at well-screened Kitchener goalie Jackson Parsons in the opening frame.

The Rangers only allowed three goals in the final four games of their stirring comeback against Windsor in the second round, but surrendered four to the Knights in the first 20 minutes.

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“We got an early lead,” Dale Hunter said, “and kept them hemmed in there pretty good.”

The Knights took issue with Kitchener’s Matthew Hlacar running around throwing cross-checks at their players – including an obvious one at Halttunen that went uncalled. London’s Ryder Boulton and Rene Van Bommel tried to make the Ranger answer for those liberties.

“They’re guys who know their role on this team this year and they’re there to protect a lot of us,” Knights defenceman Sam Dickinson said. “We’re really grateful to have guys like that who go out and take control of the situation. You see Boulton do it for two years and (Van Bommel) has done a good job. They’re great team guys and play their role to a ‘T’.”

How does Dickinson, the OHL’s defenceman of the year, try to handle it when the tempers get out of control.

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“It’s just being smart,” he said. “There’s some times where you get tangled up in a tough spot. For the most part, it’s being diligent with the puck. When we’re up like we are and know they’re going to start running around and doing some dumb things, it’s just get the puck out of your hands early and don’t let them get too close to you.

“You’ll take an icing, take a whistle, to get out of the game at that point.”

AROUND THE RINK: Dickinson racked up two goals and four points. His second tally with just 10.2 seconds left in the first period was a back-breaker and gave the Knights their seventh goal in the final minute of a period in nine playoff games . . . London goalie Austin Elliott improved his personal record to 44-1 this season . . . The Knights have won seven straight playoff games against Kitchener dating back to 2023 . . . Kitchener captain Matthew Andonovski left the game with 10 minutes left in what appeared to be discomfort. Ahokas didn’t shed any light on his departure . . . Parsons struggled playing the puck in London’s building. It was glaring in the first period. He faced 41 shots in the opener and that usually wears on a goalie over the course of a series. There were a lot of Grade A chances early . . . London forward Evan Van Gorp sat out Game 1 with an upper-body injury suffered in practice. He is expected back at some point in this series, but Van Bommel drew in for his second playoff tilt . . . Henry Brzustewicz faced his older brother Hunter in last year’s London-Kitchener second-round series. The Knights defender was proud Hunter made his NHL debut recently with the Calgary Flames. “Pretty special moment for him and our family,” Henry, an NHL draft prospect this season, said. He hasn’t convinced his ex-Rangers brother to root for the Knights, though. “He says he thinks we’ll win,” Henry said, “but he wants them to win.”

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rpyette@postmedia.com

OHL HOCKEY

Knights 5, Rangers 2
(London leads best-of-seven Western Conference final 1-0)
London goals: Sam Dickinson (2), Landon Sim, Kasper Halttunen, Blake Montgomery
Kitchener goals: Luca Romano (2)

Next: Game 2 is Sunday, 4 p.m. at Canada Life Place.

Friday at Canada Life Place

Knights 5, Rangers 2

First period
1., London, Sim 7 (Allen, Nurmi) 2:08
2. London, Dickinson 5 (Montgomery, Nicholl) 3:15
3. London, Halttunen 5 (Dickinson, Cowan) 6:23 (pp)
4. London, Dickinson 6 (O’Reilly, Cowan) 19:49
Penalties – Vermeulen, Kit (delay of game) 4:46, Swick, Kit (high-sticking) 8:54.

Second period
5. London, Montgomery 2 (Julien, Dickinson) 16:51
6. Kitchener, Romano 4 (Lam, Xu) 18:20
Penalties – Vermeulen, Kit, Boulton, Ldn (cross-checking) 2:03, Dirracolo, Kit (10-minute misconduct), Hlacar, Kit (elbowing, fighting), Boulton, Ldn (fight instigator, 10-minute misconduct), Van Bommel, Ldn (10-minute misconduct) 13:41, Bonk, Ldn (delay of game) 14:19, Andonovski, Kit (roughing), Barkey, Ldn (diving) 18:36.

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Third period
7. Kitchener, Romano 5 (unassisted) 10:24
Penalties – Andonovski, Kit (roughing), Cowan, Ldn (unsportsmanlike conduct) 0:39, Hlacar, Kit, Van Bommel, Ldn (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct, 10-minute misconduct) 6:36, Mercer, Kit, Barkey, Ldn (roughing) 9:04, Woolley, Ldn (slashing) 10:54, Sim, Ldn (roughing) 13:24, Pridham, Kit (slashing) 14:29, Mercer, Kit, Read, Ldn (10-minute misconduct), Boulton, Ldn (roughing, 10-minute misconduct) 18:18, Ellinas, Kit, Brzustewicz, Ldn (roughing 18:31.

Shots on goal by
Kit 8 11 5–24
Ldn 21 14 6–41

Power plays: Kit 0-4. Ldn 1-3.

Goalies: Parsons, Kit (L, 8-5). Elliott, Ldn (W, 9-0).

Referees – Pat Myers, Mac Nichol. Lines – Scott Lawson, Nick Arcan.

Attendance – 9,061 (9,061).

Three stars: 1. Sam Dickinson, Knights; 2. Blake Montgomery, Knights; 3. Easton Cowan, Knights

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