The London Knights are an ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League.

History

The team was founded as an Ontario Hockey Association junior A team in 1965 as the London Nationals (they were sponsored by the Canadian National Recreation Association, an organization of Canadian National Railways employees). The team was affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League until 1968. From 1966 to 1968 they were coached by former Leafs coach Turk Broda. In 1968 they were sold, the name was changed to the London Knights and the team colours were changed to green and gold. Currently, the owner, president, and coach is former NHL player Dale Hunter. They played in the London Gardens until 2002, when they moved to the John Labatt Centre (capacity: 9,200), the largest arena in Western Ontario.

They have appeared in the OHL championship twice, losing to the Ottawa 67's in 1977 and the Belleville Bulls in 1999. In the 1995–1996 season they had their worst-ever record with 3 wins, 60 losses, and 3 ties. In the 2003–2004 season they had the best record in the CHL after the regular season, also setting an OHL record with 110 points, but they lost to the Guelph Storm in the OHL Western Conference final.

In the 2004-2005 season, the Knights had 120 points (59 wins, 7 losses, 2 ties), which broke the Canadian Hockey League record of 110 points that they set the previous year. The London Knights and the John Labatt Centre have been awarded the 2005 Memorial Cup Tournament. Because the host team is an automatic competitor in the tournament, the London Knights will be making their first appearance.

London's 2004-05 Undefeated Streak

In the 2004-2005 season the London Knights broke an OHL record, going 28 games in a row without a loss (27-0-1). They subsequently broke the CHL record of 29 games (held by the 1977-78 Brandon Wheat Kings , who went 25-0-4 during their streak), with a 0-0 tie with the Guelph Storm on December 10, 2004, giving them a record of 28-0-2. The streak ended at 31 games after a 5-2 loss to the Sudbury Wolves on December 17.

*Tied OHL record previously set by Kitchener in 1983-84
**Broke OHL record previously set by Kitchener in 1983-84
***Tied CHL record previously set by Brandon in 1978-79
****Broke CHL record previously set by Brandon in 1978-79

2005 Playoffs

As of 13 April 2005, the London Knights have been undefeated in the OHL playoffs, winning the first round against the Guelph Storm and the second against the Windsor Spitfires. They will face the Kitchener Rangers in round three.

Former London Knights

A number of Knights later played in the National Hockey League, including:

• Jason Allison
• Fred Brathwaite
• Dino Cicarelli
• John Erskine
• Rico Fata
• Alex Henry
• Tom Kostopoulos
• Dave Lowry
• Brad Marsh
• Rick Nash
• Rob Ramage
• Brendan Shanahan
• Daryl Sittler
• Charlie Stephens
• Chris Taylor
• Tim Taylor

Retired numbers

5 - Rob Ramage
8 - Dino Cicarelli
9 - Daryl Sittler
19 - Brendan Shanahan
22 - Brad Marsh

External links

• Official Website

There was also a London Knights team in the British Ice Hockey Superleague (named for the London Knights of the OHL) who played from 1998 to 2003 in London, England.