For the second time since 2010, the London Knights are the winners of back-to-back OHL Championships. The Knights took game five of the OHL Final to hoist the J. Ross Robertson Cup on home ice.
This year, the Knights took five games to defeat the Oshawa Generals, whom they swept in last year’s finals.
In an immediate divergence from last year, the Generals took game one on the road and started the series confidently. From there, the Knights dominated the series, winning three games in convincing fashion.
While the Generals put up a fantastic fight in game five, they ultimately fell short, losing 5-2.
Nashville Predators prospect Andrew Gibson got the scoring started in game five, firing a puck past Austin Elliott from the point. The big blue-liner was one of Oshawa’s best players throughout the series, tallying multiple goals at crucial moments.
London’s Kasper Halttunen, who scored a pair of goals in the game, got the Knights on the board in the final minute of the period to take things to the intermission tied at one.
The best tradition in hockey! The @LondonKnights and @Oshawa_Generals meet at centre ice after a hard-fought series!🥰#OHLChampionship | @CHLHockeypic.twitter.com/cqyzABpHxw
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 16, 2025
Halttunen was awarded the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award, which is given to the OHL Playoffs MVP. He scored eight goals in the last three games of the series, recording back-to-back hattricks. He is the first European to win the award.
As was the case in games two through four, London dominated the second period, scoring a pair of goals to take a 3-1 lead. Anaheim Ducks prospect Beckett Sennecke found a big response at the end of the period to make it 3-2.
London locked things down in the third period, stifling the talented Oshawa offense, which got 18 shots in the final frame.
Halttunen Hattrick Highlights London’s Game Four WinThe London Knights won game four of the OHL Final in dominant fashion, defeating the Oshawa Generals 6-2. A pair of San Jose Sharks prospects factored heavily into the Knights’ victory.
Landon Sim scored a huge goal by following up on Ottawa Senators prospect Blake Montgomery’s rush and batting the puck out of the air to make it 4-2. Easton Cowan scored an empty-net goal to make it 5-2.
The win gave Head Coach Dale Hunter his fifth OHL Championship, tying him for the most in OHL history.
The last time the Knights won back-to-back championships was during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. It takes a special set of players to win in two consecutive seasons. Notable members of the 2012/13 Knights included Islanders’ star Bo Horvat, Leafs’ forward Max Domi and Chris Tierney.
Just like those teams, the 2024/25 Knights were loaded with talent. It feels like it will only be a matter of time before we see these young stars start to step into the NHL.
While the Knights will assuredly take some time to celebrate their victory, they still have unfinished business to attend to. They made it to the Memorial Cup Final last year, where they lost to the Saginaw Spirit.
Sam Dickinson told The Hockey News earlier in the season that the Memorial Cup was the goal and the standard that this team held itself to. They want to return to that stage, and this time, potentially take home a trophy.
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