London Knights 3 vs. Mississauga St. Michael 0

Friday, September 25, 2009

Perfect debut for goalie

Still decked out in his Barrie Colts mask, Michael Hutchinson suited up for the London Knights for the first time and made 34 saves for a shutout against an old rival.

By RYAN PYETTE

Michael Hutchinson spent part of yesterday in a paint pow-wow with renowned London mask artist Derrick Gilders.

The big goalie was acquired by the Knights this summer but hasn't gotten around to changing his old Barrie Colts head gear.

"He (Gilders) and I went over some sketches and ideas on some Knights stuff," the 19-year-old said with a grin. "What he came up with, it looks great."

And the stuff Hutchinson came up with in his first Knights start, that was great too.

The Boston Bruins prospect stopped all 34 shots from old Central Division rival Mississauga and backstopped London to a 3-0 win over the Majors before 9,000 last night at the John Labatt Centre.

The best chance Misssissauga had to break the goose egg came on a partial break by Jordan Mayer in the third period. The Majors forward launched the puck off Hutchinson's still Colt-covered pumpkin.

They never got another sniff.

"I couldn't have scripted it any better," Hutchinson said. "A shutout in my first start. The guys played great in front of me. They cleared the front and didn't let them get any second chances."

And hockey is all about making the most of second chances. Hutchinson exacted a measure of vengeance on the blue-clad club that sent his Colts career to a crashing halt last spring.

"It was nice get back at them (the Majors) a little bit because they ended our season last year," he said.

Staring back at them from the same mask, he launched his London career in the perfect way. It was his eighth shutout and first against the St. Mike's franchise.

Hutchinson laughed when asked if he felt pressure to outshine the Brick House -- rookie Michael Houser -- who kicked aside 42 Windsor shots last week while he was still in Boston.

"We're not in competition," he said. "Whoever's in there, we support each other and root for one another."

But Hutchinson came here to be No. 1. He looked like it in his debut.

Defenceman Michael D'Orazio wanted to be traded to London so he could get a shot at being on a No. 1 Memorial Cup contender. He ripped home his first goal in his first Knights game on a sweet pass from his old minor lacrosse buddy Phil Varone.

The former Owen Sound Attack defender hadn't scored since Nov. 30, 2007 against Guelph.

"I remember that one," the 19-year-old from Richmond Hill said. "I was getting out of the penalty box and Wayne Simmonds sent me on a breakaway. It's nice to be given a chance to get some power play time. It's a good start. I thought we played a pretty sound defensive game."

The Majors should be a force in the OHL this year. But the franchise has been owned by the Knights of late.

St. Mike's hasn't knocked off the Knights in a dozen games. Go way back to Oct. 19, 2003 when then-Toronto forward Jamie VanderVeeken, who later played for London, scored the winner.

And Dave Cameron's crew was torched by old teammate Zac Rinaldo, who scored London's second goal and was his usual feisty self.

Majors captain Cameron Gaunce was particularly perturbed by the Flyers property's antics.

"He was pointing at me from the bench, saying, 'You-me, we're fighting next shift,' " Rinaldo said, "but I don't pay any mind to that guy. They know how I am. I just took a couple of deep breaths (he's a disciple of the art of yoga these days) and played my game.

"We didn't give them much in our zone. We're a physical team and we did a good job. It was a well-played game by us.

Cameron was impressed by Hutchinson's play, but said his club needs to get traffic in front to score. "You're not going to beat a good goalie from the perimeter in this league. We were too cute."

And the old Colt stopper finally made them pay.

SHOTS
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors - 34
London Knights - 32

SCORING
1. LDN Hunter, (1) (Hunter, MacDonald), 9:55
2. LDN Rinaldo, (1) (Tarasuk), 14:52
2. LDN D'Orazio, (1) (Varone, McRae), 15:43 (PP)

PENALTIES
1 - MISS Flemming, 0:32 - Interference , 2 min (PP)
1 - LDN Ekelund, 3:18 - Holding , 2 min (PP)
1 - MISS Cizikas, 15:36 - Unsportsmanlike Cnd. , 2 min
1 - LDN Rinaldo, 15:36 - Unsportsmanlike Cnd. , 2 min
1 - LDN Rinaldo, 15:36 - Unsportsmanlike Cnd. , 2 min (PP)
2 - LDN D'Orazio, 2:13 - Delay of Game , 2 min (PP)
2 - LDN Ekelund, 6:40 - High Sticking , 2 min (PP)
2 - LDN Rinaldo, 10:20 - Interference , 2 min (PP)
2 - MISS Corrente, 12:40 - Interference , 2 min (PP)
2 - MISS Ekelman, 15:05 - Roughing , 2 min (PP)
2 - LDN Rinaldo, 16:26 - Roughing , 2 min (PP)
3 - MISS Parlett, 1:35 - Hooking , 2 min (PP)
3 - LDN Ashman, 10:17 - Holding , 2 min (PP)
3 - MISS Ekelman, 13:34 - Roughing , 2 min
3 - LDN Ashman, 13:34 - Cross Checking , 2 min
3 - MISS Billingsley, 15:48 - Holding , 2 min
3 - LDN Rinaldo, 15:48 - Charging , 2 min

MISSISSAUGA ST. MICHAEL'S MAJORS GOALIES
30 Carrozzi, Chris Goals Against: 3 Mins: 60:00 Shots: 32 Saves: 29 PIM: 0
35 Anderson, JP Goals Against: - Mins: - Shots: - Saves: - PIM: -

LONDON KNIGHTS GOALIES
29 Houser, Michael GA: - MIN: - SH: - SV: - PIM: -
41 Hutchinson, Michael GA: 0 MIN: 60:00 SH: 34 SV: 34 PIM: 0

THREE STARS
1. LDN - 41 Michael Hutchinson
2. LDN - 10 Steven Tarasuk
3. LDN - 92 Daniel Erlich

ICE OFFICIALS
Sean Reid (26), Referee
Jason Faist (5), Referee
Darryl Wolfe (53), Linesman
Ben Wilson (92), Linesman

OFF-ICE OFFICIALS
Dean Johnson, Score Keeper
Josh Sweetland, Online Scorekeeper
Dave Longfield, Goal Judge 1
John McInerney, Goal Judge 2
Tim Lane, Video Goal Judge

ARENA
John Labatt Centre
Attendance: 9000
Start: 7:33 PM
End: 9:43 PM
Length: 2:10