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Knights looking to finish round robin undefeated

The London Knights have steamrolled their first two opponents, but the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are looking to buck the trend.

The London Knights have steamrolled their first two opponents, but the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are looking to buck the trend.

Ranked among the top Canadian Hockey League teams all season, the Huskies fell flat against the host Red Deer Rebels.

With a day off to regroup, they will hit the ice tonight to take on the Knights.

Huskies head coach Gilles Bouchard said his squad had to play well as a team of five.

“We’re confident we’ll play the Huskies game for 60 minutes,” said Bouchard. “We’ll compete hard, hard on the puck carrier and use our speed and good puck movement. That’s our identity.

“Emotion control will be very important tonight. The guys are smart, they understand the situation and they will be ready to keep their composure and play to win the right way.”

There’s a lot on the line for both teams as either can earn a berth in the MasterCard Memorial Cup final game with a win. The Knights path is clearer as they just need to win, sweeping round robin play. The Huskies need a win and some help on the tiebreaker front to earn the spot.

“We are in a good position right now, so we have to play it one period at a time,” said Bouchard.

Throughout the tournament Bouchard has focused on how his team plays, not worrying too much about what his opponents do.

“I don’t think there’s a special thing we can do to match them,” said Huskies winger Francis Perron. “We all know they can score goals, I just think we need to put more effort into what we are doing right now.

“Last game we were not there mentally and didn’t work as hard as we usually do. We need to focus, have a good start and stay out of the penalty box because they have a good power play.”

The late game starts at 8 p.m. at the Centrium.

mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com