Cohen Bidgood keeps finding ways to put London on his back.
The Knights winger scored twice Friday night, and his second goal - the one that tied the game and stirred plenty of debate - helped set up a 6-4 win over the Sarnia Sting before 9,061 at Canada Life Place. London answered a choppy start with a huge third period, scoring three times to erase Wednesday’s penalty-heavy loss in Lambton County and take control of the rematch.
Bidgood’s eighth goal of the season came in unusual fashion. He was tripped on a clear break, slid into Sarnia goalie Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko, and the puck caromed in off his chest before crossing the line as the net came off. The Sting considered challenging it but backed off after a quick look on the tablet, wary of a delay of game penalty.
“We had to get back to our game,” the 19-year-old from Peterborough said, “and we did. On the second one, it was a good trap by us (and) Thomas Zocco got it up to me. Another guy (was) on my back so just drove the net hard and got a bounce from it.”
Sarnia coach Mathieu Turcotte said the officiating crew told him the puck would have gone in anyway.
“The ref said the puck was going to go in the net regardless when the net came off,” Turcotte said. “We were told it was going in anyway and our guy pushed Bidgood when the net came off.”
But Turcotte made clear the goal itself wasn’t the main issue for his team.
“I had a problem with leaving Bidgood alone for the third time in two games,” Turcotte said. “That’s really the biggest issue right now.
If you look at our goals for, we’re (top three in the league). The difference is we can’t keep the puck out of our net.
“We’re first in the league (in power play percentage) but you can’t win hockey games if you give up six. That’s the big thing for us. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
For London, Bidgood has become the kind of player opponents have to account for every shift.
The Knights also owned the faceoff battle, winning 35 draws to Sarnia’s 17. That edge didn’t happen by accident. London has turned to Mike Eagles and former Knight Ryan Rupert for help at the dot, and the work has been detailed.
“They’ve helped a lot,” London centre Carson Harmer said. “(Thursday), we had a faceoff meeting, a 30-minute Zoom call about it.”
Harmer said the group spends plenty of time on the craft.
“Usually after every practice, all the centremen work on faceoffs,” he said. “It’s strength, a lot of timing and figuring out the linesmen.
We do video with (assistant coach Rick Steadman) before each game on what the other centres do. It’s nice having that.”
The third period was where London blew the game open. After Thomas Zocco and Juho Piiparinen joined Bidgood on the scoresheet, the Knights had enough cushion to survive Sarnia’s late push, including a power-play goal by Tyler Challenger with just over two minutes left.
Kane Barch added insurance and picked up the first OHL goal of his career in his 11th game. The Grand Bend native admitted the milestone had been hanging over him.
“I tried not to think about it,” the rookie forward said. “That felt nice.
I will definitely remember it. I don’t know if my family was here.
They were probably watching on TV if they weren’t.”
London was also dealing with the aftermath of Wednesday’s suspension to defenceman Jonathan Kapageridis, who served the first game of a three-game ban for a slash into the groin area of a Sting player. The play led to a major penalty and set up a key sequence in which former Knight Logan Hawery scored twice on the power play.
“We want to eliminate those stick plays from the game where it’s in dangerous spots,” London associate GM Rob Simpson said. “I don’t think he was intentionally trying to get it there - more in the leg or whack the stick.
We have to be accountable for our sticks on the ice and make sure the penalties you take are good penalties and not unnecessary ones. If three games is the standard, we’ll abide by it.”
The Knights brought up 2026 first-rounder Ryan Beaulieu from Jr. B St.
Thomas for the rematch, and goalie Brian Cooke kept his perfect start rolling by improving to 4-0. He shook off an early long-distance goal on Sarnia’s first shot before London’s offense took over.
On the other end, Tkach-Tkachenko was pulled after the Knights scored twice in 18 seconds early in the third.
Sarnia went 2-for-7 on the power play and finished 6-for-16 over the two games. London’s penalty kill looked better than it did Wednesday, but the Knights are still stressing discipline against a Sting team that can punish mistakes.
There was also a familiar face in the Sarnia lineup. Former Knight Liam Spencer, a Jr. Knights product and member of London’s 2025 Memorial Cup championship team, made his first appearance with the Sting after being acquired from Niagara on Thursday for a 2027 sixth-round pick.
The Knights also presented a cheque to the local Ronald McDonald House for nearly $48,000 raised through the team’s golf tournament.
Looking ahead, London wants to keep pace with Memorial Cup host Guelph before the Storm visit London on Nov. 11.
“They’re at the top right now and we want to get there,” Harmer said. “We have that circled on our calendar.”
The Knights head to Owen Sound on Saturday at 7 p.m.
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