Knights 11, 67’s 1

OTTAWA — Not that you’d know it by looking at the Ontario Hockey League standings, the London Knights and Ottawa 67’s really do have something in common in 2012-13.

Both teams began their longest winning streaks of the season the very same day, way back on Nov. 2.

Mind you, the 67’s season-long win streak ended one night later on Nov. 3, while the runaway Knights rolled right through to New Year’s Eve, posting a 24-game winning streak that came within one of tying the league record set by the 1983-84 Kitchener Rangers.

So with No. 1 in the OHL battling No. 20, the contest played out just as it looked on paper. It was no contest at all.

The Knights, No. 3 in the Canadian Hockey League rankings, opened the scoring just 1:22 in with the first of three goals by Chris Tierney. They never looked back, with nine Knights hitting the scoresheet in a pasting of the overmatched 67’s before a Scotiabank Place crowd of 3,414 Thursday night.

“They embarrassed us in our own rink and you can never let that happen,” said 67’s captain Sean Monahan, whose club was outshot 45-20. “Obviously they are a good team and you don’t expect them to ever not want to finish. Yes, they are one of the top teams in our league and maybe the country.

“But you can’t expect to lose. You have to leave everything on the ice. We could have competed harder.”

By rights, the 67’s have no business trying to compete with the Knights.

For starters, there’s the small discrepancy of 48 points in the standings.

And while the Knights have nine NHL draft picks in their lineup, including one first rounder, three seconds, a third and a fourth. The 67’s have one.

Furthermore, London has four players with 20 or more goals. The 67’s have zero, with Monahan tops at 17. And while Monahan leads the 67’s, he would rank only third on the Knights in scoring.

Oh, and whereas the 67’s are stuck on 12 wins, London picked up their 12th win Nov. 20.

Back on the ice, Tierney, one of those second-round NHL picks (by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012), scored the game’s first goal early and struck again on the power-play at 13:54 of the first.

Ottawa sparkplug Brett Gustavsen finished a nice three-way passing play to cut it to 2-1 at 17:18, only to have London strike back 48 seconds later on a goal by Max Domi, son of Tie.

London put it away with three unanswered in the second: Tyler Ferry, Bo Horvat and Seth Griffith on a penalty shot.

Horvat, Josh Anderson, Tierney and Domi, with a pair to complete his hat trick, completed the rout.

The 67’s are in Kingston Friday.