Alex Formenton scored a hat trick in the London Knights' 6-3 win over the Otters at Erie Sunday afternoon.
The Knights extended their lead in the OHL Midwest Division to 32 points, three over the idle Owen Sound Attack.
London got off to a quick start by scoring back-to-back goals in the first seven minutes of the first period. Formenton's short-handed goal put the Knights on the board first, then Dalton Duhart followed suit with an even-strength goal, his fifth score of the season.
The Otters battled back in the middle period with two goals of their own. Petr Cajka cut the Knights' lead in half at 2:50, then Kurtis Henry tied the game at 2-2 just after the midway point of the frame.
London's offence exploded in the third period. Formenton broke the deadlock with his second goal of the game, only to have the Otters' Gera Poddubnyi answer the goal and tie the game at 3-3. The Knights then put Erie away with three straight scores. Adam Boqvist scored his second of the year to put his team ahead for good, and later in the frame, Evan Bouchard and Formenton's third goal cemented the victory.
Joseph Raaymakers took the win in goal for the Knights with 41 saves out of 44 tries. Daniel Murphy had 28 stops for Erie.
The Knights return to Budweiser Gardens Thursday night to host the Mississauga Steelheads.
