Jesters won't fool the Knights

With eight wins from their past nine games, London Knights are in top form as they prepare for tonight's Benson & Hedges Cup semi-final first leg at Newcastle Jesters.

Knights are second in the Sekonda Superleague and netminder Trevor Robins hasn't conceded a goal in his last two games. In fact, the Jesters were the last side to score against London when the northerners lost 6-2 on 15 October, a total of 168 minutes of play without losing a goal.

Robins was one of three Knights players retained from last season's play-off winning side. One player added to the bench over the summer was forward Claude Jutras, who scored in Saturday's 2-0 win over Nottingham Panthers. The French Canadian has been involved in almost every incident since joining the team.

Head coach Chris McSorley brought Jutras to London after spotting him while coach at the Las Vegas Thunder in the International Hockey League. Jutras played for rival side Long Beach Ice Dogs.

McSorley said: "He's a fiery Frenchman who plays with a certain determination that makes it extremely difficult to play against him. He's a power forward and is very difficult to try to check."

So far this season, Jutras, born in Quebec, has amassed 131 penalty minutes, adding seven goals and three assists.