Sarnia Sting goalie JP Anderson awaits a shot by Seth Griffith of the London Knights during the second period of OHL action in London Ont., Tuesday, January 1, 2013.Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press
Nikolay Goldobin's four goals, including one in overtime, lifted the Sarnia Sting to a 6-5 victory over London that ended the Knights' 24-game winning streak Tuesday.
London was just one win short of the Canadian Hockey League mark of 25 set by the 1983-84 Kitchener Rangers.
"Definitely disappointing to lose and be one game short, but at the same time we can't let it bother us because we still have a lot of games to play," said Seth Griffith, a Boston Bruins prospect who has played all his 193 OHL games with the Knights.
"In the long run it was good for us to lose now as it helps develop character in the room."
Goldobin, who is not eligible for the NHL draft until 2014 and is a Russian import, is now tied with Erie's Connor McDavid for goals by a rookie with 18.
Alex Basso and Justice Dundas also scored for the Sting (21-13-3), who lost 3-2 to London on home ice Monday. Anthony DeAngelo chipped in with three assists.
London (32-5-3) had built its 3-0 lead in the first intermission on goals by Max Domi, Brett Welychka and Bo Horvat and later owned leads of 4-2 and 5-3. For Horvat, it was his 11th goal in his past 13 outings.
Chris Tierney and Nikita Zadorov also scored for London, while Griffith earned three assists and now leads the OHL scoring race with 25 goals and 64 points. Griffith passed Ryan Strome of Niagara who is playing with Team Canada at the world junior hockey championship.
The Goldobin winner was scored on Kevin Patterson, who replaced London starter Kevin Bailie at 14:17 into the third after Sarnia had evened it 5-5.
Bailie had stopped 25 of 30, while Patterson only saw two shots that included Goldobin's OT goal. Sarnia goalie JP Anderson allowed five goals on 36 shots.