Surprise! That's about the only word that can describe last night's game at the John Labatt Centre. It wound up wild, unpredictable and for the first time in what seemed like years, a typical London-Windsor rivalry.

There was a surprise guest when Tie Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs appeared for the ceremonial faceoff.

Then there was the announcement of a surprise signing of a defenceman.

Then there was the surprise struggle. The Knights were life and death to beat the Spitfires 4-3 and extend their undefeated streak to 27 games, two short of tying the Canadian Hockey League of record set by the 1978-79 Brandon Wheat Kings.

They did it by coming back from a 3-0 deficit and, the Spitfires believe, with the help of shoddy refereeing. There were times when Spits coach Mike Kelly looked as if he would fly off the bench, his arms were flapping so violently.

The bench was especially upset when Corey Perry scored the winner in the third period after David Bolland either skated into or was pushed into Windsor goaltender Brad Topping.

Call the win lucky. Even though they outshot the Spitfires 43-14, the Knights needed a bank-shot goal by Kelly Thomson to tie it up.

It was not their best effort. But they won and that was the bottom line.

Domi is friends with the Hunters. He was on his way to Chatham, where he will fulfil a request from two ill Chatham youngsters who wanted to meet him.

Domi is headed to Europe as part of a tour by NHL players.

"Hockey is what we do for a living. I've been skating the last few weeks, but if we wind up going back, I have to be ready, so that's why I'm heading to Europe," Domi said.

News that talks will be resume in the NHL lockout next week is heartening to Domi.

"I haven't seen a deal made yet when there's no talking. "Obviously, we hope things work out. That's about all I can say. We'll see what happens."

It's been a difficult time for Domi.

"It's been difficult for everyone, difficult for the players and for the families," said Domi. "Hockey is what we do for a living. You sort of prepare for retirement. We were prepared for a lockout but it's difficult to prepare for losing a season."

Domi was treated to an interesting game. He watched as the Knights lost their cool far more often than they should have. He watched as the Knights struggled to get clear chances at the net and he watched as the Knights did just enough to win.

The signing of defenceman Ryan Martinelli was also a little surprising. He's played with the junior B St. Thomas Stars for the better part of two years.

GM Mark Hunter got the call just before yesterday's game.

Whether the signing of Martinelli precludes another trade to get a defenceman is still up for discussion, especially since Frank Rediker's status is still unknown.

Hunter says nothing is imminent but he'll keep an eye on what other teams do and how his team performs over the next few weeks.

He does like Martinelli, who is expected to play for the Knights sometime this week.

"I don't know how good he's going to be," said Hunter. "But we believe he can play. He has a real upside. He's big. He can skate. He can make the outlet pass.

"One thing I know is that he's gotten better every year. He has the chance of playing here this year, next year and as an overage."

Martinelli is the son of former Western Mustangs director of athletics and current assistant hockey coach Barry Martinelli.

In the end, though, there was no surprise. The Knights won yet again.