By STEVE GREEN, The London Free Press - Rookies on any hockey team usually have to earn their minutes. That can be made more difficult when the team is as talented as the London Nationals, but Jonathan Sims and Scott Lombardi are making the grade.

The two forwards have made significant contributions to the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League power.

And they're seeing even more ice time in the Western Conference quarterfinal with Leamington because of injuries and suspensions that left the Nationals with only 10 forwards for Game 3 Wednesday at the Western Fair Sports Centre. Still, the Nationals won 9-1 and lead the best-of-three series 3-0. The Flyers have been outscored 24-2.

Lombardi is a centre who played about half the season on defence. The eighth-round draft pick of the Guelph Storm in 2009, said consistency is the biggest challenge. "In AAA you can have a couple of bad games and nobody will really notice, but here you're going to be firing every game, every shift or you'll be on the bench. In this league, playing against 18- and 19-year-olds, your footwork has to be there."

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