Rangers win overtime thriller
KITCHENER, Friday, May 16, 2008 The Kitchener Rangers came out strong in game one of the 90th edition of the MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament, scoring three first-period goals to record a 6-5 overtime win in front of a sellout at the Auditorium. All-star forward Justin Azevedo was the big hero on this night notching the game-winner at 6:59 into overtime.
Both teams showed their offensive skills in this one as no less than five goals were recorded in the first period alone.
The Rangers drew first blood as right-winger Jason Akeson gave his team a 1-0 lead thanks to a nifty wrist shot that beat goaltender Ryan Mior on the blocker side at 6:17. Less than 90 seconds later, Nick Spaling, a second round pick of the Nashville Predators in last year’s NHL Entry Draft, put the hometown favorites up by two after receiving a gorgeous pass from teammate Ben Shutron. Then, Matt Halischuk made it 3-0 with a wrapper-round.
As the Olympiques proved throughout the 2008 President Cup playoffs, you just can’t count them out. Gatineau cut the lead to two following a nice wrist shot by Michael Stinziani. A few moments later, Paul Byron crashed the net and flipped the puck past a sprawling Josh Unice to make it 3-2.
The Rangers took back their two-goal lead thanks to a Mikkel Boedker marker in the opening instances of the second period. Then, Matt Halischuk seemed to put the Olympiques away by recording his second goal of the night halfway into the second period, but Gatineau just refused to give in and came right back with three straight goals fresh off the sticks of Darryl Smith, Nicholas Mayer and Alexandre Quesnel.
Justin Azevedo put the Olympiques away for good with the game-winning goal with just under seven minutes played in the final overtime frame.
"We showed a lot of character tonight, coming back from three goals down," said Benoît Groulx at the post-game press conference. "But, when you play against a team like this, a team that finished number one in the country, you have to come ready to play. I’m disappointed with the way we started the tournament. The guys were a bit nervous, but I hope they learn from the mistakes they made."
Game two of the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament features the Belleville Bulls versus the Spokane Chiefs. The game will be broadcast by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS starting at 4:00 pm (ET).
