Rangers edge 67’s in Shootout

Rangers survive in shootout thriller at Civic Centre.

By CHRIS STEVENSON, OTTAWA SUN

For much of last night’s 67’s game, the most hustle shown by anyone from Ottawa was by the two guys in a rib-eating contest in the first intermission.

Get those “bad to the bone” stories ready.

Then the third period happened.

No, more like it exploded.

The 67’s scored five power-play goals in the third to come back from two- and three-goal deficits, before losing 7-6 to the Kitchener Rangers in a shootout.

Rangers goaltender John Murray stopped Jamie McGinn to seal the win after Kitchener’s Victor Oreskovich scored to give the visitors a 2-1 edge in the shootout with a beautiful Peter Forsberg-type move on 67’s goalie Brady Morrison.

The 67’s sizzling power play went cold in the overtime, wasting two man-advantage opportunities, though generating tons of pressure, leaving Ottawa players swinging their sticks in frustration at the boards as time wound down.

You’ve got to love junior hockey, huh?

The teams combined for eight goals in the third, including one with the 67’s enjoying a 6-on-3 advantage after coach-GM Brian Kilrea, in a daring and rare move, pulled Morrison for an extra attacker with his team on a 5-on-3 and down 6-4.

That one was scored by Jesse Biduke to pull the 67’s to within a goal at 13:19.

McGinn scored the 67’s fifth power-play goal 25 seconds later, snapping a wrister to the top corner to tie it.

The 67’s had entered the third on a flat note, down 3-1 and having been outshot 12-3 in the second period at the Civic Centre in front of a crowd of 9,247.

Matt Lahey made it 3-2 at 1:24 of the third, but Justin Azevedo made it 4-2 just 21 seconds later, and Mike Duco gave the Rangers what looked like a clincher at 5:51 that made it 5-2.

But Ottawa’s Brett Liscomb scored on a 5-on-3 at 8:31 and, still on the power play on the backend of that, Lahey whipped home a wrister at 9:04 to make it 5-4.

Kitchener’s Matt Halischuk scored his second of the night — his OHL-leading 18th and 19th goals of the season — to make it 6-4, setting the stage for the 67’s final rally.

NOTES: The 67’s marked Remembrance Day with a nice pre-game ceremony that saw them honour veterans Joe Coughlon, Bill McLaughlin and their own Gord “Tank” Heatherington, the long-time stats guru … The 67’s are back in action tomorrow when they host the Mississauga IceDogs at 2 p.m.