KNIGHTS CHARGE BACK TO BEAT RANGERS
It’s a song that’s been sung many times this year. Mitch Marner took a feed from Christian Dvorak with 6:50 to play in the third period and scored what would end up as the game winning goal as the Knights won their sixth straight game, 5-4 in Kitchener on Tuesday.
London overcame a lineup missing Max Domi, Michael McCarron and Julius Bergman (all away at World Junior selection camps) and a few players feeling a little under the weather, but came back from a 3-1 deficit to get the win.
London scored the first goal of the game thanks to a nice piece of coaching. The line of Marner-Dvorak-Rupert had just come off the ice, when immediately the Kitchener Rangers iced the puck, bringing a faceoff back into their end. The line of Marner-Dvorak-Rupert came right back out and off the draw, Dvorak got the puck to Matt Rupert and he sizzled a shot past Ranger goalie, Dawson Carty.
The Rangers came back to tie the game just under two and a half minutes later. Nick Magyar stole a puck at the Kitchener blue line, flew down the right wing side of the ice and snapped a shot just inside the post on Michael Giugovaz, who very busy in the opening period. He faced 23 Kitchener shots.
The Rangers went ahead 2-1 on a power play goal by Adam Mascherin at 11:06. It was just the third power play goal that Kitchener had scored in their past 55 attempts.
London was outshot 23-6 in period one.
Kitchener came out and added quickly in the second as Connor Bunnaman dove and poked a loose puck into the London net just 1:25 in for a 3-1 Ranger lead.
London got a break with just under 12 minutes to go in the period as Dawson Carty gave a puck away in his own end and Aaron Berisha hammered it into the Kitchener net.
The C.J. Yakimowicz broke up a pass in centre and eventually fed John Warren for his second career OHL goal and a 3-3 tie.
Just 34 seconds after that, Drake Rymsha swung a puck out from behind the net to Victor Mete and he sapped home his first OHL goal to put the Knights ahead 4-3.
Before the end of the period, the Rangers would come back to tie it as a shot by Max Iafrate on the power play deflected right to Gustaf Franzen at the left side of the Knight net and he was able to slip it past Giugovaz to even the score 4-4.
Marner’s 27th and now league leading goal stood up at the end.
Giugovaz made 42 saves as London was outshot 46-23.
The Knights will host Guelph on Friday at 7:30 in their final game before the holiday break.
Mike Stubbs
NewsTalk 1290 CJBK
Play by Play Voice of the London Knights
