Otters lose in Kitchener, 5-1
Kitchener, Ont. – Two early second period goals by the Kitchener Rangers helped them earn a 5-1 win over the Erie Otters Friday night at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
After a scoreless first period, the Rangers got on the board 46 seconds into the second courtesy of Justin Bailey. Tobias Rieder made it 2-0 just over a minute later. Ryan Murphy scored at 11:24 to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead going into the third period.
J.P. Labardo scored the only goal of the game for the Otters 3:02 into the third period after he forced a turnover in the Rangers zone and began a two-on-one with Luke Cairns. Labardo took the pass from Cairns and deked twice before putting the puck in the net for his 16th goal of the season.
Matia Marcantuoni and Derek Schoenmakers each scored in the third period for the Rangers to give them a 5-1 advantage.
The Otters return to Erie Insurance Arena for a rematch against the Rangers Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. The first 1,000 fans receive a team poster and a meet and greet with the players follows the game. For tickets, call 814-452-4857 or go to OttersHockey.com
Locastro-Bonini Insurance Three Stars of the Game
No. 1 Star – Ryan Murphy, Kitchener – one goal, two assists
No. 2 Star – Tobias Rieder, Kitchener – game winning goal
No. 3 Star – Ben Thomson, Kitchener – two assists
