Game Recap: Brantford rallies with four unanswered goals in 5-4 overtime win
Game Summary: Kitchener feels the pain that they instilled against Brantford a night ago as they gave up four straight goals in the third and overtime to lose 5-4. The Rangers’ overtime record moves to three wins and two losses. The story of unanswered goals carried on 24 hours after the last game. Last night both teams gave up five straight goals and tonight Kitchener scored three straight before giving up four in a row. The two teams will not play each other again this season, splitting the season series at one win apiece.
Nick Lardis was the star for Brantford recording four points including a hat trick. Kitchener’s Matthew Sop extended his point streak to eight games with a goal. Hunter Brzustewicz recorded an assist in the loss, extending his point streak to six. Matthew Andonovski, Tanner Lam, and Luca Romano led the Blueshirts in points, each recording two.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period
BFD 1, KIT 0
9:10 Nick Lardis (21) – Patrick Thomas, Florian Xhekaj
Off the faceoff, the puck ended up back in the Rangers’ corner. Patrick Thomas backhanded the puck to the slot which deflected off Roman Schmidt on the way. In the slot, Nick Lardis picked it up and sniped it blocker side behind Tristan Malboeuf.
BFD 1, KIT 1
16:28 Matthew Sop (20) – Trent Swick, Hunter Brzustewicz – PPG
At 12:43 the Rangers began a four-minute double minor powerplay. Noah Roberts high-sticked Kyle Morey after the play which caused the powerplay. After 3:45 of the four-minute powerplay, Matthew Sop tied the game. Filip Mesar received the puck atop the zone from Hunter Brzustewicz and sent the puck back backhanded allowing Brzustewicz to one-time it on net. After the initial shot, Trent Swick slapped the puck back on the net, but it was stopped. Finally, Sop banged in the third shot to tie the game.
2nd Period
BFD 1, KIT 2
12:08 Matthew Andonovski (3) – Luca Romano, Tanner Lam
An absolute snipe gave Kitchener the lead shortly after the halfway mark of the game. After sustained pressure, Luca Romano possessed the puck down low in the corner of the Brantford end. Romano sent a crisp pass up across the zone to the point where Matthew Andonovski point-blank ripped the puck glove side.
BFD 1, KIT 3
12:56 Justin Bottineau (2)
Lucas Moore held the puck behind his own net and sent a backhanded pass out toward the front of the net. No one was there to receive it except Justin Bottineau who found himself one-on-one with Matteo Drobac. Bottineau had no problem burying the goal just 48 seconds after Matthew Andonovski.
BFD 1, KIT 4
15:23 Luca Romano (3) – Tanner Lam, Matthew Andonovski
Luca Romano scored with a little help from Brantford to score the Rangers’ third unanswered goal of the period. Tanner Lam held the puck along the walls when he found himself in a battle with Noah Van Vliet. Lam beat Van Vliet and sent a pass to Luca Romano; Romano shot the puck but missed the net wide. The puck bounced hard off the boards and hit Lucas Moore in the back of the skates and past Drobac, extending the Blueshirts lead to 4-1.
3rd Period
BFD 2, KIT 4
4:06 Nick Lardis (22) – Patrick Thomas, Jake O’Brien – PPG
Brantford cut the lead down to two on the powerplay. Antonino Pugliese took a penalty at 3:17 for high sticking which resulted in the goal. Patrick Thomas received the puck from Jake O’Brien and quickly sent it hard across the ice to Nick Lardis. Lardis one-timed the pass past Malboeuf to score his second of the game.
BFD 3, KIT 4
7:56 Patrick Thomas (7) – Nick Lardis, Florian Xhekaj
Brantford brought themselves within one goal on a tally by Patrick Thomas. Thomas and Nick Lardis each recorded their third point of the game. Thomas came away with the puck after a battle on the boards in the Rangers zone. He sent the puck cross-ice to Lardis, however, Tristan Malboeuf made the initial stop. The rebound trickled off Malboeuf and Thomas, who was crashing hard towards the net, found it and banged it home.
BFD 4, KIT 4
10:31 Calvin Crombie (6) – Tomas Hamara
A long stretch pass by former Ranger Tomas Hamara led to Brantford tying the game. Hamara was traded earlier this season to Brantford and sought revenge by sending a pass to Calvin Crombie at the Rangers’ blueline from deep in the Bulldogs’ zone. Crombie was in a race against three Rangers tracking him down, sending a shot on goal which Tristan Malboeuf saved. The rebound bounced up and off Antonino Pugliese and into the net which squared it up.
Overtime
BFD 5, KIT 4
4:00 Nick Lardis (23) – Florian Xhekaj, Jorian Donovan
The overtime hero for Brantford was Nick Lardis. He held the puck in the neutral zone and circled through it gaining speed as he entered the Rangers zone. He released a quick shot that beat Malboeuf over his blocker-side shoulder, winning the game and recording a hat trick in the process.
The Stars:
First Star: Nick Lardis (3G, 1A)
Second Star: Patrick Thomas (1G, 2A
Third Star: Matthew Andonovski (1G, 1A)
The Goalies:
Tristan Malboeuf’s record moves to 7-2-1-0 as he made 17 saves on 22 shots. Matteo Drobac’s record moves to 11-6-3-1 in the overtime win, stopping 20 of 24 shots.
The Numbers Game:
Shots: BFD 22, KIT 24
Powerplay: BFD 1-1, KIT 1-5
FO%: BFD 53.3%, KIT 46.7%
Up Next: Kitchener heads to Guelph for the third installment of the battle of Highway 7 at 4 pm tomorrow before they play their last home game before the holiday break against Sault Ste. Marie on Friday. The Soo is currently in second place in the OHL behind the Rangers. Grab your tickets to watch the two hottest teams in the league face off. Tickets can be purchased at The Aud Box Office sponsored by White Way Plumbing or online here.
For inquiries, contact:
Lindsay Eastwood
Manager of Communications and Team Services
Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club
613-793-0168
[email protected]
Photo Credit: Casey Bruton / OHL Images
