Game Recap: Erie Ties the Series at Two with 5-3 Win
Game Summary: Erie scored three unanswered goals in the third period to come from behind and tie the series up at two apiece. The Otters scored first before the Rangers took the lead scoring twice. Erie tied it up again before Kitchener took their final lead of the game off the stick of Luke Ellinas. The Otters then came back scoring three goals in the third to win the game 5-3.
Seven Rangers are a point per game or more through four games in this series. Matthew Sop, Luke Ellinas, and Luca Romano all have four points. Carson Rehkopf has five points, Eduard Šalé has six, and Filip Mešár leads the team with seven points.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period
ER 1, KIT 0
5:52 Sam Alfano (5) – Pano Fimis, Matthew Schaefer
Despite being heavily outshot to start the game, Sam Alfano gave Erie the first goal of the game. On the entry, Matthew Schaefer sent the puck down to Pano Fimis who was on the right of Jackson Parsons. Fimis made a no-look pass through the slot to Alfano and he put the puck low blocker on Parsons who was still reacting to the pass.
ER 1, KIT 1
11:15 Carson Rehkopf (4) – Matthew Sop, Eduard Šalé – PPG
Carson Rehkopf took just eight seconds on the power play to even the game up. Matthew Sop possessed the puck on top of the crease before sending a backhand pass to Rehkopf. Rehkopf deked around Owain Johnston, putting the puck onto his backhand, and scored lifting it over Ben Gaudreau’s blocker.
ER 1, KIT 2
12:24 Filip Mešár (1) – Eduard Šalé, Hunter Brzustewicz
1:09 after Carson Rehkopf tied the game up, Filip Mešár put the Rangers ahead. Hunter Brzustewicz got the play going from the Rangers zone, passing the puck to Eduard Šalé in the neutral zone. Šalé brought the puck down in the Erie zone cutting in front of Ben Gaudreau. Gaudreau poke checked Šalé causing the puck to sit loose in front of the crease. Mešár skated around the net before picking the puck up and immediately backhanding it over the glove-side shoulder of Ben Gaudreau.
2nd Period
ER 2, KIT 2
11:54 Pano Fimis (2) – SHG
Pano Fimis scored short-handed on a two-on-one to square the game up at two. On the two-on-one, Malcolm Spence joined Fimis while Hunter Brzustewicz was the lone Ranger back. Fimis glanced at Spence before opting to shoot, beating Parsons and tying the game.
ER 2, KIT 3
12:58 Luke Ellinas (3) – Luca Romano, Adrian Misaljevic – PPG
Luke Ellinas put Kitchener back ahead on the power play as he wristed a shot into the twine through traffic. Luca Romano fed Ellinas the puck near the Erie blueline, he sent the wrist shot on the net as multiple Rangers and Otters crowded the front of the crease blinding Ben Gaudreau and allowing the puck to blast in across the goal line.
3rd Period
ER 3, KIT 3
6:58 Brett Bressette (1) – Malcolm Spence, Carey Terrance
Brett Bressette deflected the equalizer through Jackson Parsons off a feed from Malcolm Spence. Carey Terrance cycled the puck behind the net to Spence who skated it out wide of the net. As he did so Bressette crashed down on Parsons receiving the feed and beating him five-hole.
ER 4, KIT 3
8:19 Alexis Daviault (1) – Sam Alfano, Dylan Edwards
Erie took the lead as Alexis Daviault snuck the puck in from tight. Sam Alfano sent the puck off the side of the net, taking a weird bounce and coming out front of Jackson Parsons. Daviault charged hard down towards the net, shoveling the puck in to beat Jackson Parsons down low.
ER 5, KIT 3
19:34 Martin Misiak (1) – Carey Terrance, Malcolm Spence – SHG, ENG
Erie sealed the game as Martin Misiak scored an empty net goal. Trent Swick stopped an empty net goal at 18:24, however, took a tripping penalty to do so. This led to Kitchener emptying their net to put the game back at even strength. Erie eventually cleared the zone as Misiak brought the puck into the Rangers’ zone and scored with no one in front of him.
The Stars:
First Star: Ben Gaudreau (30 Saves, 3 GA)
Second Star: Sam Alfano (1G, 1A)
Third Star: Carey Terrance (2A)
The Goalies:
Ben Gaudreau made his second appearance for Erie in the series, making 30 saves on 33 shots and bringing his playoff record to one win and one overtime loss. Jackson Parsons has started all four games for Kitchener this series, he made 35 saves on 39 shots.
The Numbers Game:
Shots: ER 40, KIT 33
Powerplay: ER 0-3, KIT 2-3
FO%: ER 46.9%, KIT 53.1%
Up Next: The Rangers and Erie will play game five in Kitchener tomorrow night in what will be crucial game five. They will then head back to Erie for game 6 on April 9th. Great seats are still available. Grab your tickets to game 5 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: Erie Otters
