Game Recap: Luke Ellinas Dominates in 9-5 Win Over Flint
Game Summary: Luke Ellinas tied the game at the end of the first period, scoring the first of five straight for the Blueshirts as they took the lead and never looked back. With the 9-5 win at home, the Rangers have won four straight and will look to make it five on the road tomorrow against the London Knights. Cambridge native Nolan Dann joined Luke Ellinas in the scoring spree also recording a hat trick in the contest. He and Coulson Pitre connected on all his goals.
Luke Ellinas’ hat trick was the first of his OHL career. He has only one other multi-goal game coming December 30th against Owen Sound where he scored twice. He scored all three goals in only seven minutes and 12 seconds. His first was scored with 1:49 remaining in the first period and his third came 5:23 into the second. Carson Campbell also recorded a first tonight as this was the first multi-point game of his career.
Getting Streaky
A bunch of streaks accompany Kitchener’s four-game win streak. Eduard Šalé, Filip Mešár, Matthew Andonovski, and Carson Rehkopf are all currently on four-game point streaks with today’s offensive onslaught. Matthew Sop and Trent Swick join the mix as they hop on three-game point streaks after tonight.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period
FLNT 0, KIT 1
2:35 Justin Bottineau (5) – Luca Romano
Justin Bottineau got Kitchener off to a hot start giving the Rangers an early lead. Luca Romano forechecked hard off a dump in and stripped Flint of the puck below the goal line. He turned and saw Bottineau alone on top of the crease and sent him a hard pass which he quickly buried for his fifth of the campaign.
FLNT 1, KIT 1
8:08 Nolan Dann (25) – Coulson Pitre
Nolan Dann tied the game up scoring low blocker on Tristan Malboeuf. As Flint entered the zone, Coulson Pitre sent the puck to Nolan Dann, bouncing it off his skate and behind the net. Dann won the race to the puck eventually taking it out to the top of the glove side faceoff circle. From there he fired it into the net to tie the game.
FLNT 2, KIT 1
11:46 Alex Kostov (11) – Oliver Peer
Flint took their only lead of the game when Alex Kostov found the back of the net. Connor Clattenburg won an offensive zone faceoff and took the puck toward the net. As he attempted to centre it, the puck bounced off multiple players including Oliver Peer before finding its way out to Kostov, who shot the puck up top and in.
FLNT 2, KIT 2
18:11 Luke Ellinas (11) – Tanner Lam
Luke Ellinas tied the game up late in the first after a great forechecking effort by Tanner Lam. The puck was dumped in and retrieved by Gavin Ewles in the corner. Lam charged hard into the Flint zone stripping Ewles of the puck before spinning and seeing Ellinas in the slot. He cut closer to the net before roofing it over Nathan Day.
2nd Period
FLNT 2, KIT 3
1:44 Eduard Šalé (13) – Filip Mešár
Eduard Šalé ripped the puck five-hole off the rush to give the Rangers the lead. Filip Mešár passed him the puck as the Rangers entered the Flint zone, allowing Šalé to capitalize on some space as he skated down towards the net and scored Kitchener’s first of many in the second period.
FLNT 2, KIT 4
2:35 Luke Ellinas (12) – Mitchell Martin
Luke Ellinas scored his second of the game on a breakaway. Mitchell Martin launched Ellinas onto the breakaway with a slip pass between two defenders in the neutral zone. On the breakaway, Ellinas opted for his backhand and put it past Nathan Day’s glove side.
FLNT 2, KIT 5
3:50 Matthew Sop (40) – Matthew Andonovski, Carson Rehkopf
Matthew Sop scored his 40th goal of the season to give Kitchener a three-goal lead early in the second period. The puck went low to high as Carson Rehkopf sent the puck to the point to Matthew Andonovski who then sent it back down to the slot to Sop. Sop had no problem putting the puck into the netting with space in the slot.
FLNT 2, KIT 6
5:23 Luke Ellinas (40) – Max Dirracolo, Carson Campbell
Luke Ellinas recorded his hat trick goal to end Nathan Day’s night in the net and score Kitchener’s fourth goal in the first 5:23 of the second period. Ellinas received the puck in the neutral zone and skated down to the top of the blocker-side faceoff circle. From there he sniped it high glove for his first career OHL hat trick.
FLNT 3, KIT 6
7:20 Nolan Dann (26) – Coulson Pitre
Nolan Dann scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway. Kitchener turned the puck over as they broke into Flint’s zone. A nice pass from Coulson Pitre to Nolan Dann diagonally from one blueline to another and sent Dann in on a breakaway. On the breakaway Dann scored glove side.
FLNT 3, KIT 7
15:08 Trent Swick (25) – Matthew Sop, Carson Campbell
Trent Swick reaped the reward of Matthew Sop’s hard work as he scored after Sop lost possession driving the net. Sop received the puck near the blueline before taking on all five Flint players on the ice, eventually driving towards the net. He lost possession in-tight, however the puck bounced right out to Swick who put it in past Jacob Brown.
FLNT 3, KIT 8
18:17 Luca Romano (7)
Luca Romano scored the last of seven goals in the third period as he stripped Roberto Mancini of the puck in the Firebirds zone and capitalized, scoring on an unsuspecting Jacob Brown.
3rd Period
FLNT 4, KIT 8
3:08 Nolan Dann (27) – Coulson Pitre
Nolan Dann and Coulson Pitre connected for the third time tonight leading to Dann’s hat trick. Dann walked down from the point, cutting in through the faceoff circle to the slot where he tucked the puck around a diving Tristan Malboeuf.
FLNT 4, KIT 9
4:53 Luca Romano (8) – Justin Bottineau, Antonino Pugliese
Luca Romano scored his second of the night on a wonderful passing play. Antonino Pugliese, Justin Bottineau, and Romano passed the puck to each other multiple times before Bottineau ultimately found Romano down beside the net. He sent a hard pass to Romano that allowed him to tip it up and past Jacob Brown’s blocker for Kitchener’s ninth goal of the game. This is the second time this season that the young forward has scored twice in a game.
FLNT 5, KIT 9
8:40 Connor Clattenburg (12) – Roberto Mancini, Nolan Dann – PPG
Connor Clattenburg scored on the powerplay as he deflected a puck on Tristan Malboeuf. The power play was awarded as a flurry of penalties were taken at the 7:12 mark of the third period. Carson Rehkopf was given the additional penalty for Slashing. Nolan Dann received the puck at the blueline off a drop pass and elected to pass the puck from point to point to Roberto Mancini. Mancini teed the puck up on a one-timer through traffic, being deflected by Clattenburg on top of the crease.
The Stars:
First Star: Luke Ellinas (3G)
Second Star: Nolan Dann (3G, 1A)
Third Star: Luca Romano (2G, 1A)
The Goalies:
Nathan Day got the start for Flint, playing the first 25:24 of the game before being pulled after giving up six goals on 19 shots. Jacob Brown came in relief making 10 saves on 13 shots in the remaining 34:36 of the game. Day was given the loss moving his season record to 23-24-1-1. In goal for Kitchener was Tristan Malboeuf making his first start since February 19th and recording the win. He made 31 saves on 26 shots and improved his season record to 14-5-1-0.
The Numbers Game:
Shots: FLNT 36, KIT 32
Powerplay: FLNT 1-3, KIT 0-1
FO%: FLNT 48.4%, KIT 51.6%
Up Next: Kitchener heads to London tomorrow to take on the Knights for the final time this regular season. The Rangers will look to even the season series at three with their rival. Kitchener will then take on Owen Sound next Friday at the Aud for the last time in what could potentially be a first-round playoff match between the Attack and Rangers. Kitchener leads the season series between the two teams 4-3. Tickets for all Kitchener home games 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: Tiffany Luke / Kitchener Rangers
