Rangers Draw Even In Series With Win
Kitchener, ON: Michael Richards scored twice including the game-winner to lift the Rangers to a 3-1 win tonight before an electric crowd of 6,472 at The Aud.
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The teams played to a scoreless first period despite the Rangers being called for six minor penalties in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
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In the second period Evan McGrath brought the crowd to life with his 6th goal of the playoffs just 20 seconds into the period. Corey Perry scored his 8th goal for the Knights at 4:11 to tie the game at 1-1.
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Just 1:55 into the third period Michael Richards broke free short handed and slid the puck past Knights goalie Gerald Coleman to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. With the net empty Richards carried the puck out of the Rangers zone and fired his 11th goal of the post season into the open net to solidify a 3-1 win.
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Eric Pfligler turned in another stellar performance turning aside 36 shots for his 9th win of the playoffs. With the win Pfligler lowered his GAA to 1.89 and improved his save percentage to .945.
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The Knights lost for the first time in the playoffs after winning eight straight games. The Rangers won for the 9th time in their past 10 games.
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The series returns to London for game 3 on Monday night. Game 4 of the series is in Kitchener on Wednesday, April 27th. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
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Game Notes: The Rangers held the Knights power play to 0/9 in the game and 1/18 in the series the Rangers were 0/6 with the man advantage the teams combined for 64 PIM’s in the game Michael Richards was named the game’s 1st star Eric Pfligler was the game’s 2nd star Knights goalie Gerald Coleman was the 3rd star Corey Perry, Dylan Hunter, Danny Syvret, Rob Schremp and Daniel Girardi were all -2 in the game Adam Keefe was a +3 in the game Boris Valabik collected 14 PIM’s Valabik now has 48 PIM’s in the playoffs.
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The Kitchener Rangers scored back to back goals in the third period to give them a 3-2 win over the Niagara IceDogs.
After a scoreless first period, Michael Catenacci directed a Christian Stevens shot past Niagara’s goaltender Mark Visentin putting Kitchener up 1-0. IceDogs’ Ryan Strome replied at the midway mark of the second period to tie the game 1-1. Niagara took a 2-1 lead after Josh Moes tipped the puck over the glove of Brandon Maxwell.
The Rangers jumped into a 3-2 lead by the 5:00 mark of the third period on goals from Jeremy Morin and Jason Akeson.
Niagara outshot Kitchener 42-40.
The Rangers travel to Niagara this Thursday, Janaury 14th to play the IceDogs at 7:30pm. They return home on Friday, January 15th for a 7:00pm game against the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.
A reminder, the following Kitchener Rangers games will be live on Rogers Sportsnet and therefore the game times have changed to accommodate the broadcast:
Fri. Jan. 15 – Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors at Kitchener Rangers (OHL Regional) – 7:00 pm Eastern
Fri. Jan. 22 – Windsor Spitfires at Kitchener Rangers (OHL Regional) – 7:00 pm Eastern
Reserved seating tickets are still available for all Rangers home games, 519-578-1570 or 1-800-265-8977, www.centre-square.com or in person at the Centre In the Square Box Office or The Aud Box Office.
Scoring
2. KIT Catenacci, (13) (Stevens, Thomson), 7:13
2. NIAG Strome, (6) (Gronvaldt, Petgrave), 9:23 (PP)
2. NIAG Moes, (7) (Rover, Hamilton), 10:50
3. KIT Morin, (24) (Catenacci), 1:12
3. KIT Akeson, (15) (Morin), 5:00
Three Stars
1. KIT – 30 Brandon Maxwell
2. KIT – 61 Jeremy Morin
3. NIAG – 29 Mark Visentin
Attendance: 6,307
