RANGERS STING SARNIA IN OT

Frank Hora recorded the overtime winner for the Kitchener Rangers as they defeated the Sarnia Sting 3-2 on Thursday night. Darby Llewellyn and Brandon Robinson also recorded goals in the overtime victory.

The teams skated through a scoreless first period, with the Rangers testing Sting netminder Taylor Dupuis with 13 shots. Kitchener starter Jake Paterson was also perfect, stopping all eight shots he faced.

With less than four minutes left in the second period, Darby Llewellyn collected the puck in the neutral zone and pushed forward into Sting territory. The veteran winger fed a pass to defenceman Dmitrii Sergeev, who slid it to Nick Magyar. The Colorado Avalanche prospect returned the puck to Llewellyn in the slot, and he fired a close range shot over Dupuis to record his tenth of the season, putting the Rangers ahead 1-0.

Sarnia let shots on goal 10-9 in the middle frame.

The Rangers extended their lead to 2-0 early in the third period. Adam Mascherin’s shot on goal was turned aside, but the rebound deflected off Brandon Robinson at the side of the Sarnia net and past Dupuis. His 13th of the season was also assisted by import forward Gustaf Franzen. 

Less than 30 second later, the Sting got one back, when Czech rookie Pavel Zacha took off down the wing, snapping a backhand shot by Paterson to earn his tenth of the year. Overager Stephen Pierog and fellow freshman Jordan Kyrou picked up helpers on the play.

With Dupuis on the bench for an extra attacker, Zacha’s second of the game tied the score at 2-2 with less than a minute to play. The import pivot took a diving shot that took an odd bounce and beat Paterson, forcing the contest to an extra frame. Daniel Nikandrov and Jacob Chychrun each earned an assist on the goal at 19:03.

Sarnia out-shot the Rangers 10-8 in the final frame.

Rearguard Frank Hora recorded the game winner 1:38 into the overtime period. The Cheektowaga, NY native picked up the pass from David Miller, drove hard to the front of the net and slid a shot behind the left skate of Dupuis. His third of the year was also assisted by team scoring leader Ryan MacInnis.

Paterson made 26 saves to pick up his second win since joining the Rangers.

Scoring
2. KIT D. Llewellyn, (10) (N. Magyar, D. Sergeev), 16:02
3. KIT B. Robinson, (13) (G. Franzen, A. Mascherin), 1:56
3. SAR P. Zacha, (10) (S. Pierog, J. Kyrou), 2:21
3. SAR P. Zacha, (11) (D. Nikandrov, J. Chychrun), 19:03
OT KIT F. Hora, (3) (D. Miller, R. MacInnis), 1:38

Attendance: 2685

Three Stars
1. KIT – 44 Frank Hora
2. SAR – 14 Pavel Zacha
3. KIT – 27 Darby Llewellyn

The next Rangers home game is Friday, January 16 when we host the Oshawa Generals at 7:30pm. Tickets to all Kitchener Rangers home games are now available by phone at 519-578-1570 or 1-800-265-8977, via the internet at www.centre-square.com or in person at the Centre In the Square Box Office or the Kitchener Auditorium Box Office.