Rangers Topple Colts 6-4
The Kitchener Rangers closed their exhibition season with a 6-4 victory over the Barrie Colts on Friday night. Matt Puempel led the Rangers offense with a goal and two assists. Five other Kitchener skaters posted two-point outings, including Nick Czinder who scored his first as a Ranger.
Barrie took the early lead when new addition Andreas Athanasiou snapped a high shot that flew over the glove of Rangers netminder John Gibson. Defenseman Jonathan Laser was credited with the assist.
The Rangers responded with two quick goals in the latter half of the frame. Nick Czinder recorded his first goal since joining the team in a trade with the Windsor Spitfires, redirecting Ryan Murphy’s point shot past Barrie starter Alex Fotinos. The power play marker at 13:07 was also assisted by Matt Puempel.
Less than 90 seconds later, Kitchener struck again. Third-year forward Matia Marcantuoni found the back of the net with assists from Ben Fanelli and Eric Ming.
The Rangers dominated shots on goal in the opening period, recording an 18-8 advantage.
Kitchener pushed its lead with three unanswered goals in the second period. Sophomore Josh Sterk tracked a Barrie turnover deep in Colts territory and flipped it by Fotinos to put the Rangers up 3-1. Veteran power forward Ben Thomson picked up a helper on the play.
Just 1:12 later, Puempel added to his point total for the night, converting a quick pass from Eric Ming into his second goal of the exhibition season. Ming and Marcantuoni also collected their second points of the contest with the assists.
The Rangers added one more before the halfway point to extend their lead to 5-1. Rearguard Ben Fanelli bounced the puck by Fotinos for his first of the preseason. Sterk added his second point of the night with a helper, while Puempel brought his point total to three with an assist on the play.
Kitchener continued to apply pressure at the net in the middle frame, out-shooting the Colts 15-5.
Athanasiou’s second of the night cut the Rangers’ lead to three in the early half of the final period. The third-year winger was awarded a penalty shot at the 5:58 mark and fired it off the right pad of Franky Palazzese and into the net.
Barrie continued to close the gap, shrinking Kitchener’s advantage to 5-3 with just over six minutes to play. Mark Scheifele snapped a shot past the left skate of Palazzese that ricocheted off the goal post and into the net. Assisting on the play were Steven Beyers and sophomore blueliner Aaron Ekblad.
Curtis Meighan’s second of the exhibition reestablished the Rangers’ three goal cushion. The third-year centre was assisted by Czinder, who collected his second point of the evening.
The Colts would make one last push on a late power play, as Scheifele shoveled a puck past Palazzese to record his second goal of game. Zach Hall was credited with a helper, as was Ekblad.
That was as close as Barrie would get, however. The Colts led shots on goal 20-10 in the final 20 minutes, but the Rangers finished the game with a 43-33 overall advantage.
Scoring
1. BAR A. Athanasiou, (J. Laser), 5:58
1. KIT N. Czinder, (R. Murphy, M. Puempel), 13:07 (PP)
1. KIT M. Marcantuoni (B. Fanelli, E. Ming), 14:32
2. KIT J. Sterk, (B. Thomson), 4:45
2. KIT M. Puempel, (E. Ming, M. Marcantuoni), 5:57
2. KIT B. Fanelli, (J. Sterk, M. Puempel), 9:49
3. BAR A. Athanasiou, (unassisted), 5:58 (PS)
3. BAR M. Scheifele, (S. Beyers, A. Ekblad), 13:53
3. KIT C. Meighan, (N. Czinder), 14:45
3. BAR M. Scheifele, (Z. Hall, A. Ekblad), 15:45 (PP)
The Kitchener Rangers will open the regular season in Mississauga on Friday, September 21 with a 7:30 pm game against the Steelheads. The entire 2012-13 regular season schedule is available on the Kitchener Rangers website.
