Friday Night Faceoff: Rangers ride to fifth straight win
They fell behind early, but the Kitchener Rangers found a way past the Erie Otters in front of 7,167 at the Aud on Friday, getting a goal and an assist from rookie Evan Headrick in a 3-1 victory.
The inaugural edition of OHL Friday Night Faceoff didn’t disappoint as 2025 NHL Draft prospect Malcolm Spence hushed the crowd early, converting on a power play breakaway with help from Martin Misiak to give the Otters a 1-0 edge.
Kitchener took it from there as Ottawa Senators prospect Luke Ellinas took a feed from Headrick and beat Noah Erliden on the short side with 5:50 remaining in the second period.
THE RANGERS TIE IT UP ON THE POWERPLAY 🚨👀@Senators prospect Luke Ellinas fires the puck short side from down low to score his 17th goal of the season and evening this game up at 1-1 for the @OHLRangers in the #FridayNightFaceoff!#OHL | @CHLHockey pic.twitter.com/EPvrVFJbuy
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) January 4, 2025
Erliden was very good for the Otters making 36 saves on the night, but was ultimately foiled on a bit of a flukey goal credited to Headrick, who had a puck carom off his body and past the Erie netminder 7:48 into the third.
Cameron Arquette gave the Rangers insurance with 3:36 remaining, ripping a rocket of a shot into the back of the net from just below the top of the circles.
Kitchener outshot Erie 39-24 to improve to 27-7-2-1, four points back of the London Knights who sit atop the Midwest Division. The Rangers gave the Otters just one power play on the night.
Jackson Parsons. turned aside 23-of-24 in the win, improving to 23-6-1-0 on the campaign while earning his 60th career OHL win.
The Otters, who were without injured blueliner Matthew Schaefer (collarbone) and captain Carey Terrance (US National Junior Team) in the loss, fall to 18-11-3-1 and return home to face the Windsor Spitfires on Saturday night.
Rangers television play-by-play voice Jason Hagholm joined Josh Sweetland on OHL After Hours after the game as they discussed Kitchener’s impressive season, the presence of Jussi Ahokas behind the bench as well as some of the key trade acquisitions by GM Mike McKenzie over the course of the past two seasons.
Tune in for another edition of Friday Night Faceoff next week, with another matchup set to be announced early in the week.
WHAT A SHOT BY CAMERON ARQUETTE 👀🎯
A pinpoint snipe by Cameron Arquette to record his second goal of the season and give the @OHLRangers some breathing room in the dying minutes of the game as they have a 3-1 lead in the #FridayNightFaceoff!#OHL | @CHLHockey pic.twitter.com/xXuALRKXnb
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) January 4, 2025
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