Series HQ: Kitchener vs. Barrie
Game 2 – Barrie Colts 3 – Kitchener Rangers 4 – OT
KIT Leads 2-0
Rangers Rally Late and Complete Overtime Comeback in Game 2
The Kitchener Rangers erased a third-period deficit and completed an overtime comeback on Thursday night, defeating the Barrie Colts 4-3 in front of the largest sold-out crowd at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium since 2012 to take a 2-0 lead in the OHL Championship Series.
Barrie opened the scoring late in the first period as Brad Gardiner found the back of the net for the Colts’ first lead of the series, giving the visitors a 1-0 advantage heading into the intermission despite Kitchener holding a 14-11 edge in shots.
The Rangers responded in the second period when Gabriel Chiarot tied the game just over 10 minutes into the frame. Barrie answered quickly; however, as Emil Hemming restored the Colts’ lead less than a minute later, sending the visitors into the third period up 2-1.
Like they have several times this postseason, Kitchener came out flying to start the third and found the equalizer only 28 seconds into the frame. Carson Campbell buried a shorthanded goal off a setup from Sam O’Reilly to knot the game at two and swing momentum back in favour of the Rangers.
“We had a lot of belief in our room going into the third period down a goal,” overtime hero Matthew Andonovski said post-game. “It was one shot to tie the game, so we had a lot of belief, and we came through.”
The Rangers continued to push and grabbed their first lead of the night midway through the period when Christian Humphreys capitalized on the power play to make it 3-2.
Late in regulation, Kitchener was assessed a high-sticking penalty, sending Barrie to the power play with an opportunity to even the score. With Ben Hrebik pulled for the extra attacker, the Colts held a two-man advantage and kept the pressure on. With just three seconds remaining, Kashawn Aitcheson delivered a dramatic game-tying power-play goal to silence the crowd and force overtime.
“Well, that’s the thing. Anything can happen in the playoffs, and you have to be ready,” Rangers head coach Jussi Ahokas said. “I think our guys did a great job going through adversity. Nobody says it’s going to be easy. This is finals hockey. It’s going to be tough. Winning’s always hard.”
The extra frame featured sustained pressure from Kitchener, who outshot Barrie 20-7 in overtime alone. After several key stops from Colts goaltender Ben Hrebik, the Rangers finally broke through at 18:03 of overtime as overage defenceman Matthew Andonovski buried the game-winner.
“Reider fed me the pass, and after that it was kind of a blur,” Andonovski said. “Saw it go in the net and then heard the crowd go nuts and all the boys around me … that’s probably the biggest goal I’ve ever scored so far.”
Andonovski also credited the Rangers’ mentality in overtime after surrendering the late equalizer.
“I feel like we had a lot of momentum. We were building momentum from the third period,” he said. “Obviously it sucks to get scored on in the last three seconds, but in the intermission before overtime we were taking it shift by shift. That’s how you’ve got to play in overtime.”
Kitchener finished the night with a commanding 59-33 advantage in shots, while both teams converted once on three power-play opportunities.
Despite the loss, Barrie head coach Dylan Smoskowitz praised his group’s resilience after another hard-fought playoff battle.
“If there’s one thing I know about this team, it’s that these guys will never quit, no matter what,” Smoskowitz said. “We’ve come back from 5-1 deficits. I’ve got guys gasping for air, going on the ice, blocking shots with their face. That’s what makes this team so special.”
Parker von Richter echoed that confidence heading back to Barrie for Game 3.
“We’ll stick together going home,” von Richter said. “You saw it last series against Brantford. We’re not afraid of being down in a series, and we’re going to take it to them when we go back home.”
The series now shifts to Barrie for Game 3 on Sunday night, where the Colts will look to cut into the Rangers’ series lead.
Game 1 – Barrie Colts 2 – Kitchener Rangers 5
KIT Leads 1-0
Rangers Pull Away Late to Take Game 1 on Home Ice
The Kitchener Rangers opened the OHL Championship Series with a strong third-period push on Wednesday night, defeating the Barrie Colts 5-2 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to take a 1-0 series lead.
Kitchener struck first midway through the opening period as defenceman Andrew MacNiel scored his first goal since January 18th, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
“Yeah, it’s a good start,” said MacNiel. “I might not be known for goal scoring, so it was nice to help the boys out tonight. I think it was a great group effort.”
Barrie forward Ben Wilmott responded early in the middle frame to tie the game 1-1, but the Rangers answered back later in the period as Dylan Edwards restored the lead with his 12th goal of the playoffs.
The Colts pushed back once again, with Wilmott scoring his second of the night to even the game at two.
Barrie was without co-captain Cole Beaudoin and also lost rookie forward Joe Salandra late in the second period after he was stretchered off the ice following a collision with Rangers captain Cameron Reid. The injury caused the second period to end 51 seconds early, with the remaining time carried over into the opening of the third.
“It’s a tough injury,” said Colts head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “Anytime a stretcher is necessary and a player is really immobile on the ice, you know it’s probably not going to be a quick fix. What I can say about Joe Salandra is he’s an absolute warrior.”
Despite the emotional moment late in the second, the Colts entered the third period tied 2-2.
MacNiel scored his second of the night just over four minutes into the final frame, netting the eventual game-winner to put the Rangers back in front. Cameron Arquette added insurance midway through the period to extend the lead to 4-2.
“Oh yeah. We knew we hadn’t played for a while, so maybe there were a few nerves at the start, but we got better as the game went on,” said Rangers head coach Jussi Ahokas. “It’s the finals, it’s going to be hard. We’re happy with the win.”
With Barrie pressing late and the net empty, league-leading playoff goal scorer Sam O’Reilly sealed the victory with an empty-net marker in the final two minutes.
The Rangers outshot the Colts 32-27. Barrie finished 0-for-3 on the power play, while Kitchener did not receive a man advantage.
“I thought our guys battled hard. It’s been like that all playoffs long,” said Smoskowitz. “I thought our execution could have been better, and I’d be lying if I said we played our best game tonight. But our guys know we have more to give.”
MacNiel, who entered the game with just two career OHL goals, finished with a two-goal performance in Game 1 after returning from injury earlier this postseason.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” said MacNiel. “I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates for helping me get through a tough time. A lot of credit goes to everyone around me for making it easy to jump back into the lineup and just do what I do.”
With the win, Kitchener grabs an early edge in the series as the Rangers look to continue their strong playoff run heading into Game 2 on Friday night.
Series Preview
And then, there were two.
The champions of the West, the Kitchener Rangers, and the champions of the East, the Barrie Colts, are set to square off in the OHL Championship series with the J. Ross Robertson Trophy and a trip to the Memorial Cup on the line. Both teams earned their way here through tough conference battles, with the Colts going the full distance. Now, both arrive with one goal in mind and a fanbase behind them that has been waiting over a decade for this moment.
The Kitchener Rangers were the first team to punch their ticket to the finals, besting their recent rivals, the Windsor Spitfires, to capture the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Western Conference Champions. Their recent series with the Spitfires had been dramatic, and this year was no exception. With Windsor’s backs against the wall, the Spitfires jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in Game 5, but Kitchener never gave up. The Rangers battled back to prevail 5-4 on an overtime winner off the stick of overager Dylan Edwards, capturing their first conference championship since 2008.
In addition to Edwards, Sam O’Reilly, recently announced as the Red Tilson Trophy recipient as the league’s most outstanding player, has continued his success, leading the club with 22 points through 14 games, including a league-leading 14 goals. Jack Pridham, the team’s regular-season scoring leader, finally broke his goal drought with markers in back-to-back games, including one shorthanded. Kitchener was also fortunate to have forward Luke Ellinas back in the lineup for the first time since late November, and he made his presence felt immediately, scoring in his return.
Between the pipes, Christian Kirsch carries a 2.42 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage into the series. While he continued to struggle with early shots, he came up clutch in the latter halves of games when it mattered most. Special teams were ultimately the difference in the series. Kitchener went 6-for-15 (40%) on the power play while killing off 19 of Windsor’s 20 power play opportunities.
Keeping with the storybook endings, the Barrie Colts pulled off the best comeback this postseason has seen. After dropping two brutal games on home ice and heading back to Brantford down 3-1 in the series, something seemed to click. Despite being outshot 134-89 over the final three games, the Colts found a way. They took Games 5 and 6 with consecutive overtime winners courtesy of Brad Gardiner and Mason Zebeski. Then, in Game 7, they played their best hockey of the series and came away with a dominant 5-0 victory to capture the Bobby Orr Trophy as Eastern Conference Champions.
The star of that series was undoubtedly goaltender Ben Hrebik. He built off a 54-save performance in Game 6 with a 40-save shutout in Game 7, continuously making ten-bell saves to hold the league-leading Brantford Bulldogs to just six goals over the final three games. He carries a 2.50 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage into the finals.
Offensively, the Colts have been led by Cole Beaudoin, who still leads the league in scoring and has recorded at least one point in every postseason game but one. However, he’s been out of the lineup for the past two games with an apparent injury. The good news? Barrie has still managed to win without him, leaning on the likes of Kashawn Aitcheson, Emil Hemming, Ben Wilmott and Brad Gardiner to find the back of the net.
As for special teams, the Colts didn’t shine on the man advantage, going just 6-for-26, but their penalty kill stood tall, operating at nearly 80% in the last series. They also leaned on their veteran experience in the faceoff dot, edging the Bulldogs in nearly every game.
Now, both teams turn the page. This series will have everything that makes junior hockey so great. Offence, goaltending and a whole lot of physicality. Both teams have been at the top of the league for most of the regular season and have fought hard to get to this moment. The two regular-season meetings between these clubs were as tight as it gets, with both games requiring extra time to decide a winner, a sign of just how evenly matched these two could be. In a quick turnaround, the series begins Wednesday at the Kitchener Aud, where the Rangers have gone 23-1 in their last 24 home games. But Barrie? They played the last three games on house money, and they’re ready to ride that high straight down the 400-series Highway.
Both teams are ready to prove they’re the best in the league, but only one will walk away with the trophy.
Series Schedule:
* if needed
Game 1: Wednesday, May 6 at Kitchener, 7:00pm
Game 2: Friday, May 8 at Kitchener, 7:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, May 10 at Barrie, 6:00pm
Game 4: Tuesday, May 12 at Barrie, 7:00pm
Game 5: Thursday, May 14 at Kitchener, 7:00pm*
Game 6: Saturday, May 16 at Barrie, 6:00pm*
Game 7: Monday, May 18 at Kitchener, Time TBA*
Season Series:
BAR wins 2-0
Oct. 25 – KIT 3 at BAR 4 – OT
Jan. 2 – BAR 3 at KIT 2 – SO
Playoff History:
This marks the second playoff meeting between Kitchener and Barrie.
1996 KIT def. BAR 4-3 – First Round.
Loading ...
