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Kitchener Rangers

Rangers Fall 5-4 in OT in Season Opener

September 25, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


KITCHENER - Bryson Cianfrone had a goal and two assists on the same day he was acquired by the Owen Sound Attack as the Kitchener Rangers fell 5-4 in overtime on the opening night of their 2015-16 season at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

Cianfrone scored the winner with just 33 seconds remaining in the 3-on-3 five minute overtime period, assisted by Santino Centorame and Nick Suzuki. Some early and frequent penalty trouble came back to hurt the Rangers, who surrendered a pair of power play goals and found themselves in a shorthanded situation nine times on the night.

The Rangers twice held two goal leads, but the Attack managed to battle back from being down 2-0 and 3-1 in the first period. Owen Sound goaltender Michael McNiven earned the win, allowing four goals on 30 shots.

Rangers starting goaltender Luke Opilka was saddled with the loss, stopping 30 shots.

His fellow St. Louis native, Jake Henderson, was certainly a bright spot in his first regular season OHL game with the Rangers, opening the game's scoring then adding his second goal of the night in the second period to finish with a pair of points and a better idea of what the competition in this league is all about.

"It felt great to score that first goal. The fans here are unbelievable, they're great," said Henderson.

"It was nice to get the first one, then even nicer to get the second. The next thing now, is to get a win streak going, that's what we want here.

"We came away with a point, but we wanted more than that. We wanted to win our home opener for our fans. We know we had some chances tonight, but we need to clean up on our penalties.

"We'll review the video, and the mistakes we made tonight are mistakes we're going to avoid making again moving forward."

Henderson's first career goal as a member of the Rangers beat McNiven at 3:43 of the opening frame, with assists to Gustaf Franzen and Brian Brosnan. Kitchener took a 2-0 lead just under three minutes later when an Adam Mascherin shot from the top of the circle found the top corner at 6:07 with Frank Hora picking up the lone assist.

The Attack made it 2-1 on a goal by Suzuki from Markus Phillips at the 17:00 minute mark, but with six seconds left in the opening frame, it was Darby Llewellyn who cashed in on his first of the year - shorthanded - from Mason Kohn at 19:54.

Owen Sound opened the second period scoring to make it a 3-2 on a Jaden Lindo goal from the former Steelheads captain Cianfrone and Petrus Palmu at 7:53.

Henderson's second goal of the night from Franzen and Connor Bunnaman at 14:55 momentarily regained the Rangers two-goal lead at 4-2, but Centorame once again brought the Attack to within one, capitalizing on the visitor's sixth power play opportunity of the night from Josh Sterk and Cianfrone at 14:55.

Shots were 14-10 Owen Sound after one period of play, and 25-18 after two.

Owen Sound would tie the game 4-4 at 6:28 of the third period on a goal by Ethan Szypula, assisted by Sterk.

Owen Sound finished 2-for-9 on the power play, while the Rangers scored shorthanded but were 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

Final shots were 35-30 Owen Sound, including 2-2 each in overtime.

Hora, Llewellyn and Brosnan each wore 'A's and skated as assistant captains for the game.

Announced attendance at the The Aud was 7,160.

The Rangers next two games are on the road, when they travel to North Bay to take on the Battalion on Thursday, October 1st for a 7pm start, then head to Sudbury the following night to face the Wolves at 7pm.

The Rangers next home game is two weeks from tonight, Friday, October 9th when they host the Windsor Spitfires at 7:30pm. Fans are asked to bring a monetary donation or non-perishable food item to support The Food Bank of Waterloo Region in their annual food drive. More details on how to donate, or about the initiative can be found on the Rangers website.

Tickets for the Rangers next home game are available online at kitchenerrangers.com, through Centre in the Square, or by visiting The Aud Box Office.

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