OHL Kitchener Rangers

Explosive First Period Blasts Rangers Past Storm 5-1

Published on January 17, 2024 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


Kitchener Rangers' Trent Swick and Matthew Sop on game night
Kitchener Rangers' Trent Swick and Matthew Sop on game night
(Kitchener Rangers, Credit: Guelph Storm)

Kitchener beat their Highway 7 rivals 5-1 after an explosive three-goal first period which proved to be too much to climb back from for Guelph. The Rangers now lead the season series 3-1. With this win Kitchener is the first team to reach 30 wins in the OHL and second team in the CHL.

Eduard Šalé made his Kitchener debut in the contest tonight. The Seattle Kraken prospect, drafted 20th overall in 2023, was traded to Kitchener from Barrie at the trade deadline. Trent Swick, Simon Motew and Matthew Sop each recorded multi-point nights as Swick recorded two goals, Motew tallied a goal and an assist and Sop registered two assists. Trent Swick has now recorded points in four of his last five games, Carson Rehkopf has extended his point streak to four games in the win and Hunter Brzustewicz and Filip Mešár each extended point streaks to three games in the contest.

Scoring Summary:

1st Period

GUE 0, KIT 1

4:41 Trent Swick (19) - Hunter Brzustewicz, Matthew Andonovski

Trent Swick put Kitchener up early in the game. Matthew Andonovski sent a pass along the Guelph blueline to Hunter Brzustewicz. Brzustewicz sent the puck on net where the rebound popped out blocker side to Swick, who buried it and put the Rangers up one.

GUE 0, KIT 2

8:54 Tanner Lam (9) - Matthew Sop, Simon Motew - PPG

Tanner Lam was the Ranger to put the puck in the net following a splendid passing play between Simon Motew, Matthew Sop and himself on the powerplay. The powerplay began as Max Namestnikov got called for tripping at 7:10. Motew held the puck under pressure near the blueline. He sent a pass down to Sop who was in stride towards the Guelph net. Sop sent a pinpoint pass to Lam under pressure who tipped it past Brayden Gillespie to go up by two.

GUE 0, KIT 3

11:34 Trent Swick (20) - Adrian Misaljevic, Matthew Sop

Trent Swick labeled a shot for his second of the game and Kitchener's third unanswered goal of the first period. Adrian Misaljevic cut into the zone and fired a pass down to the blocker side faceoff circle where Swick received the puck. In stride, Swick perfectly placed the puck, past Gillespie's glove and off the post into the net.

2nd Period

GUE 1, KIT 3

0:50 Jett Luchanko (14) - Braeden Bowman, Jake Karabela- PPG

Jett Luchanko picked up a loose puck and put it past Jackson Parsons on the powerplay to cut the lead to two. Filip Mešár took a double minor penalty for high sticking at 17:36 of the first period. Luchanko received the puck as he crashed towards the Rangers net. The puck bounced off his stick just above the blue paint where it was up for grabs. Luchanko found the puck and put it past Parsons for Guelph's first of the game.

GUE 1, KIT 4

1:41 Simon Motew (6) - Carson Rehkopf, Filip Mešár

Simon Motew answered 51 seconds later with a hard slap shot through traffic, putting the Rangers back up by three. Filip Mešár passed the puck up to the slot where Carson Rehkopf was from the corner. Rehkopf tipped the puck further up to the point to Motew who immediately took a slap shot that beat Damian Slavik top shelf over his blocker.

GUE 1, KIT 5

7:45 Luca Romano (4)

Luca Romano found the puck along the boards and scored the Rangers' fifth goal of the game on a wonderful solo effort. The first-year player took the puck and did a spin cutting back towards center ice. From the high slot, he shot the puck in stride going upstairs over Damian Slavik.

The Stars:

First Star: Trent Swick (2G)

Second Star: Simon Motew (1G, 1A)

Third Star: Matthew Sop (2A)

The Goalies:

Brayden Gillespie was pulled after giving up three goals on seven shots just 11:34 into the first period. He received the loss moving his record to 18-13-1-1 (W-L-OTL-SOL). This marks the third time Kitchener has chased Gillespie from the crease this season. Damian Slavik made 19 of 21 potential saves in the remaining 48:25 of the game. He was given a no-decision in the contest. Jackson Parsons improved his record to 18-9-1 (W-L-OTL) with the win. He made 18 saves and gave up only one goal in the contest.

The Numbers Game:

Shots: GUE 19, KIT 28

Powerplay: GUE 1-5, KIT 1-4

FO%: GUE 47.8%, KIT 52.2%

Up Next: The Rangers return home Friday to host the red-hot London Knights for the first time this season. This is a game you won't want to miss as Kitchener and London are neck and neck in the standings. Secure your seats to the action at the box office sponsored by White Way Plumbing or online.

Check out the Kitchener Rangers Statistics

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Images from this story

Kitchener Rangers' Trent Swick and Matthew Sop on game night
Kitchener Rangers' Trent Swick and Matthew Sop on game night
(Guelph Storm)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 17, 2024


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