OHL Kitchener Rangers

Facing the Brunt of the Storm in 5-2 Loss

March 19, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


Kitchener Rangers' Matthew Sop
Kitchener Rangers' Matthew Sop
(Kitchener Rangers, Credit: Hailey Tripodi/Kitchener Rangers)

Kitchener lost 5-2 at home against the Guelph Storm to close out the season series against the Highway 7 rivals. The game featured 14 power plays, 10 of which were awarded to the Storm. The Rangers won the season series 5-3 and could potentially see Guelph in the first round. Ahead of puck drop the Rangers honoured their overagers Mitchell Martin, Simon Motew, and Matthew Sop with framed jerseys as a token of appreciation for their time wearing Blue, Red, and White.

Jackson Parsons skated in his 50th game of the season tonight while Luca Romano extended his point streak to five games with an assist. Hunter Brzustewicz, Carson Rehkopf, Simon Motew, and Adrian Misaljevic have points in three straight games after tonight's contest.

Scoring Summary:

1st Period

GUE 1, KIT 0

11:45 Vilmer Alriksson (16) - Wil McFadden, Cam Allen - PPG

Vilmer Alriksson opened the scoring for Guelph on the power play. Matthew Sop took a double minor for high sticking at 10:12 leading to the goal. Wil McFadden held the puck below the hash marks and attempted to center the puck toward the crease. The puck found its way to Alriksson in behind Jackson Parsons, and he tapped it in.

GUE 2, KIT 0

15:08 Wil McFadden (4) - Cam Allen, Thomas Budnick - 5-3 PPG

Wil McFadden scored Guelph's second power play goal of the game after seven minutes of penalties and a game misconduct were assessed to Kitchener. Sticking up for his teammate, Trent Swick took a five-minute penalty for fighting and a game misconduct, while the Rangers also got a two-minute bench minor all occurring at 13:06. This led to a five-on-three power play for Guelph in which Cam Allen centered the puck to McFadden who scored.

2nd Period

GUE 3, KIT 0

3:11 Quinn Beauchesne (2) - Jett Luchanko, Jake Karabela

Quinn Beauchesne scored Guelph's third unanswered goal of the game over the shoulder of Jackson Parsons. As Guelph brought the puck in, Jett Luchanko held possession in the blocker side faceoff circle. Luchanko centered the puck to Beauchesne in the high slot. He skated down before rocketing a shot in the mesh.

GUE 4, KIT 0

4:50 Braeden Bowman (35) - Gavin Grundner - SHG

Braeden Bowman extended Guelph's lead to four with a short-handed marker. On a Rangers power play, Guelph skated the puck down from their end into Kitchener's on the stick of Gavin Grundner. Simultaneously, Braeden Bowman crashed toward the net and received a pass from Grundner immediately tapping it in.

GUE 4, KIT 1

7:52 Hunter Brzustewicz (13) - Carson Rehkopf, Matthew Andonovski

Kitchener finally broke the barrier as Hunter Brzustewicz found his own rebound and put the Rangers on the board. Brzustewicz received a pass from Carson Rehkopf in the neutral zone and skated in. Several paces in from the blueline he took a wrist shot low blocker on Damian Slavik. The rebound bounced out front as Brzustewicz split the defenders and put the puck across the goal line.

GUE 5, KIT 1

16:09 Jake Karabela (23) - Max Namestnikov, Braeden Bowman - 5-3 PPG

Jake Karabela scored Guelph's second five-on-three goal of the game to reestablish their four-goal lead. Simon Motew took a roughing minor at 14:54 and Matthew Andonovski was assessed an interference penalty at 15:34 leading to the goal. Braeden Bowman fired the original shot on net allowing Max Namestnikov to find the rebound and send it from post-to-post where Karabela was waiting to deflect it in.

3rd Period

GUE 5, KIT 2

12:12 Simon Motew (11) - Luca Romano, Adrian Misaljevic - PPG

Simon Motew scored on the powerplay after Quinn Beauchesne took a delay of game penalty at 10:20. Motew cut down from the point before rifling a shot on net that was deflected by Thomas Budnick and going five-hole on Damian Slavik.

The Stars:

First Star: Braeden Bowman (1G, 1A)

Second Star: Wil McFadden (1G, 1A)

Third Star: Cam Allen (2A)

The Goalies:

Damian Slavik got the win for Guelph, improving his season record to 8-5-3-0 while making 18 saves on 20 shots. In net for the Rangers was Jackson Parsons, he made 23 saves on 28 shots as his season record moved to 27-17-1-0.

The Numbers Game:

Shots: GUE 28, KIT 20

Powerplay: GUE 3-8, KIT 1-4

FO%: GUE 52.4%, KIT 47.6%

Up Next: The Rangers will host their final home game of the regular season Friday against Oshawa, the top team in the east. They will then travel to Erie to close out the regular season. Watch the Rangers at The Aud one last time this regular season and grab your tickets at The Aud Box Office Sponsored by White Way Plumbing or online here. Stay tuned as single game playoff tickets will go on sale Saturday, March 23 at 10am.

Check out the Kitchener Rangers Statistics




Images from this story

Kitchener Rangers' Matthew Sop
Kitchener Rangers' Matthew Sop
(Hailey Tripodi/Kitchener Rangers)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central