OHL Kitchener Rangers

Lesway Scores Twice in Rangers' 8-3 Win

Published on January 25, 2012 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


The Kitchener Rangers defeated the London Knights 8-3 on Wednesday night. Three Rangers scored twice, including Brandon Lesway, who notched the first two of his Ontario Hockey League career.

Tobias Rieder opened the scoring with a short-handed goal for the Rangers, stripping Vladislav Namestnikov of the puck and firing a backhand shot that beat Knights' goalie Michael Houser low blocker side. Rieder has scored two shorthanded markers in the last three games and six this season - the second highest total in the league.

Kitchener added a second goal in the final seconds of the first period. Ryan Murphy moved in from the point and launched the puck past Houser for his fifth of the season and fourth in five games. Rieder picked up an assist, his eighth point in a five-game streak.

The Rangers out-shot the Knights 13-8 in the opening frame.

Kitchener would take a five-goal lead in the second frame, scoring three in a span of just 63 seconds. Michael Catenacci lit the lamp first, jumping on a rebound in front and soaring a shot high over Houser's right shoulder. Assisting on the play were blue liners Murphy and Cody Sol.

31 seconds later, Ben Thomson got the puck to Radek Faksa in the slot and he wired one past the netminder for his 21st of the season. Sol picked up his second assist of the night on the play.

Brandon Lesway would add another Kitchener goal 32 seconds after that, lifting a forehand shot over the left shoulder of Houser to make it 5-0 Rangers. The goal was the first of the rookie winger's OHL career, assisted by Brandon Francisco and Andrew Crescenzi.

London would get on the board in the second, capitalizing on the power play with four minutes remaining. Greg McKegg set up Seth Griffith, who scored high glove side for his 33rd of the year. McKegg has recorded 16 points in nine games since joining the team in a trade from Erie. Austin Watson also recorded an assist on the play.

The Knights led shots on goal 14-12 in the second frame.

London made a goaltending change during the intermission, sending Tyson Teichmann out to start the third period. Houser allowed five goals on 20 shots through the first 40 minutes of play.

Lesway scored his second of the game five minutes into the final frame. Josh Sterk lost his footing as he raced in on a breakaway, but Lesway was right behind him to track down the puck and bury into the open side of the net. The Kemptville, ON native has a total of five points this season.

The Rangers continued to pressure, adding two more goals midway through the third period. Rieder jumped on a turnover inside the Knights' blueline and snapped it by Teichmann. The German winger is the team's scoring leader with 25 goals this season.

Just over a minute and a half later, with his team on the power play, Faksa was on the receiving end of a cross-ice pass from Sterk. He tucked it behind Teichmann to make the score 8-1 Rangers. The Czech import leads all league rookies with 22 goals and 43 points this season, ten ahead of Knights forward Max Domi. Sterk's assist of the game resulted in his first career multi-point game and with the other helper Murphy extended his recent point streak to 14 points in five games.

With less than a minute to play, the Knights cut into the Rangers' lead on the power play. Griffith notched his second of the game, collecting a rebound and bouncing it off the left post and behind John Gibson with assists from Namestnikov and Watson. Griffith sits second in the league in goals scored with 34, while Watson has recorded six points in his last three games.

London added one more with 14 second to play. Rookie Bo Horvat chipped the puck over Gibson for his eighth of the year, making the score 8-3. Kyle Flemington and Teichmann were credited with the helpers.

The Knights out-shot the Rangers 26-10 in the final period and finished the game with a 48-35 overall advantage. Teichmann stopped seven of ten shots in relief of Houser. Gibson made his 45 saves in his 16th win of the season.

With the victory, Kitchener takes a 3-0 lead in their season series with London and improves to 31-13-1-0. The Rangers sit eight points behind the Knights (35-10-0-1) for top spot in the Midwest Division.

Check out the Kitchener Rangers Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 25, 2012


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