OHL Kitchener Rangers

Rangers Best Rival Guelph in Front of 7,100+ at the Aud Friday

Published on February 3, 2023 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


Kitchener, Ont. - Kitchener never trailed in the contest Friday as the Blueshirts posted a 4-3 victory over their highway-seven rival Guelph Storm in front of a near capacity crowd of 7,166 fans at The Aud. With the victory, Kitchener improved to 5-1-0-0 against Guelph this season. Rangers' captain Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) recorded a three-point night (2G, 1A), Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) tallied a goal and an assist, Hunter Brzustewicz had two assists and Marco Costantini made 30 saves on 33 shots.

Kitchener came out flying firing 17 shots in the opening period. Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) got things started at 7:37 as he fired a shot short-side over the shoulder of Guelph goaltender Patrick Leaver from the left faceoff dot into the top left corner. Kitchener kept the pressure on the Storm and at 11:25, Carson Rehkopf doubled the Rangers' lead finishing off a nice play by Hunter Brzustewicz. Brzustewicz skated down from the point, wrapped around the goal and fed a pass into the slot to Matthew Sop who had his attempt blocked, but Rehkopf was there on the doorstep to slot it home.

Kitchener led 2-0 through 20 minutes of play and shots favoured the Rangers 17-7.

Guelph struck instantly to cut the Kitchener lead in half, just 35 seconds into the period. On a carryover power-play, Marco Costantini attempted to poke the puck into the corner, but didn't see Braeden Bowan as the puck was cleared right onto his stick and shot into the Ranger goal. Kitchener responded towards the end of the second period at 3:28 with Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) scoring his 33rd goal of the season. On a 2-on-1 break, Arcuri deflected a seem-pass over the body of the Guelph netminder to restore a two-goal advantage for the Rangers.

The Rangers outshot the Storm 13-12 in the middle frame and were outshooting the Storm 30-19 through 40 minutes.

It was certainly an eventful third period tonight at The Aud. Pinelli scored his second goal of the game with just over six minutes left to play in the contest to make it 4-1 for the Blueshirts. That lead held all way until the final minute of the game.

With Kitchener on the man-advantage, Guelph scored a shorthanded goal with 48 seconds on the clock. Cooper Walker finished on a rebound given up by Marco Costantini. Then, with the goalie now pulled, Guelph struck again just 13 seconds later with 35 seconds remaining on the clock. A cross crease one-timer by Ben McFarlane was fired home to cut the Kitchener lead to 4-3 with 35 seconds left to play.

Fortunately for Kitchener, they were able to hold on to the lead and come away with a 4-3 victory. Final shots favoured the Rangers 37-33. Kitchener finished the game 0-for-7 on the power-play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.

Francesco Pinelli was awarded the game's first star with a three point (2G 1A) effort and Hunter Brzustewicz was awarded the game's third star with two assists and a plus-two rating.

Next Up:

The Rangers will continue their three-in-three weekend tomorrow night in Niagara, followed by Sunday in Guelph. Both games will be televised live in Kitchener on Rogers TV, cable channel 20, and will also be broadcast on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL.

Check out the Kitchener Rangers Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2023


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