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OHL Kitchener Rangers

Rangers Blanked by Spirit in Saginaw Friday

January 7, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


Saginaw, Mich. - After Kitchener shutout Saginaw on home ice on Nov. 4, the Spirit returned the decision to the Rangers winning 3-0 Wednesday night. Marcus Vandenberg made 24 saves on 26 shots between the pipes for Kitchener. Saginaw's Trian Lennox recorded the shutout on 21 shots, Pavel Mintyukov recorded three points with two goals, including an empty netter, and Roberto Mancini tallied two points.

Kitchener was missing four main players: Mitchell Martin, Simon Motew and captain Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) were out of the lineup with upper body injuries. Tomas Hamara (Ottawa Senators) was travelling to Saginaw Friday from the World Junior Championship and is expected to return to the Rangers' line up Saturday in Flint.

Saginaw got things started just over six minutes into the game. An aggressive pinch inside the Spirit blueline allowed for Saginaw to counter with a 3-on-1 break. Roberto Mancini placed a wrist shot perfectly off the right pad of Marcus Vandenberg with the rebound bouncing into the slot for Pavel Mintyukov (Anaheim Ducks) to slide the puck into the empty cage.

The period ended with Saginaw ahead 1-0 and shots favouring the Spirit 12-4. Kitchener was perfect on the penalty kill in the period and had over three minutes of power-play time carried over into the second period as Saginaw was assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking.

The middle frame went scoreless but was not short of action. Kitchener had just about eight minutes of power-play time in the period but were unable to solve the Saginaw netminder. The score remained 1-0 Saginaw after 40 minutes of play and shots favoured the Spirit 17-10.

Kitchener pushed hard in the third period looking for the equalizer and doubled their shot total from the first two periods combined with 11. However, it was Saginaw that would double their lead at 11:47 of the third period. Roberto Mancini had his initial point shot blocked but retrieved the puck and ripped a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle beating Marcus Vandenberg high short side. Saginaw then added an empty net goal with 16 seconds left in the game through Pavel Mintyukov's second goal of the game.

A 21-save effort by Tristan Lennox (New York Islanders) and three goals by Saginaw defenders had the game finish 3-0 for the Spirit and final shots favoured the Spirit 27-21. Kitchener finished the game 0-for-6 on the power-play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. All three stars of the game were awarded to members of the Saginaw Spirit.

Next Up: Kitchener will continue their five-day road trip Saturday, staying in Michigan to play the Flint Firebirds on Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Dort Financial Center. This is the final game of four-straight on the road. The Rangers' next home game is on Friday, Jan. 13 when the Blueshirts host the Oshawa Generals in a nationally televised game on TSN.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2023


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