A whopping 52 saves by Kitchener Rangers goalie Jackson Parsons helped the Rangers to even their first round series with the London Knights at two games apiece.
Kitchener held on for a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Kitchener captain Francesco Pinelli broke a 1-1 tie at 5:10 of the third period and Mitchell Martin of the Rangers made it 3-1 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
The Knights put a total of 40 pucks at Parsons combined over the final two periods but Parsons stopped 38 of them.
Cody Morgan brought London to within one on a power play with 1:55 remaining but that is as close as Parsons would allow.
London captain Luke Evangelista was stymied time and again. He ended the game with 13 shots on goal and tried everything including a shot from between his legs that Parsons stopped. Tonio Stranges had seven shots on goal including one that he took through his legs. Both Evangelista and Stranges assisted on Morban’s power play goal.
Morgan had an assist on London’s first goal as he nabbed a puck in the high slot in the Kitchener end and looked poised to shoot. Morgan faked to his left and slid a pass back to his right that Max McCue blasted home for his fist goal of the post-season to tie the game 1-1 in the second period.
Antonino Pugliese opened the scoring on a dash into the London zone where he was able to tuck the puck behind Brett Brochu only to have it dribble along the goal line. Brochu pushed off to come across his crease as Pugliese went behind the net but one of Brochu’s skate blades came loose and Pugliese was able to beat the Tilbury, Ont., native to the puck and poke it in.
Gerard Keane went through a scary moment in the first period when left the game in the first period with a towel to his face after getting tangled up on the ice in the high slot in the London zone. He seemed to get clipped in the face by a skate but got stitched up and returned to the game wearing a full face shield to start the second period.
London outshot the Rangers 54-37.
London Knights set to select at number 15
The OHL Priority Selection will be held April 29-30 and the Knights own the 15th overall pick. London hasn’t selected higher than 14th overall since 2011 when Bo Horvat was drafted with the ninth overall pick. Luke Evangelista went 14th overall to the Knights in 2018.
The Saginaw Spirit own the first overall pick after winning the OHL draft lottery and will have an opportunity to select OHL Cup MVP Michael Misa who has been granted exceptional status to play in the Ontario Hockey League as a 15-year old.
Something new at Budweiser Gardens
Heading into Game 5 of London’s first round playoff series against Kitchener, the Knights have unveiled the Little Ceasars playoff zone at Budweiser Gardens. Tickets in the zone start at $15 plus tax and that will include a seat to the game and a free crazy bread coupon from Little Caesars.
Up next
A five day break.
The Knights and Rangers will not play the next game of their series until Sunday, May 1 at Budweiser Gardens.
Much of it comes down to building availability. Chris De Burgh, Chris Stapleton and James Taylor play on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, respectively. That would leave London’s regular Friday night open for a Game 5 only that happens to be night number one of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection.
Add all of that up and you get a 2 p.m. start on Sunday.
Coverage on 980 CFPL starts at 1:30 on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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