A hat trick from Carson Rehkopf helped the Kitchener Rangers double up the Erie Otters 8-4 in a Sunday afternoon contest at the Aud.
Rehkopf opened the scoring at the 6:44 mark of the opening period before Otters forward Carey Terrance evened the score less than two minutes later.
Kitchener caught fire from that point forward as Reid Valade, Joseph Serpa and Jesse Fishman all found the back of the net before the opening frame was over, leaving the score 4-1 in favour of the home side after the opening 20 minutes.
Rehkopf would also open the scoring in the second period at the 5:08 mark, as the onslaught from the Rangers continued.
Both Rangers forward Trent Swick and defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz scored, the latter recording his first, before Dylan Edwards responded for Erie.
The Rangers held a commanding 7-2 lead when the third period opened and within 90 seconds Rehkopf would complete his natural hat trick.
Erie forwards Elias Cohen and Kaleb Smith finished out the scoring as the total came out to 8-4.
It was a quiet afternoon for Marco Costantini as he made 16 saves on 20 shots to record the win.
The Rangers are now 9-12 on the season and sit in fifth place in the Midwest Division, while the loss drops Erie to 10-9-0-2 on the season for second in the Midwest Division.
Kitchener returns to action on Friday night when they host the Windsor Spitfires at the Aud.
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