London, Ont. The Kitchener Rangers made history by becoming the first eight players to ever sweep a single seed in the OHL playoffs. However, Kitchener’s 4-0 deficit against London on Thursday ended the Round 2 series with the Knights winning four games to one.
The first defensive period was in Game 5 on Thursday night. The shots favored the Knights 4-3 in a scoreless first half.
London opened things up in the middle with three unanswered goals. Max Mackey broke the deadlock 4:19 into the period. Marco Costantini’s slot shot hit the gloved arm. Then, Denver Barequi scored the next two goals for London, one on power play and one on penalty kick.
London led 3-0 after 40 minutes and the shots favored the Knights 19-8.
The Knights kept Kitchener off the board, and with the goaltender pulling for the extra tackle, Logan Mayo (Montreal Canadiens) hit the ball into an empty net to make it 4-0 and end the Kitchener Rangers’ streak. Final shots favored the Knights 27-16.
This was the final game in the OHL for the three Rangers players: Marco Costantini, Leighton Moore, and Red Valadi.
Kitchener finished the game 0-for-3 on power play and 2-for-2 on penalty kick. All three of the game’s stars went to members of the London Knights.
Image source: Tiffany Locke / Kitchener Rangers