Rangers one win away from clinching OHL championship title

The Kitchener Rangers are within striking distance of winning the OHL championships. But the Barrie Colts aren’t done yet. CTV’s Karis Mapp reports.

The Kitchener Rangers need one more win to claim their first OHL championship in 18 years.

On Sunday, the team hit the ice in Barrie for Game 3 of the series.

Sam O’Reilly got the first goal of the game for Kitchener, while the Colts remained scoreless through the first and second periods.

The action really picked up in the third.

The Colts tied it up early in the third, which Kitchener answered 46 seconds later with a goal of their own from Carson Campbell.

The Rangers then regained the lead, but only for 36 seconds until Barrie tied it up again.

All three goals happened within a span of 1:22.

“We don’t give up,” Coach Jussi Ahokas said of Kitchener’s resilience. “We don’t let things bother us. We just keep going.”

Dylan Edwards got the message and scored his first goal of the game for the Rangers.

Then, with just 12 seconds left on the clock, Kashawn Aitcheson came through for Barrie and forced the game into overtime and then double overtime.

“Obviously, in the moment, it’s a little frustrating,” Edwards said after the game. “You’re so many seconds away from sealing the win, but after that happens you can’t take it back. So, we were focused on the next shift. Coming into OT, we continue to work. You just got to have a short memory in hockey. Obviously, things are going to happen. Mistakes happen.”

Ahokas described the mindset of the Rangers heading into the fifth frame.

“You stay simple. You continue to every shift,” he said. “The fatigue, obviously, hits later in the game. But that’s when you simplify your game and continue to do the things the right way.”

There were also snacks on hand to keep the energy up, including berries, honey and pickles.

“We had a pizza there for the second overtime if somebody needed the slice,” Ahokas said. “Just to get quick energy.”

Edwards was the one who got the game winner.

“It was unbelievable. Smiles everywhere,” he said of the team’s reaction. “We never had a doubt in there. We came ready to work every period.”

“The guys showed it, they wanted the win,” Ahokas added. “I thought in overtime we played really well.”

The coach was also impressed with the performance from the Colts.

“They’re a good team. They work hard. They defend hard.”

Kitchener now leads the championship series 3-0, so Tuesday night will be do-or-die for Barrie.

“I don’t think you can count any team out, especially with how tight the last couple of games have been,” David Foot, TSN’s play-by-play analyst who has been covering the OHL Championship, said. “Barrie seems like they’re right there, they’re just kind of struggling to get over the hump and get that extra goal that’s going to make the difference.”

If the Rangers get a win in Game 4, they will clinch the OHL Championship series and the J. Ross Robertson Trophy for the first time since 2008.

Show of support

The Kitchener Rangers may have been playing in Barrie, but they still had plenty of fans in stands.

One group organized a bus trip north to watch the Blueshirts fight it out in Game 3. Rob Hoffman was one of the people on board.

“There were 41 fans, plus another couple hundred at the game, I’m guessing 300 Rangers fans,” he said. “It was just crazy! All the Rangers fans were chanting, ‘Let’s go Rangers!’ It was loud and all the Barrie fans were getting mad, but it was a great time to be there.”

The team felt that support.

“At one point in the game I was hearing ‘Let’s go Rangers’ chants,” Edwards said. “They did a great job tonight. Just to have people there that are cheering for you… it’s unbelievable. They’re amazing people, and everyone in Kitchener I love.”

Hoffman said the fans got even more riled up as the game headed into double overtime.

“I couldn’t even sit down. I was so nervous, [the game] going back and forth. I have to give credit to the Barrie goalie. He played awesome. It was great back and forth between the two goalies. It could have been either [team’s] game. It was great to watch.”

While Hoffman would love for the Rangers to win the championship on home ice, he prefers a clean sweep.

“I don’t want to open a door for Barrie because, against [the] Brantford [Bulldogs], they were down 3-1, came back and won it,” he said. “It would be nice to win it at home but you can’t take that chance.”

“Kitchener’s never going to throw a game,” Ryan Gardner, TSN’s colour commentary analyst who has been covering the championship, said. “You never want to take that risk and you also want some time if you do to get rested, to get ready for the [Memorial Cup]. But I would say, winning on the road isn’t bad either. You get to enjoy it a little bit with the guys that made it happen, that you’ve been with every day.”

Hoffman also hoped the Rangers keep that momentum going.

“I would love for them to win another Memorial Cup,” he said. “This is our time now. This is our time to win!”