Kohn releases his wrath in Rangers’ final meeting with Whalers

It was the final game in what has been a storied rivalry.

Fitting. The game went to overtime, before Mason Kohn drove the net and slipped in a loose puck to give the Kitchener Rangers the 4-3 overtime win; their 23rd at home this year.

The game winner was Kohn’s second marker of the game, after getting scoring started just past the mid-way point of the first period.

The Rangers would add two more in the opening frame with David Miller and Dylan DiPerna both putting one past  Zack Bowman to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

The Whalers swapped goalies at the start of the second period, and it was a brilliant move. The Rangers spent the majority of the middle frame on the power play, but couldn’t put one past Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 24 of his 43 saves in the period.

His stellar stonewalling must have motivated Plymouth. The Whalers got within one, with two goals in the third in the first four minutes.

They would tie the game at three later in the frame, sending the game into overtime, setting up the heroics of Kohn, who scored under three minutes into bonus hockey. Nick Magyar and Frank Hora earned assists on the game-winner.

Dawson Carty picked up the win for the Rangers. It’s his 10th of the season. The Rangers remain in 6th in the Western Conference with 74 points.

The Rangers and their coaching staff filed onto the ice post-game and invited the Whalers for a post-game handshake. It was the final game between the two teams with a long intertwined history.

The Rangers’ last three coaches, Peter DeBoer, Steve Spott and Troy Smith, have all been a part of the Whalers organization; DeBoer and Spott behind the bench, and Smith as a player. DeBoer dropped the ceremonial puck at the game. The two teams have faced off six times in the playoffs over the last twelve years.

The Rangers honoured their billet families and the Whalers organization pre-game. Plymouth flips to Flint to become the Firebirds next year, and before their final game on the road, the Memorial Auditorium faithful gave them a standing ovation.

The Whalers will play their final game under that name tonight when they host the Erie Otters. Many alumni are expected to be in attendance.

The Rangers’ next four games come on the road, the last two regular season games, and the first two in the post-season. The East Ave Blue are in Saginaw tonight to face Jake Paterson’s former team, the Spirit. He’s expected to be honoured before the game.

Kitchener is in Sault Ste. Marie on Sunday wrapping up a three-in-three in this weekend, with a matinee match-up with the Greyhounds.

The pre-game on 570 News tonight begins at 6:30 p.m. with the legendary Don Cameron and Mike Farwell.

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