Andrew MacNiel Scores Twice in Kitchener Rangers Score 5-2 Win

The kitchener rangers score started with Andrew MacNiel and ended with a 5-2 Game 1 win over the Barrie Colts on Wednesday night. Kitchener used three unanswered goals in the third period to seize the opener and take an early lead in the OHL Championship series.

MacNiel Drives Kitchener

MacNiel scored two goals, including the game-winner, and Cameron Arquette added the insurance goal. Sam O'Reilly finished it with an empty-net goal under two minutes left in regulation.

Christian Kirsch backed it up with 25 saves, his 13th playoff win, while Kitchener went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against Barrie's power play. That work came against a Barrie team that got both of its goals from Ben Wilmott, with Dylan Edwards also scoring his twelfth goal of the playoffs.

Kirsch Holds Barrie

Kirsch's line now sits at a 2.36 goals-against average and a.896 save percentage. Since MacNiel returned in Game 5 of the second round, Kitchener's penalty kill has given up only a single power play goal, and the blueliner has become a crucial piece on the Rangers' back end.

O'Reilly also played his first game since being awarded the Red Tilson Trophy, and he became the first player in OHL history to play in four straight OHL Championship Series. Kitchener's special teams held Barrie without a power-play goal, then its third-period push turned a tight game into a 5-2 finish.

Game 2 Back in Kitchener

Game 2 is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, with the series staying in Kitchener for the next game. Kitchener can push the matchup to a 2-0 series advantage before the teams move on to the Sadlon Arena.