Sports
Whalers' Season Ends in 6-3 Loss to Kitchener
Plymouth eliminated in seven games in Western Conference semifinals.
Veteran Tyler Randell - back in the lineup after serving a 10-game suspension - scored four goals to lead the Kitchener Rangers to a 6-3 victory over the Plymouth Whalers in an Ontario Hockey League playoff game played Tuesday before 2,478 at .
Kitchener eliminates Plymouth in seven games and advances to the Western Conference Finals against the London Knights.
Besides Randell's four goals (3-4-5-6 of the playoffs), Kitchener also received goals from Eric Ming (2) and and empty net goal by Topbias Rieder (10). Matt Mistele had a goal (2) and assist for Plymouth, while Mitchell Heard (4) and Austin levi (2) scored one each for the Whalers.
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Plymouth reutrned leading scorer Stefan Noesen to the lineup and he help tie the game at 1-1 in the first period after Randell gave Kitchener a 1-0 lead on the power play at 10:20 of the first period. Noesen found Mistele with a pass at the left circel in the Kitchener zone and Mistele beat Rangers goaltender John Gibson with the shot at 12:09.
Ming restored the Kitchener lead to 2-1 at 17:15 of the period, roofing a shot from the lower rim of the left circle past Plymouth goaltender Scott Wedgewood.
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Kitchener led, 2-1, after one period of play.
The Whalers tied the game at 2-2 in the second period on the work of the forward line of Heard-JT Miller and Tom Wilson, who kept the play alive deep in the Kitchener zone and Heard scored at the right wing side of the goal to tie the game at 2:36.
But Kitchener broke the game open with a pair of Randell goals at 16:59 (re-direct of Ryan Murphy's shot from the left circle in front of the Plymouth goal) and 19:08 (cut across, right wing to left to scored on a backhand).
The Rangers extended the lad to 5-2 at 4:23 of the third period when Randell deflected Cody Sol's shot from the left point.
Plymouth didn't quit. Austin Levi scored from the top of the left circle through traffic at 14:13 to cut the Kitchener lead to 5-3. Wedgewood was pulled a couple of times over the final two minutes, but Rieder scored on the empty net with 21 seconds left to ice the game.
Plymouth outshot Kitchener, 37-31.
