By Ken Hilderley
SooToday.com
Sunday, October 25, 2009

After battling the Kitchener Rangers toe-to-toe, the wheels fell off for the Soo Greyhounds in the last four minutes.

The Rangers scored three times in the final 3:58 to break a 3-3 tie and skate to a 6-3 victory over the Greyhounds on Sunday night in Kitchener.

Tied at 2-2 after two periods, the Rangers grabbed a 3-2 lead midway through the final frame.

The Greyhounds would then rally with a James Livingston goal with 5:38 remaining to even things up for the third time in the contest.

Just 40 seconds later, things began to fall apart for the Hounds. Michael Catenacci scored for the Rangers and former Hound Chris MacKinnon would add another 43 seconds later to put Kitchener ahead 5-3. Jeremy Morin then put his second goal of the night into the empty net.

Carson Dubchak and Vern Cooper also scored for the Hounds while Ben Thomson notched a pair for the Rangers. The Soo's Brett Thompson picked up two assists.

Bryce O'Hagan took the loss for the Greyhounds stopping 30 of the 35 shots he faced. Brandon Maxwell, the game's first star, turned aside 38 shots for the win.

With the loss, the Hounds fall to 8-6-0-1 and sit in a tie for sixth spot in the Ontario Hockey League's western conference.

The Greyhounds begin a three-game homestand on Wednesday as the Sudbury Wolves visit the Essar Centre for a 7 p.m. start. The homestand continues on Friday against the Windsor Spitfires and Sunday versus the Kingston Frontenacs.

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GAME SUMMARY:

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 3 At Kitchener Rangers 6

Kitchener Memorial Auditorium

1st Period
1, Kitchener, Morin 11 (Skinner), 10:06. 2, Sault Ste. Marie, Dubchak 4 18:53.

Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period
3, Sault Ste. Marie, Cooper 9 (Thompson, Muzzin), 1:18. 4, Kitchener, Thomson 1 (Aleardi, Randell), 7:03.

Penalties-Quesnele Ssm (roughing), 0:46; Landeskog Kit (roughing), 0:46; King Ssm (fighting), 8:08; Mascioli Kit (fighting), 8:08; Cooper Ssm (delay of game), 15:11; Muzzin Ssm (charging, fighting), 19:36; Landeskog Kit (instigator, fighting, 10-min. misc.), 19:36.

3rd Period
5, Kitchener, Thomson 2 (Aleardi), 8:33. 6, Sault Ste. Marie, Livingston 7 (Thompson, Cooper), 14:22. 7, Kitchener, Catenacci 5 (MacKinnon), 16:02. 8, Kitchener, MacKinnon 7 (Mascioli, Kelly), 16:45. 9, Kitchener, Morin 12 (Prince), 19:19 (en).

Penalties-Battani Ssm (10-min. misc.), 20:00.

Shots on Goal
Sault Ste. Marie 12-16-13-41. Kitchener 15-9-12-36.

Power Play Opportunities
Sault Ste. Marie 0 of 0; Kitchener 0 of 2.

Goalies
Sault Ste. Marie, O'Hagan 5-1-0-0 (35 shots-30 saves). Kitchener, Maxwell 4-1-0-2 (41 shots-38 saves).

Attendance - 5,836
Referees - Scott Hoberg (13).
Linesmen - Tyler Callander (94), Kevin Hastings (61).

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