Kitchener captures opener

KITCHENER, Ontario – If the opening game of the Memorial Cup tournament offers a sign of what’s to come, it’s going to be a wild ride.

Justin Azevedo buried the puck in the top right corner of the net to give the host Kitchener Rangers a 6-5 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques in front of 6,705 fans packed into the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Friday night.

Acevedo’s goal came 4 seconds after Gatineau took a penalty for too many men on the ice, 6 minutes and 45 seconds into overtime. Azevedo finished with a goal and three assists, Nick Spaling added a goal and two assists and Matt Halischuk buried two goals for the Rangers, who outshot the Olympiques 42-16 in the first two periods before being held to four shots in the third period.

Mikkel Boedker also scored a goal and assisted on one, while Ben Shutron recorded three assists for Kitchener (1-0).

Jason Akeson, Spaling and Halischuk gave the Rangers a 3-0 lead just past the midway point of the opening period. The Olympiques responded with goals from Michael Stinziani and Paul Byron before the period ended.

Boedker and Halischuk scored in the second period as Kitchener took another three-goal lead.

But Darryl Smith scored for Gatineau (0-1) in the second and Nicholas Valliere Mayer and Alexandre Quesnel added goals in the third to send the game into overtime.

“It was a huge win,” Azevedo said. “We want to win every game and take the easiest route to the final. Having the power play was huge, especially in overtime. It was crucial to get the win, especially in the first game and we did that.”