Kitchener Rangers aim to sweep the Windsor Spitfires in game 4

Coming off an electric win on home ice, the Kitchener Rangers are feeling good going into game four, with a 3-0 series lead against the first-seeded Windsor spitfires.

Game 4 will take place at the Kitchener Aud on Thursday night, continuing the first round of the OHL Playoffs.

DEFYING UNDERDOG EXPECTATIONS

The Windsor Spitfires are one of the league's top with the first-seeded spot. The Spitfires were the 2022 OHL Western Conference Champions, but lost to the Memorial Cup-winning Hamilton Bulldogs in the finals.

At the end of the regular season this year, the Rangers were bumped down to the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

“Our team has found their way. [They] found it at a really important time and that’s critical if you're going to have any success in the playoffs,” said Chief Operating Officer with the Rangers, Joe Birch, on Wednesday.

But things looked up during the three games of the playoffs. After a 5-3 game one win in Windsor, the blue shirts managed to pull off a resounding 4-0 victory in game two. For game three, Kitchener returned home to a packed house at The Aud and came away with a 6-3 victory.

“I think it was the loudest building I’ve ever been in, so it was awesome,” said Rangers player Danny Zhilkin, after a Wednesday morning practice.

GAME 3 AT HOME

It was a thrilling game on Tuesday, right until the very end. Kitchener was initially leading Windsor 1-0 heading into the third period. But then, the two teams erupted for eight more goals in the third. The Rangers scored majority of those goals – doubling the Spitfires with a final score of 6-3.

Rangers player Francesco Arcuri said he’s proud of his game three goal, a mere six seconds into the power play in the third period.

“I was just open in the middle of the slot, and I just put it in the net,” Archuri said. “We got to thank our fans. They were really wild last night. Really thankful for that.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO GAME 4

On Wednesday morning, there was a lineup outside the box office with many people eager to buy tickets for the big game.

“I feel strong it’s going to be a sweep,” said one fan who secured his ticket on Wednesday.

The Rangers said close to 7,000 tickets have already been sold, which means there’s only a few hundred left as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Rangers tweeting out that standing room tickets have been released.

WINDSOR SPITFIRES PRACTICE IN KITCHENER

The Spitifres spent part of their afternoon on Wednesday practicing at the Aud.

Michael Renwick, with the Windsor team, said though the Rangers did not do well in the regular season, they really switched it up for the first round of the playoffs.

“The playoffs are a different animal. You can’t take a team lightly, and I think that’s what almost killed us a bit in game one and two,” Renwick told CTV News.

But the team knows it’s do or die for game four.

“We’re definitely going to battle this one out and hopefully push it to seven,” he said.

If there’s a game five it will be back in Windsor.

“They’re giving us a go. And obviously they’ve outplayed us,” said Marc Savard, the head coach of the Spitfires.

Savard said the Spitfires’ record at home games speaks for itself.

“25 wins at home this year, so if we can get back there, we feel like we have a chance still,” Savard said.