Barrie, Ont. – The Rangers knocked off the Eastern Conference’s third place Barrie Colts Saturday night after earning a 4-3 overtime road victory to finish the weekend perfect with two wins. Danny Zhilkin (Winnipeg Jets) secured the victory scoring the overtime winner at 3:25 of the extra frame. Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) scored goals number 34 and 35 and Marcus Vandenberg was fantastic between-the-pipes stopping 
36-of-39 shots he faced.
With the win, the Rangers sweep the season series 2-0-0-0 over Barrie, improve to 6-1-0-0 in their last seven games against the Colts and have won three-straight on the road in Barrie.
Marcus Vandenberg was tested early but kept Kitchener in the game not allowing Barrie to find the icebreaker. The Rangers pushed back in the second half of the opening frame but to no avail. Neither team found the back of the net in the opening period and shots ended 12-10 in favour of Barrie.
Barrie got on the board first on a solo effort by Chris Grisolia eight minutes into the second period. Grisolia took a swipe at the puck as he was falling to the ice and was able to chip the puck up and over the glove of the Rangers’ netminder Marcus Vandenberg.
Kitchener found their equalizer with three minutes left to go in the second period. Danny Zhilkin (Winnipeg Jets) made a sweet move at the blueline to knock the puck past two Barrie skaters and feed Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) in the slot for a one-timer that beat Anson Thornton (Arizona Coyotes) far side off the post and in.
The score was tied 1-1 and shots favoured the Colts 22-17 as the teams headed into the second intermission.
Kitchener and Barrie went back and forth a couple more times in the third period leading up to an eventful finish. Arcuri snapped off his second goal of the game and 35th of the season three minutes into the third period. Then, with the Rangers on the man-advantage, Beau Jelsma was sent in for a shorthanded breakaway and beat Vandenberg with a wrist shot blocker side at 9:34.
Just one minute after that, Kitchener re-took the lead with Lleyton Moore scoring from a tight angle, beating the Barrie goaltender below the circle from the half-wall.
Barrie believed they tied the game with Grisolia scoring his second of the night, but that was quickly ruled out for goaltender interference. However, just 30 seconds after that, Barrie scored again and this time it counted. Even Vierling (New York Rangers) collected the rebound as he stuck himself right at the top of the crease to make it a 3-3 hockey game.
60 minutes wasn’t enough to settle the score in this one, so the teams headed for overtime. Both teams traded chances with 3-on-3 hockey, but with 1:35 remaining, Danny Zhilkin muscled a shot through the arm of Anson Thornton to secure all two possible points for the Rangers.
The final score was 4-3 for Kitchener with shots favouring the Colts 39-35. Kitchener finished the game 0-for-4 on the power-play and was a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Zhilkin was awarded the game’s second star of the game and Arcuri was awarded the game’s first star.
Next Up: The Rangers have a Valentine’s Day date at The Aud with their rival London Knights Tuesday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Great seats are still available here.
Photo Credit: Josh Kim / Barrie Colts
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