The Gloucester Rangers tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Ottawa Senators held on for a 5-4 victory.
Ottawa made the score 5-2 on a goal by Ryan Cranford at 12:07 in the third period, and Gloucester got as close as 5-4 when Matt Adams scored 19:06 into the third period.
The Senators forced the Rangers goalie Doug Johnston to work between the pipes, taking 36 shots. Ottawa outdid its season average for goals scored. The Senators average 2.7 goals per game.
Ottawa was helped by Brendan Valko, who racked up one goal and one assist. Valko scored 18:23 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Ottawa. Shawn Lynch assisted on the tally. Ottawa also got points from Joey Champigny, who also had one goal and one assist and Jim Pearson, who also registered one goal and one assist. Ottawa also got a goal from Robert Michel as well. In addition, Ottawa received assists from Sean Rappleyea, who had three and Matthew Cruickshank, Isaac Anderson, and Thomas Crevier, who each chipped in one.
Gloucester was forced to rely heavily on their penalty kill unit throughout the game, as it racked up 18 penalty minutes.
The Rangers were led by Jaren Burke, who tallied one goal and one assist. Burke scored 5:46 into the third period to make the score 4-2 Ottawa. Chris Morgan picked up the assist. Gloucester additionally got points from Ryan Kuffner, who also tallied one goal and one assist. Vincent Guimond also scored for Gloucester. More assists for Gloucester came via Colin Kruse and Matt Foget, who contributed one each.
Alexandre Savard-Belanger rejected 26 shots on goal for the Senators. Ottawa incurred 14 minutes in penalty time with seven minors. Johnston recorded 31 saves for Gloucester. The Rangers registered zero goals on two power play opportunities.
