Although they were ahead at times, the Kitchener Rangers couldn't stop the Erie Otters in the fourth game of their best-of-seven series on Thursday night.
The Otters secured a 5-3 victory, resulting in a 2-2 series tie.
The Otters took the lead first with Sam Alfano scoring his fifth goal of the series in under six minutes.
However, just over five minutes later, the top scorer for the Rangers, Carson Rehkopf, scored on the power play to level the game.
Shortly after, Filip Mesar became the second Kitchener player to score against Otters' goalkeeper Ben Gaudreau.
The Rangers maintained their lead until midway through the second period when Otters' Pano Fimis scored a shorthanded goal to equalize the score at 2-2.
Before the Rangers' power play ended, rookie forward Luke Ellinas reinstated Kitchener's one-goal lead.
After that, Kitchener's offense quieted down while Brett Bressette, Alexis Daviault, and Martin Misiak all scored for Erie in the third period, leading to a win for the home team.
Gaudreau, the game's first star, made 30 saves to secure the win, while Rangers' goalkeeper Jackson Parsons made 35 saves in a losing effort.
