Richardson shines in Rangers’ shootout win

LONDON — It was a curious call.

Kitchener Rangers coach Jay McKee elected to go with Luke Richardson in net Tuesday night against Midwest Division rivals the London Knights.

The same Knights that, with an inexperienced lineup, beat Richardson and the Rangers 2-1 just 12 days back.

Meanwhile, scorching backstopper Mario Culina sat on the bench.

Hours before puck drop, the veteran was named the Canadian Hockey League’s goalie of the week after going a ridiculous 3-0 with two shutouts, a minuscule 0.67 goals against average and a sparkling .980 save percentage.

“Luke has been a warrior for us,” said McKee.

“Although Mario has been playing exceptional, we’re not going to walk away from Richie. We’re going to give him opportunities.”

It turns out the bench boss was on to something.

Richardson turned aside 29 shots and stopped five London breakaways in the saw-off as the Rangers edged the Knights 3-2 in a shootout at Bud Gardens.

“Richie was huge … especially in the shootout,” said McKee. “He came up big. The win is on his shoulders, for sure.”

On paper, the game should have been a one-sided beatdown by the visitors.

London looked nothing like the team that has dominated the Rangers over the past two and a half seasons (losing just four times in 20 tilts heading into Tuesday).

Scoring staples Robert Thomas, Cliff Pu, Max Jones and Sam Miletic were all moved at the Ontario Hockey League’s trade deadline two weeks ago.

Defensive stalwart Evan Bouchard and 2016 first-round draft pick Liam Foudy were in Guelph for the CHL’s Top Prospects game, which runs Thursday.

And newcomer Nathan Dunkley, the prize acquisition in the Pu deal, sat out with an upper body injury.

Yet the Knights scored two goals in 58 seconds to take a 2-0 lead before the seven-minute mark of the game.

Kitchener clawed back on markers by Givani Smith and Connor Bunnaman by the end of the second frame, but the clubs skated through a scoreless third and overtime to set up the shootout.

Richardson stopped all five Knights while his counterpart Joseph Raaymakers stymied Kitchener’s first four offerings.

Then Smith stepped up to centre ice to a chorus of deafening boos from the hometown faithful.

“Oh I heard it,” said Smith. “I loved it. It motivated me so much.”

The 19-year-old winger burst in on Raaymakers and slipped the puck between the goalie’s legs to clinch the win.

Kitchener has now won four straight and sits comfortably in second place in the OHL’s western conference with a record of 31-14-2-0.

Richardson admitted the win felt good after sitting for the past week or so in place of Culina.

“It pushes me to come back and be better,” he said. “I have to pick up my game if I want to keep playing, too.”

The Rangers are off until Friday when they host the Saginaw Spirit (23-17-4-0) at the Aud at 7:30 p.m.