The Kitchener Rangers had revenge on their minds on Sunday afternoon.
On Friday night, they let the London Knights walk all over them on home ice in front of a packed Kitchener Memorial Auditorium crowd, losing 6-1.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Kitchener Rangers’ Blowout Loss to the London Knights
It’s clear the beat down was still on the Rangers’ mind to open the game as captain Cameron Reid, a Nashville Predators first-round pick, fought Los Angeles Kings first-round pick, Henry Brzustewicz, off the opening faceoff, clearly something that carried over from these two teams’ first Rivalry Week.
Game Recap
After the fight, the Rangers came out with a jump that we didn’t see on Friday night. They controlled the chances throughout the first half of the period before Kaden Schneider opened the scoring with his first career Ontario Hockey League (OHL) goal.
The Knights tied the game up midway through the second period on a power play. The goal came after a Knights player cut through the crease, knocking Christian Kirch’s stick out of his hand. This led to Brzustewicz beating Kirsch five-hole as he was unable to recover his stick. This goal led to the game being tied at one headed into the final frame.
Despite coming out and outchancing the Knights early in the third period, the Rangers fell behind with Kaeden Hawkins making an incredible deflection on a point shot, redirecting the puck to the top shelf.
Shortly after, the Rangers responded, breaking loose on a three-on-two where Tanner Lam made a beautiful cross-ice pass to find Weston Cameron wide open, who beat Aleksei Medvedev clean for his first goal of the season.
After tying the game at two, and a flurry of chances, the Knights hung on and forced overtime. The Rangers finally broke the tie 44 seconds into overtime after Kirsch turned away two shots, which sprung Luca Romano, who fed Jukub Chromiak a pass he one-timed into the back of the net.
This is the type of 60-minute performance that will keep the Rangers in any hockey game, from offense to defense and goaltending, top to bottom. The Rangers battled all game. Sure, there were times they were hemmed in, but that’s going to happen against good teams; it’s how you respond. They were ultimately rewarded, and more efforts like this will yield more consistent results.
Here are three things to take away from the victory:
Rangers’ Hot Start Leads to Overtime Victory
The Rangers came out of the gates firing. Through the first 20 minutes, they had several dangerous scoring chances. They ended up being rewarded on one of their least threatening shots of the period; it just happened to be one that Medvedev could not see.
They finished the first period outshooting the Knights by four. While the Knights flipped the script, scoring and outshooting the Rangers by four in the middle frame, their attention to defensive details and many massive saves from Kirsch had them in a position to win this game going into the final period.
Sure, we may expect more offense from this team, and the need to score more goals and take early leads is obvious. However, when you’re playing the reigning Memorial Cup champions, you’re in for a challenging game, and all you can ask for is a chance to take control and win in the final 20 minutes.
Teams rarely dominate all three periods of a hockey game. But the Rangers have needed to eliminate the blow-up periods they have had in various games this season. They put their foot back on the gas in the third and outshot the Knights 13-6. They could have won this game in the third with Medvedev making several massive saves, but they hung in and kept pushing until they got a shot Medvedev had no chance at stopping.
A Trio of Rangers Get Firsts in the OHL
Schneider has been in and out of the lineup for the Rangers this season. The Rangers have a highly talented defensive core, which makes it a difficult rotation to crack consistently. Still, over the course of this season and last season, Schneider has given the Rangers valuable minutes when called upon.
He was finally rewarded with his first goal in his 19th game with the Rangers, opening the scoring in the first period. Being 6-foot-4, Schneider is more known for his reach and play on the defensive end. However, it was nice to see him get rewarded on the stat sheet after being ready to play whenever his number is called.
Cameron’s first OHL goal tied the game at two for the Rangers in the third period. He has been invaluable to this team early this season. He works incredibly hard, he throws hits, and stands up for himself and teammates physically, and there is some offensive talent in his 6-foot-3 frame, showing a great release to beat Medvedev.
Cameron may not have the chance to finish the season with eye-popping stats in the role he plays with the Rangers. However, the 2026 NHL draft-eligible prospect could find himself on many NHL draft boards if he keeps doing what he has through the Rangers’ first 11 games.
The other first in this game was Alex Forrest, getting his first career OHL point, assisting on Schneider’s goal. Forrest, a defenseman, who the Rangers drafted in the second round of the 2025 OHL Priority Selection, played with the Rangers in their first two games of the season on the third defensive pair.
With the Rangers having several players return from NHL training camps, it forced them to send Forrest down to Junior B. In nine games with the Cambridge Winterhawks in the Greater Ontario Hockey League (GOHL), Forrest dominated with nine goals and 21 points. Clearly, the Rangers thought they could use his offence and brought him up to play on the wing.
Can This Win Spark a Run?
This is the second time the Rangers have gotten a big win after being blown out by a division rival. Earlier this season, they lost 7-3 to the Owen Sound Attack before bouncing back in their next game to beat the Attack 4-3.
The Rangers had the chance to follow that win up with a game against the Flint Firebirds. In a game where they would have been heavily favoured, the Rangers were shut out. Now, coming off the overtime win against the Knights, they get another chance at the Firebirds on Friday, and over the next six games, their opponents have a combined record of 22-31-5-4.
This will be a good chance for them to prove they can repeat this performance, playing a full 60 minutes. If the Rangers do that, they should be able to string a bunch of wins together over the next couple of weeks.
