The Kitchener Rangers set off on their first road trip of the season. They had an embarrassing loss in their first stop, losing 3-0 to the Flint Firebirds. On Friday, they went north for a matchup with the Salt Ste. Marie Greyhounds, before having to go back south of the border to Saginaw for a game against the Spirit on Saturday.
The Rangers had a strong start through the first 20 minutes against the Firebirds on Wednesday. However, they followed it up with their two worst periods of the season. Unfortunately, it was a similar story again on Friday.
Game Recap
From the first drop of the puck, you could tell the Blueshirts came to work. They started the game by dumping the puck in. The Greyhounds were able to deal with the first set of pressure. However, following the Rangers’ first line change, they got fresh legs on the ice and came with more dump-and-chase pressure, which led to Cameron Arquette burying the game’s first goal.
They kept this pressure up through the remainder of the period and were rewarded again when Matthew Hlacar drove to the net, forced a rebound, which Jack LaBrash tapped in for his first goal of the season.
They added one more with just over 30 seconds left in the period to extend the lead to three on Arquette’s second goal of the game, which he tapped into a wide-open cage after being set up from two beautiful passes by Haeden Ellis and Christian Humphreys.
The Greyhounds finally got on the board six minutes into the second period, on their first shot of the frame. Schaubel got a piece of Quinn McKenzie’s shot from the left circle. However, it trickled by him, and was likely one he wanted back.
This was the lone goal of the period until Hlacar was kicked out of the game for a way-too-late and dangerous hit, which got him a five-minute major. Shortly after the long kill started, Andrew MacNeil cleared the puck from the defensive zone and beat the Greyhounds’ goaltender from nearly 200 feet away.
However, the Greyhounds responded almost immediately on a great cross-ice seam pass where Chase Reid found Marco Mignosa for a one-timer. The power-play goal allowed the Soo to climb back within two heading into the final frame.
The Rangers did a good job of killing off the remainder of the major penalty in the third. But the Soo kept attacking, and on a chance off the rush, Travis Hayes tapped in a beautiful pass from McKenzie. The goal brought them within one with 15 minutes to play.
The Greyhounds then scored their third straight unanswered goal, on a failed clearing attempt that Christopher Brown jumped all over. He then found Mignosa, who caught several Rangers napping, which left Chase Reid wide-open in the slot, who beat Schaubel clean. This goal tied the game 4-4 and forced overtime.
The game-winner came from a hardworking effort from McKenzie for his second goal of the game, beating a lazy checking effort from a Rangers defender and putting a beautiful move on Schaubel to cap off the three-goal comeback victory.
Rangers Struggling to Play Full 60-Minute Game
Just like they did in Flint, the Rangers came out dominating the first period. They were ferocious on the forecheck, taking pucks away and driving to the net. This led to their 3-0 lead and was the second straight game controlling a majority of the scoring chances in the first period, something they had struggled with through the first two games of the season.
After outshooting the Greyhounds 13-6 in the first period, captain Cameron Reid said, “Just continue working hard, I think we let off the gas pedal,” when asked about what the Rangers needed to change to get a better result than they did against the Firebirds.
Following this comment, the Rangers went on to be outscored 4-1 and got outshot 23-14 the rest of the way. The forechecking pressure that worked so well in the first was lost. They became undisciplined, which made it difficult for them to regain control of the game, as they had to spend nearly nine of the last 40 minutes short-handed.
Andrew MacNiel Scores First OHL Goal
Andrew MacNiel scored his first-career Ontario Hockey League (OHL) goal in his 45th career game, or 58th if you include playoff appearances. It came short-handed and from the Rangers’ own defensive zone. Truly fitting first goal for a guy who takes so much pride in playing the shutdown role on the Rangers’ blue line.
With a goal and two assists this season, the Montreal Canadiens‘ 2025 sixth-round draft pick has already matched his point total from last season. Even in the loss to the Greyhounds, MacNiel had another excellent game. He finished as a plus-2 and had four shots on net, which led the team.
In the defensive end, he is so good at keeping attackers to the outside and using his body to separate the puck from puck carriers along the wall. That, along with clean puck moving, was highly noticeable on Friday night.
Other than the goal, his other highlight of the night was chasing down and eliminating a Greyhound breakaway chance early in the third period.
Haeden Ellis & Cameron Arquette Stay Hot
It was another two-goal night for Cameron Arquette, his second multi-goal game of the season. After seven games, he has now scored seven goals and is up to nine points, incredible numbers considering he had eight goals and 15 points in 53 games last season.
Haeden Ellis was the primary assist on both of Arquette’s goals against the Greyhounds. He had a third assist on LaBrash’s goal as well. He now has three goals and six assists through seven games, which matches his totals from his 36 games with the Rangers last season.
Everyone was expecting these two to have a more impactful season. However, it would have been hard to predict this level of production. Both are tied for the top 10 in points across the OHL, and are both in the top 25 in terms of points per game (via QuantHockey).
Christian Humphreys has also been playing very well between these two guys since returning from the Colorado Avalanche‘s training camp, having seven points in five games, which includes two assists against the Greyhounds. This line came out and set the tone, creating scoring chances all night.
Glass Half Full
The Rangers have lost back-to-back games, having been shut out by the Firebirds, who had allowed four goals in their previous five games to start the season. Now, they choked a three-goal lead to the Greyhounds. With this loss, that is the fourth time in seven games the Rangers have given up three consecutive goals in a game.
They are really struggling to play a full 60 minutes of hockey. However, the bright side is that we have seen the dominance of this team. The third-period comeback to erase a three-goal deficit against the Brantford Bulldogs, scoring two goals in two minutes against the Erie Otters, then three goals in five minutes in their next game against the Otters. They also scored two goals in the final two minutes in both games against the Owen Sound Attack.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Kitchener Rangers’ 4-3 Victory Over Owen Sound Attack
Then, they took a three-goal lead against the Greyhounds. If the Rangers can turn these dominant periods into dominant games and play to their full potential for 60 minutes, there are not many teams that will be able to compete. But right now, we’re not seeing that.
The Rangers get the chance to bounce back on Saturday as they travel to Saginaw for a matchup with the Spirit as the final stop on their first road trip.
