One thing was on the Kitchener Rangers’ mind on Friday night: revenge.
They got their second crack at the Owen Sound Attack after losing last weekend’s contest 5-2 in Bayshore. Last weekend, the Attack caught the Rangers off guard, laying several bone-crushing hits. It led to the Rangers running around and falling behind early. The Blueshirts clawed back early in the second period, but a parade to the penalty box throughout the final 40 minutes derailed the Rangers’ chances of hanging on to the lead.
Following the loss, Rangers forward Jack Pridham said, “Now we know what to expect Friday,” (from ‘Undisciplined play costs Rangers in first loss of the season,’ The Record, Sept. 27, 2025). Boy, were they ever for this rematch with the Attack.
Game Recap
The Rangers got off to a much better start in this one. From the first shift of the game, the Rangers put on the pressure, with two shots and a missed back-door tap-in opportunity in the first minute of the game. This led to the Rangers opening the scoring 4:29 into the first period on an awkward goal, which Attack goaltender Carter George bobbled and ultimately put in his own net, which Luca Romano got credit for.
The Attack found their legs after allowing the first goal of the game. They started to create some offence, and seven seconds into their first power-play opportunity of the night, Pierce Mbuyi got the Attack on the board, one-timing home a pass from Harry Nansi.
The Rangers answered back with a power-play goal of their own, after Nansi took Rangers captain and Nashville Predators first-round pick Cameron Reid dangerously into the boards. Christian Humphreys beat George short-side over the shoulder with a perfectly placed wrist shot.
Then, under two minutes later and in the final minute of the period, Cameron Arquette gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead after finding a rebound off the pads of the Attack netminder. Lam and Romano both assisted on the goal, registering their second points of the night.
Just after the halfway mark of the second period, the Rangers extended their lead to three on an elite shot from Humphreys, his second of the game and second of the season. He beat George over the glove, picking the top corner. On the goal, Pridham registered an assist, his second goal of the night.
The Attack finally responded on a four-on-three man advantage, where Mbuyi was fed a back-door pass that he finished off for his second of the game, which was the final goal of the second frame.
The Rangers carried a two-goal lead through the first half of the third period until they got into some penalty trouble. One minute into a full two-minute five-on-three power play, Jacob Therrien brought the Attack within one.
However, that’s as close as they came, as the Rangers went on to close out a 4-3 victory on East Ave. to get their revenge on the Attack.
First Period Offence Comes Alive
In our takeaway piece after the Rangers’ first matchup with the Attack, I brought up that the Rangers had not yet scored a goal in the first period in any of their four games, and they had given up the first goal in three of the four.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kitchener Rangers 5-2 Loss to the Owen Sound Attack
Although the sample size was small, the trend was becoming slightly concerning. However, three goals in the first period on Friday night against the Attack, and what head coach Jussi Ahkoas called their “best five-on-five hockey game of the season”, made those early game struggles from the first two weekends an afterthought.
It all started with Lam making a heads-up defensive play, intercepting a breakout pass at the offensive blueline and then taking it all the way to the net and putting a shot on net that bounced to Romano, who finished it off with some help from George, knocking it in his own net.
They may have given one back, but Humphreys got the lead back minutes later, and the Rangers never looked back.
Cameron Reid Returns After Taking Scary Hit From Behind
Just under five minutes into the game, Reid went back to retrieve a puck behind the Rangers’ goal line. He was pressured by Nansi, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, who put a cross-check into the lower back of Reid, a few feet from the boards, which caused a violent slam into the boards.
Reid lay on the ice for a few moments before he was assisted back to the Rangers bench and then went straight to the dressing room. A scary moment for the Rangers, watching one of their most valuable players go down. However, he did return to the game, and must have been okay as he appeared to challenge Attack captain David Bedkowski to a fight, which he turned down.
Following the game, the Rangers’ bench boss said, “That’s a cheap shot, and those are the things we need to get out of the game,” when asked about the hit, and went on to say, “That wasn’t two minutes, that should have been a major for sure,” regarding the decision to call a minor checking from behind penalty.
The hit wasn’t huge or malicious. However, it appeared that Nansi intentionally hit Reid in a vulnerable spot, and I agree with the coach that this should have been factored into the referee’s decision, which could have easily been called a major penalty.
Rangers’ Star Players Dominate
It was an all-around team effort that led to the victory; several Rangers played exceptionally well. However, it was their stars that took over the game.
Their top line of Lam, Romano, and Arquette dominated all night. Arquette finished with a goal, Romano had a goal and an assist, and Lam had two apples in the game, in what was his best all-around game of the season.
Along with that line taking the game over, Humphreys scored two goals, and Pridham finished the night with two assists on the Rangers’ second line.
Last weekend, the Rangers struggled to generate offence against the Attack, and when asked about what was different in this week’s contest, Humphreys said, “We just worked.” He continued, “Owen Sound is a hardworking team; they make it tough on you. If you look at our roster top to bottom, we have so much talent on our team. Hard work, you know, beats talent. So tonight, I think we worked really hard and let our talent take over.”
With an entire week of practice under their belt and all their players back from NHL training camps, the Rangers were noticeably more comfortable, and the puck movement was cleaner. The chemistry allowed the Rangers to play with much more pace, making their talent much more noticeable.
The Rangers now have a rare weekend off before heading out on their first extended road trip to play games in Flint, Sault Ste. Marie and Saginaw next week.
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