Rangers chomp ’Hounds 4-1 in Soo
It was one of the easiest goals Greg Meireles has ever scored in the Ontario Hockey League.
The Kitchener centre was gifted his 16th of the season when Sault Ste. Marie goalie Joseph Raaymakers mishandled the puck in Friday’s 4-1 Rangers upset victory at the Essar Centre.
Raaymakers played the puck behind his net and tried to get it out of his zone but fanned on a passing attempt.
The biscuit slid out front and Meireles pounced on the freebie to score what turned out to be the winning goal.
It was Kitchener’s second consecutive victory and an impressive one. The Soo sit second in the OHL’s western conference and are ranked fifth in the Canadian Hockey League’s weekly top ten.
“That’s a big win for our club to come in here and play the way we did,” said Rangers coach Jay McKee.
Barrett Hayton gave the home side 1-0 lead early in the second period after he walked in from the point and fired a snap shot past Rangers goalie Luke Richardson.
But Kitchener’s Riley Damiani answered just more than one minute later when he turned Soo blueliner Mac Hollowell inside out, drove to the net and forced a forehand over Raaymakers’ outstretched glove.
Meireles delivered the dagger midway through the frame as part of a run that saw the visitors score four unanswered goals.
Winger Connor Bunnaman snuck past the Soo defensive line to collect his 29th of the campaign in the third period while Joseph Garreffa also added on.
Richardson made 38 saves to improve to 5-1 in just his sixth start of the season.
The rookie was pressed into action with regular Luke Opilka out with an upper body injury. The St. Louis Blues draft pick did not make the road trip north and will be out of action for at least the next week.
To help, the Rangers called up goalie Lucas Pfeil from Ridley College, a private school in St. Catharines. The 16-year-old was Kitchener’s sixth round selection in last year’s OHL entry draft.
Richardson showed a lot of control and his teammates kept the lanes clear so the freshman could see the puck coming.
“I thought we did a good job with keeping the majority of the shots to the outside,” said McKee.
The Rangers head to Saginaw to face the Spirit Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and wrap up their Family Day weekend road trip in Hamilton Monday at 2 p.m.