Improving Rangers suffer setback
Kitchener ends third quarter of OHL season with 6-3 loss to Midwest rival Owen Sound
OWEN SOUND — First, the good news.
The Kitchener Rangers are trending up. The club has posted a better record in each quarter of the season and that’s a positive sign with the playoffs inching closer.
Now, of course, comes the bad news.
The Blueshirts saw their seven-game winning streak snapped with a convincing 6-3 loss to the suddenly surging Owen Sound Attack, Saturday at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
It wasn’t exactly the way the Rangers wanted to hit the threequarter mark of the 68-game schedule.
“I think in all areas of the game we were outplayed,” said Kitchener bench boss Jay McKee. “You can’t take nights off. We have to clean up things.”
It was an all-around mess on Saturday.
Owen Sound pounded the Rangers net with 44 shots, while the visitors managed just 24 on Attack goalie Olivier Lafreniere.
Kitchener’s defence — playing without an injured Connor Hall — was too casual and didn’t show enough urgency.
Goalie Luke Richardson could have been sharper on two of Owen Sound’s goals, and the forwards seemed to rely too much on the team’s scorching first line.
“We have to be better,” said Rangers captain Connor Bunnaman.
“It’s a rivalry game when we come to Owen Sound. It’s definitely a hard rink to come to. They always give us a run for our money.”
The Attack has underachieved this season, but is turning things around now that its top forwards are healthy.
The club has won four straight — and seven of its past eight games — and is moving up the standings in the OHL’s western conference.
One thing is clear, Owen Sound loves playing the Rangers.
“It’s a great rivalry,” said Attack assistant coach Alan Letang, whose team is 17 points back of the Rangers in the Midwest division. “They’re the team we’re chasing. They get jacked up to play the best.”
Owen Sound went up 3-1 after the first period Saturday and Kitchener just never recovered.
A two-goal second period had the Rangers down 4-3 but a stale third, in which the squad mustered just six shots, did little to improve its chances.
Logan Brown kept up his hot hand by scoring and adding an assist. The Ottawa Senators prospect has 12 points in four games since joining the Rangers, in a trade with the Windsor Spitfires.
Adam Mascherin and Givani Smith also scored for Kitchener. Maxim Sushko potted a pair for the home side, while Kevin Hancock, Jonah Gadjovich, Cade Robinson and Brett McKenzie also scored.
The Rangers have seen an uptick in victories as the season has progressed, with 10 wins in the first quarter, 11 in the second and 13 in the third. The team is second in the western conference with a record of 34-15-2-0, as it stares down the final 17-game stretch of the season. McKee sees lots of work ahead. “I think there are some good areas of our game but there is certainly room for a lot of improvement,” he said. “I’d like to get healthy and we’re not getting enough secondary scoring right now.”
The Rangers return to action Tuesday when they host the Niagara IceDogs at the Aud at 7 p.m.