ON THE DOORSTEP
Backup goalie Pfeil delivers a gem but Kitchener can’t capitalize in loss to Knights
London Knights’ Alex Turko redirects a shot into Kitchener Rangers goalie Lucas Pfeil Sunday during the OHL game at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Rangers lost 3-0.
KITCHENER — Is it still possible to turn back the clock?
Because you get the feeling that if the Kitchener Rangers had an extra hour they might just have been able to upset the London Knights on Sunday afternoon at the Aud.
As it stood, the Knights blanked the Blueshirts 3-0.
But, unlike recent losses to Guelph and Windsor on this three-game home stand, Sunday’s matinee had a different vibe, in a good way.
“When these guys go out there and leave it out there and you see them coming back to the bench giving everything that they have, it’s hard to fault them,” said Rangers coach Jay McKee.
The past couple of weeks haven’t been pretty.
Kitchener is 1-6 and hasn’t scored a goal in the past 134 minutes and seven seconds, a stretch that saw the team suffer back-toback shutouts this weekend.
Sunday, at least, it wasn’t for a lack of effort.
The Rangers couldn’t match London’s skill, which was boosted by the return of star defenceman Evan Bouchard (Edmonton Oilers) and forward Alex Formenton (Ottawa Senators), who both made their season debut after being sent back to junior by their NHL clubs.
But the Rangers sure made the Knights work for the win. And that makes the loss sting a little bit more. “They’re obviously pretty down right now,” said McKee. “They are a little bit slumped over in their stalls. Guys look pretty gassed and look tired.
“We used the analogy of not getting too high on the highs and when things aren’t going the way you want, you can’t get too low. You have to remain positive and find ways to improve and just keep working.”
The Rangers came out strong and banged a couple of posts but couldn’t solve London goalie Joseph Raaymakers, who earned his seventh career shutout.
Bouchard cashed early in the first period off a three-on-two break for a lead but Sergey Popov’s marker in the final minute of the second frame for a 2-0 advantage was the dagger. Formenton added an empty-netter.
Backup goalie Lucas Pfeil got the surprise start for the Rangers and delivered his best game in a red, white and blue sweater.
“I thought Lucas was phenomenal,” said McKee. “He came in as a younger goalie and handled the pressure great and certainly
gave us a chance to win.”
Part of Pfeil’s 32-save masterpiece included stopping Formenton on a breakaway.
“He’s a pretty quick skater,” said the 18-year-old. “I thought I’d try and get out there and challenge him and take away as much as I could and make him make the first move and I was lucky enough to make the save.”
Kitchener hits the road Tuesday to face the Peterborough Petes at the Memorial Centre. The change of scenery might do the team some good after dropping three straight at the Aud. “When you’re not getting the results you want, obviously it’s easy to micromanage and analyze every little play and every little thing,” said McKee.
“But we have to build their confidence up and keep these guys working and things will turn for us.”