The Kitchener Jr Rangers ended
the round robin with a 3 to 3 tie against the Waterloo Wolves White to remain
undefeated in the Stratford Early Bird Tournament.
The Rangers power play continued to shine with two goals in the game. Connor Coughlin scored the first power play goal with a rocket from the top of the circle from Yianni Peppas. The goal tied the score before Ryan McConnell battled hard in front of the net to get the go-ahead goal from Aydan Costello and Daniel Gubbels. The Wolves evened the score before the Rangers scored their second power play goal when Jacob Reid-Brant riffled a perfect shot upstairs from Kailum Belanic.
Unfortunately, the Rangers stepped away from the game plan in the third and allowed the Wolves to tie the game. Aiden Radatus played a strong game for the Rangers. He made several nice saves in the third period as the Wolves had eleven shots in the period and pressed late. Radatus’ best save might have been a kick save in the final minute that he somehow saw last second.
Nicholas Zammit, Jacob Fisher, Carter Niall and Ethan Lafleur had strong games forechecking for the Rangers and the team over all played well. There were times the team had trouble clearing the zone and might have been a tad fatigued with a long wait between games as the game was delayed close to an hour.
Kodi Blackshaw and Keenan Hack played tough minutes against the Wolves and did a good job holding them to the outside. Noah Park and Logan Hock were both plus players for the fourth straight game and moved the puck well for the Rangers.
This game was a sneak preview of tomorrows final as both teams are headed to the Championship game. The Rangers will need to come prepared and focused on the task ahead if they want to win their first Championship of the season. Their coaches are completely behind them and have full confidence.
Go Rangers!!!