The Kitchener Jr Rangers MD Blue team opened the playoffs with a humbling 5 to 0 loss to the rival Rangers Red Saturday night.
The Rangers were missing defenders Kodi Blackshaw and Andrew Bishop in the game and at times appeared to struggle in their end.
Hayden Smith did all he could to help the Rangers and made some great saves to give the Rangers a chance to battle back into the game however the team failed to finish on the few chances they did generate.
Early in the game Spencer Bulyaki did a good job getting open in front of the net, but his shot was fired slightly high. Connor Coughlin and Jacob Red-Brant were both stand outs for Blue in the game. Both forwards did an excellent job hemming red in their zone but sadly, were not rewarded.
When players like Carter Schade, Evan Peori, Jake Master and Aydan Costello used their speed the Blue team was successful, but the effort was consistent enough.
Ethan Lafluer and Noah Roden did a good job in the defensive zone helping the Rangers keep red to the outside.
Noah Park, Kailum Belainic, Keenan Hack, and Player of the Game, Connor Pinos, all played hard minutes and did a quality job for the team. As did call-ups Logan Hock and Owen Stewart. Both Hock and Stewart did not look out of place and played hard minutes for the Rangers D corps.
The Rangers will need to bounce back and pick up wins in their next games against rival Brantford and Waterloo. The Rangers have an important off week with a lot of practice plans in the works. In their Tier 1 loop there are no easy games and the team will need to be ready to turn it up a notch.
Go Rangers!