Rangers fall to Greyhounds in battle of OHL’s top teams

The Kitchener Rangers had a tough 3rd period on Friday night and ended up losing 6-3 to the Soo Greyhounds at The Aud.

The Rangers led 3-2 with just over a minute to play in the 2nd period. However, the Greyhounds scored on the power play to tie the game late in the period before dominating the final frame.

Kitchener had a tough night overall on special teams giving up two shorthanded goals as well.

“Overall, you can’t give up two goals when you’re on the powerplay,” said Head Coach Jussi Ahokas. “When you’re playing (a top team), you just can’t let that happen.”

The Greyhounds are now just two points behind the Rangers for first in the OHL with a game in hand.

Blueshirts defenceman Simon Motew said despite the result, he felt like the Rangers played well.

“They’re a top club for a reason, they work really, really hard, and I think this game was good for us,” Motew said. “We were in it the whole way, down 2-1, up 3-2, and I think we just gave them a little bit of a spark and they took it and ran with it.”

Both teams were without key players who were preparing for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. For the Rangers that included defenceman Filip Mesar, and OHL points leader Carson Rekhopf.

CityNews 570’s Colour Commentator Paul Fixter felt the loss to the Greyhounds was a missed chance for some players.

“There was an opportunity for some guys to step up their game, and I don’t think they took advantage of that opportunity,” he said. “Going into Barrie, they’ll have to do it if they want to make a good impression on the coaching staff.”

The game in Barrie on Saturday will be the Rangers final game before the holiday break.

You can listen to the Rangers and Colts on CityNews 570 with pregame beginning at 7 p.m.