Antsis nets hat trick in Rangers’ Labour Day victory
Posted Sep 7, 2026 05:17:51 PM.
The Kitchener Rangers looked like a team ready to defend their Memorial Cup in Monday’s preseason contest, and they handily defeated the Saginaw Spirit in a Labour Day neutral-site game in Woolwich.
Woolwich Memorial Centre was treated to a dominant Rangers win, as the Blueshirts defeated Michigan’s Saginaw Spirit 5-1.
Game Recap
Kitchener held an offensive stranglehold over the game in the first period, as the Rangers outshot the Spirit 19-4 in the first period. The plethora of chances generated resulted in a pair of goals, the first being scored by Avry Antsis at 13:03 into the first period. The 18-year-old winger first goal of the preseason came via assists from Weston Cameron and Alex Forrest.
With less than a minute remaining in the period, Kitchener’s Haeden Ellis added a marker on the power play, with Forrest netting his second assist and recent signing Charlie Puglisi picking up a helper for his fourth point of the preseason.
The Rangers would not wait long to extend their 2-0 lead, as just 21 seconds into the period, Antsis would score his second goal of the game unassisted.
Late in the period at 18:06, 2025 fourth-round pick Evan Nicholson would score his first goal of the preseason from Gavin Martin and Jacob Lukes to extend the lead to 4-0 Rangers.
Saginaw would finally find a way past Kitchener netminder Mason Hriczov at 16:37 into the 3rd period as 16-year-old defenseman Gordei Khotkov would score to register his first career OHL point.
Less than a minute later though, Kitchener would get the last laugh at Avry Antsis pots an empty netter from Dmitri Toporowski and Ian Robinson to complete his first career OHL hat trick and reach the game’s final score of 5-1.
The win promotes the Rangers to a 3-1 record in the 2026 preseason. Saginaw’s loss drops them to a 2-4 record in preseason action.
The preseason victory is the first as a Kitchener Rangers for goaltender Mason Hriczov who stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced. The 17-year-old from New Jersey was a 13th round selection in the 2025 OHL Draft, and will likely serve as the Rangers’ full-time backup in 2026-27.
Both teams’ power play units struggled, with the Rangers’ unit going 1 for 4 on the day, and the Spirit’s man-advantage going scoreless on all 8 opportunities.
In a red hot start to the campaign, the Kitchener Rangers penalty kill has remained spotless through 4 preseason games, with opposing teams going 0 for 22 on power play attempts against Kitchener.
Monday’s win marks the end of the Rangers’ preseason contests in Waterloo Region, and they will play their final game before their regular-season opener in Barrie on September 12 at Sadlon Arena.
The Kitchener Rangers home return and banner-raising ceremony will take place against Owen Sound on September 18, at 7:00 p.m.
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