‘It was a garbage game,’ Kitchener Rangers’ Jay McKee
Posted Nov 24, 2018 03:02:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There's not much the Kitchener Rangers will be happy about when it comes to Friday's game.
“Nothing at all,” said head coach Jay McKee after the Erie Otters spanked the Blueshirts 5-1.
The Otters jumped all over the Rangers, scoring three times in the opening period, while holding Kitchener to just four shots.
“If [the players] don't want to work during the game, we're going to work now,” said a furious McKee – easily the most annoyed he's been this season. “They're going to the weight room and they'll spend time on the bike. We're going to compete as long as we can have the ice tomorrow.
“We'll continue to work on these guys like were going to today until they want to compete the right way.”
Erie would stretch its lead to 4-0 in the second period. McKee expected more effort from his team when trailing the second-worst team in the Western Conference.
“It was a garbage game by a lot of our older players,” said the head coach. “On a Friday night in Kitchener, in front of unbelievable fans, it's beyond unacceptable.”
“We have two guys that have any pushback; one is wearing a cage because he has a broken jaw and the other is a 16-year-old. That's embarrassing in itself.”
The 16-year-old was defenceman Donovan Sebrango. He destroyed Otters forward Alex Gritz with a bone-crushing hit while Gritz was reaching for the puck in the Erie zone.
Gritz left the game, but returned later in the third period.
Sebrango was challenged and dropped the gloves with the Otters' Brendan Sellen. The Rangers' second-rounder held his own and sent Sellen to the ice with a few right hands, before being ejected for a head-check.
“It's a good hit. When he hits him the chest, the head snapped back,” said McKee. “It's a tough sport. Sometimes guys are going to get hit hard. It wasn't a head shot, it was right in the chest.”
“If they're going to make those five-minute majors, just take hitting out of the league. It's a nice hit.”
Kitchener will wait to find out if Sebrango will be in the lineup Friday, when they host the Niagara IceDogs.
Story by Chris Pope.
