Rangers get off the schneid in the Shwa

Waiting to go live with 570 NEWS after the game Saturday, Jay McKee commented on the music in the arena. 

“It's nice they have our theme song for tonight playing in the background,” smiled the Kitchener Rangers head coach. 

Staying Alive by The BeeGees. 

Despite the Oshawa Generals outshooting the Blueshirts 17-4 in the third period, the Rangers still tripped the Gens 3-2 Saturday snapping a three-game slide. 

“We were on our heels a bit. I thought it was a gritty third,” said McKee. “Luke Richardson was great in net.”

He made 33 saves in the win, 16 of which came in the final frame with the Gens pressing for the tying goal. It could have been more, too. 

“We had a few big blocked shots,” said the bench boss who's best known for sacrificing his own body in his playing days. “That's the way we have to win. We're not a team that's loaded with offensive firepower. We have to grind out wins.” 

It's easy to rhyme off the names of the graduating players that left this team from last year's roster. But, their departure has meant the arrival of Jonathan Yantsis. 

The Markham native scored two goals in Saturday's win and now has eight points in his last four games. 

He leads the team with 11 goals, which is a career high. He's third in team points with 17, also a career high, trailing only Joseph Garreffa and linemate Rickard Hugg.

Hugg had an assist on each of the Yantsis tallies in Oshawa. 

Sunday comes as a much-deserved day off.

“When you're up against a team with that kind of firepower, a team that's been as hot as they've been, you have to lean on your older guys in a tight game,” said McKee. “We pushed our older guys a little more. They're naturally going to get tired.”

Kitchener is back at home on Tuesday night, when they play the Guelph Storm for the third time in six games.

Story by Chris Pope.