Rangers defeat Battalion
KITCHENER, Ont. — Cameron Arquette scored three goals, including an empty-netter, and added an assist to power the Kitchener Rangers to a 5-2 victory Friday night over the North Bay Battalion, which opened a two-game Ontario Hockey League road trip.
Haeden Ellis had one goal and one assist, and Tanner Lam also scored, while rookie goaltender Mason Hriczov made 20 saves before 6,573 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
The Rangers, who wore Remembrance Day-themed sweaters to be auctioned, with proceeds supporting veterans, moved their won-lost-extended record to 9-6-3 for 21 points, fourth in the Midwest Division.
Shamar Moses and Cam Warren scored for North Bay, and goaltender Mike McIvor allowed four goals on 19 shots as Kent Greer made his season debut on the Battalion blue line after recovering from a shoulder injury.
The Battalion is 7-10-1 for 15 points, third in the Central Division. The Troops, 2-8-2 at Kitchener since relocation to North Bay for the 2013-14 season, have lost 10 straight on visits to the onetime Berlin since a 5-1 victory Feb. 27, 2015.
Arquette broke a 2-2 tie at 16:39 of the middle period with what proved to be the winning goal. Ellis got to a dump-in in the left-wing corner and fed the puck across to Arquette, who stuffed it behind McIvor from the right side.
The Rangers’ Jake LaBrash got an instigating minor, major and misconduct for a fight with Arseny Pronin at 14:15, with Pronin receiving an interference minor and major.
At 8:27 of the third period, Lam snapped his ninth goal of the season past McIvor, barely back in his net, from between the circles off a pass from the end boards from Luca Santala, and Arquette went in alone to put the puck in the empty net with North Bay on the power play at 17:54.
Kitchener scored two goals 56 seconds apart early in the first period, sparked by Ellis at 5:01. He cashed a rebound from the goalmouth for his seventh goal, assisted by Arquette and Alexander Bilecki.
Arquette followed, getting to the goalmouth to tap the puck past McIvor with assists to Jakob Lukes and LaBrash.
Moses replied at 7:25, scoring his eighth goal on the Battalion’s first shot on goal from the right faceoff dot. Aaron Enright and Ryder Carey provided assists.
Warren scored his fourth goal on the power play at 14:39, backhanding home a cross-crease pass from Nolan Laird at the left lip of the crease. Parker Vaughan also assisted.
Kitchener’s Avry Anstis and Kam Hodgson tangled at 19:42, with Hodgson drawing a roughing minor in addition to his fighting major. Rene Van Bommel and the Rangers’ Weston Cameron were handed roughing minors.
The Battalion visits the Guelph Storm at 4:07 p.m. Saturday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: The teams complete their two-game season series Nov. 20 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens … Greer, an 18-year-old resident of Renfrew, Ont., was a second-round pick, 29th overall, in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection from the Barrie Colts U16s. In 115 games, he’s registered 14 goals and 35 assists for 39 points … Pronin saw the end of a 10-game points streak in which he had nine goals and three assists for 12 points … The Battalion went 1-for-4 on the power play. Kitchener was 0-for-2 … Opening lines included Evgeny Dubrovtsev centring left winger Warren and right winger Vaughan, Carey pivoting left winger Pronin and right winger Moses and Laird centring left winger Jax Pereira and right winger George Lovell. Van Bommel centred left winger Austin Brekelmans and right winger Hodgson … Defence pairs were Enright with Hayden Barch, Carter Kunopaski with Greer and Jean-Samuel Daigneault with Oskar Konobelj … The Battalion was without Alexander Karmanov, Max Crete, Easton Poe, Lincoln Edwards and Nikolas Rossetto … Among the missing for Kitchener was Andrew MacNiel … Hriczov, a resident of North Caldwell, N.J., was a 13th-round pick in 2025 from the Morristown Beard School and New Jersey Rockets 15U team … The OHL has fined the Rangers $5,000 for “unprofessional public comments” by coach Jeff Kyrzakos after a 3-2 home-ice loss Tuesday night to Guelph … Mitchell Hardy and Aaron Neely were the referees.
