Rangers drop Battalion for first win of the regular season

 

Luke Opilka had another strong showing in goal, and as a result, the Kitchener Rangers earned their first win of the season, a 4-2 decision over the host North Bay Battalion at the North Bay Memorial Centre on Thursday night.

Opilka faced just 23 shots but came through with some big saves at key times to help lead his team to the win. The 18-year-old guided the Rangers to a 4-0 lead late in the game before the Battalion spoiled the shutout bid with just under four minutes left to play.

The Rangers (1-0-1-0) got offensive production from four different goal scorers on the night, as Nick Magyar, Connor Bunnaman, Mason Kohn and David Miller each tallied goals for the visitors.

Kitchener opened the scoring early when Magyar tipped in a Sean Allen point shot at 2:03 of the first period, with Adam Mascherin picking up the second assist. It was the lone goal of the opening frame, which saw both the Rangers and Battalion register 13 shots apiece.

Bunnaman with a quick release in the slot on a feed from Jake Henderson beat Battalion goaltender Jake Smith to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead at the 9:54 mark of the second period.

Then, with the middle frame winding down, Allen again fired a shot on goal from the point, but after his stick imploded and the puck deflected off a Battalion defender in front, it was Kohn who snuck into the slot, unguarded, and pounced on the loose puck to extend the Rangers lead to 3-0, assisted by Allen and Darby Llewellyn with 2:02 remaining to close out the period scoring.

David Miller wasted no time registering his first goal of the regular season, beating Smith just 24 seconds into the third period to give the Rangers a convincing 4-0 lead. Ryan MacInnis picked up the lone assist on the goal, earning his 100th career OHL point.

Brett McKenzie put the Battalion on the board at 16:03 of the third, shorthanded, giving the club just their second goal in three games of the regular season to make it 4-1, unassisted. Miles Liberati from McKenzie and Mike Baird at 19:56 made it 4-2, but with just three seconds left on the clock, the Rangers skated away with the win.

Shots were 11-3 in favour of the Rangers in the second, and 12-7 in the third. The Rangers were 0-for-4 with the man advantage, while the Battalion were 0-for-2, but registered the shorthanded goal late in the third.

MacInnis was a noticeable presence in his first game of the OHL regular season after returning from St. Louis Blues camp, coming close to finding the back of the net on a number of quality chances throughout the night.

When told his club appeared to be one that was an honest and hardworking group after its first four periods of the season, MacInnis agreed without hesitation.

“We’ve got an older group here this year, and we’re definitely a hardworking group.

“This team, for the most part, has been together for a few years now, and it makes a huge difference.”

When asked about the players on the team who measure under six feet tall, he added, “They don’t play like smaller players. They’re hardworking and they hit. They definitely don’t play like their size. “

Magyar, who scored the game’s first goal, echoed the sentiments of his teammate post game, and was pleased by the effort from his club during their first road game of the season.

“Coming in on the road, especially after a long bus trip, it was good to have a good first period and good to get the win.

On looking ahead to a short turn around and heading to Sudbury tomorrow night to take on the Wolves, Magyar said not much would change in the Rangers approach.

“It’s just the same game plan as when we came in today. You can’t take any team in this league lightly, so we’re just going to continue preparing for teams the way we have been since the preseason and execute our game plan.

“It’s a big win for our team [to get that first one out of the way], and we’re looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully getting the same result.”

Smith suffered the loss in goal for the Battalion, who fall to 0-3-0-0 on the season.

MacInnis, Frank Hora and Brian Brosnan each wore ‘A’s and skated as assistant captains for the game.

Announced attendance at the North Bay Memorial Gardens was 3,113.

MacInnis (3), Allen (2) and Opilka (1) were chosen as the Three Stars of the game.

The Rangers are back in action tomorrow night when they travel to Sudbury to face the Wolves for a 7pm start.

The Rangers return to The Aud Friday, October 9th when they host the Windsor Spitfires at 7:30pm. Fans are asked to bring a monetary donation or non-perishable food item to support The Food Bank of Waterloo Region in their annual food drive.

Tickets for the Rangers next home game are available online at kitchenerrangers.com, through Centre in the Square, or by visiting The Aud Box Office.