Meireles nets five-point performance in rout over Wolves
Greg Meireles earned his first Ontario Hockey League point with an assist at The Aud on Thanksgiving Monday.
Then he added four more points.
The 16-year-old Ottawa native was one of six different goal scorers for the Kitchener Rangers who came away with a convincing 8-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves.
Meireles finished with two goals and three assists for a total of five points in just the third regular season game of his career.
It was the first time a Rangers player registered five points in a game since former captain Michael Catenacci did so on February 7th, 2012 versus the Guelph Storm (2-3=5).
After the game Meireles credited both the high skill-set of his line mates and the raucous atmosphere of The Aud for his unforgettable performance.
“Even after getting the first point – the assist – I was really fired up at that point,” described Meireles.
“The crowd here really fires me up. It’s just a great fan base, and to get that first OHL point here, well, I was just really excited.”
When asked what was going through his mind as the puck went in the net, he may need to have a look at the game tape for any recollections.
“I kinda blacked out,” he laughed. “I didn’t know what I was doing. Next thing you know, I look, and the puck is in the net.”
After the first OHL point, then the first OHL goal out of the way, the points continued to pile up for the rookie and his line mates. After a while, he said they almost couldn’t help but laugh at the near absurdity of it all.
“All the boys just kept setting me up out there. As [the points] kept adding up, they just kept teasing me, ‘Oh, what are you at, like, five points now, Meireles?’ It was unbelievable. It was pretty great.”
Meireles skated with David Miller and Mason Kohn, who each finished with a goal and an assist a piece.
A pair of other Rangers also had memorable afternoons at The Aud, as third year player Jacob
Cascagnette scored the first goal of his OHL career (52 games), and Nick McHugh earned his first OHL point with an assist.
Cascagnette recalls his experience while scoring the goal, and like Meireles, his recollection has a few holes.
“It all felt like it happened in slow motion, but my mind went blank as soon as I saw it go in. I couldn’t even tell you how I celebrated, honestly I don’t remember. I just know I went to the bench and they were grinning ear-to-ear for me and so happy for me because they knew I wanted it so bad.”
Cascagnette added it was a great way to finish a busy weekend after dealing with some frustration during their previous two games.
“It’s an exclamation mark to end the weekend,” he starts. “The loss here on Friday with one second left really hurt, then blowing that lead in Mississauga yesterday was also a killer, but it’s good to look at the positives. The fact that we picked up points in every game this weekend and finished it off with a convincing win like this for our fans at home, it gives us confidence heading into next weekend.”
The Rangers now improve to 3-0-3-0, while the Wolves drop to 1-6-0-0.
Kohn got the Rangers on the board at 12:17 of the first period from Meireles and Brian Brosnan. Brosnan would have quite an afternoon himself, notching the first three-point performance of his career.
With just under two minutes to play in the first period, Connor Bunnaman cashed in on the power play from Dylan Di Perna and Dmitrii Sergeev at 18:06. The goal gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead and also a $100 donation to Clarky’s Kids by way of Heffner Toyota, who has generously agreed to donate $100 for every power play goal scored by the Rangers on home ice this season.
The Rangers took charge not only on the scoreboard but on the shot clock as well for the majority afternoon, including the first period when they outshot the Wolves 10-3.
Meireles added to his souvenir collection with his second point of the afternoon and first career OHL goal at 1:25 of the second, from Kohn and Brosnan, to put the home side up 3-0. It began a flurry of offence for the Rangers, who potted three goals in a span of 3:05. Miller beat Sudbury goaltender Matthew Menna at 4:15 for his second goal of the year, assisted by Meireles and Di Perna, then just 15 seconds later it was Bunnaman again with his second of the afternoon from Jake Henderson at 4:30 increasing the Rangers lead to 5-0.
Cascagnette scored at 18:28 of the second period, from Mike Davies and McHugh. The Rangers led 6-0 after 40 minutes, while outshooting the Wolves 25-14.
Adam Mascherin’s power play marker at 7:09 of the third period donated another $100 from Heffner Toyota to Clarky’s Kids and put the Rangers up 7-0 from Miller and Meireles. The goal continues a season-long point streak for Mascherin (4-5=9 in 6 GP).
Dmitry Sokolov broke the goose egg for the Wolves with a power play goal at the 11:21 mark of the third period from Michael Pezzetta and Patrick Murphy, but just over two minutes later Meireles scored his second goal of the afternoon and first power play goal at 13:57 from Mascherin and Brosnan, for yet another $100 donation to Clarky’s Kids.
With 1:48 remaining, rookie Ben Garagan scored his first OHL goal for the Wolves from Macauley Carson to round out the 8-2 affair.
Rangers goaltender Luke Opilka needed just 18 saves to earn his second win of the season. Menna played a full 60 minutes and was tagged for all eight Kitchener goals, making 29 saves. Final shots were 37-20 Kitchener.
Special teams were once a relevant part of the game story, as the Rangers were 3-for-5 with the man advantage while the Wolves were 1-for-4.
Ryan MacInnis, Frank Hora and Brosnan each wore ‘A’s and skated as assistant captains for the
game.
Opilka (3), Brosnan (2) and Meireles (1) were chosen as the Three Stars of the game.
Announced attendance for Monday’s game was 6,760.
The Rangers return to action next Friday, October 19th at 7:30pm when they host the Owen Sound Attack at The Aud for the second time this season.
Tickets for the Rangers next home game are available online at kitchenerrangers.com, by calling Centre in the Square, or through The Aud Box Office.
