The North York Rangers have taken their first win of the pre-season, securing a 3-1 victory over the Newmarket Hurricanes on Saturday at the Herb Carnegie Centennial Centre.
Despite the Rangers getting most of the early scoring chances, the Hurricanes would find the back of the net first. At 6:09 in the opening frame, Xavier Drummond made it 1-0 after jamming the puck in glove side past Jett Alexander, giving the visiting squad the 1-0 advantage.
The Rangers continued to fight hard in every battle, with Alexander holding his own between the pipes for North York. His team would reward him with a goal of their own at the nine-minute mark when Peter Myzuka scored from the point, using Nick Lechuk as a screen in front to tie the game up.
Just over two minutes later, the Rangers took the lead for the first time in the contest. This time, Harrison Rees got his first goal as a member of the North York Rangers when he converted a Joey Maziarz pass into a nice goal from the blue line, meaning two defencemen would find the back of the net for the home squad.
The Rangers began to wear down their competition and after three minutes of play, it was 3-1. This time, Myzuka’s shot would start the play, but it would be James Fletcher who would direct a feed in from Russ Cocca, beating Newmarket goaltender Vince Michelizzi to give North York the two-goal lead, a lead they’d never relinquish.
The highlight of the game, however, came in the final minute of the contest. In something that’s never happened before, OJHL rookie goaltender Colby Muise, who took over from Alexander midway through the game, shot the puck from his own net into the empty cage, scoring his first ever goal and giving North York the 4-1 victory in the process.
The Rangers play one more game at home in the pre-season, with a 3:00 PM start against the Aurora Tigers scheduled for the Herb on Sunday. We hope to see you there!
Photo from Steven Ellis/North York Rangers
