The North York Rangers have won their fourth straight contest after a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens at home on Sunday evening.
The first 20 minutes was a fierce back-and-forth affair between the two south division rivals. The Rangers, fortunately, would bite first to make it 1-0 early. Just before the halfway point of the contest, Ryan Radisa’s shot was stopped by Dalton Ewing, but the puck found its way to the left of the Jr. Canadiens goalie. Ross Krieger was in a perfect position to scoop up the puck, lifting it over Ewing and in for the 1-0 goal.
But with 21 seconds left in the period, Jason Pineo would tie the game up at once. Despite being on the penalty kill, Pineo took advantage of a defensive miscue by North York and blasted towards the net, sending a quick wrister top corner to make it 1-1 heading into the second.
The Rangers would get a big shorthanded goal of their own to take back the lead in the second. After just two minutes of play, Grayden Gottschalk got his first goal at home since returning to the Rangers by scoring on a two-on-one opportunity, beating Ewing up high to make it 2-1 for North York.
The Vegas Golden Knights have been off to a strong start to their debut NHL season, just like one of their draft picks with the Rangers. At 10:35 in the game, Nick Campoli scored a power play goal after Gottschalk kept the puck alive on the boards, with Campoli wristing it over Ewing for the two-goal lead.
On the next play, Sam Hunter, making his debut with the Rangers after a couple of seasons in the QMJHL, made his presence known. Hunter would get in a fight with Toronto’s Anton Trublin, with both players finishing the game in their respective change rooms.
Just under two minutes after that, the Rangers scored another shorthanded goal. This time, Krieger scored his second of the battle after exploding out of the neutral zone all alone. Krieger doesn’t miss many of his scoring chances and proved it by riffling it by Ewing, giving the Rangers the final 4-1 victory.
The Rangers get a few days off before venturing out to Oakville to play the Blades at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex on Friday evening. The Rangers will return home on Sunday when the St. Michael’s Buzzers come to town on October 15th. We hope to see you there!
Photo from Steven Ellis/North York Rangers
