The North York Rangers were handed their first loss of the season after a hard-fought battle against the Georgetown Raiders, a 3-2 decision.
The Rangers were peppered hard with scoring chances in the first period, with Jett Alexander standing tall with 16 stops. One shot, however, did give the Raiders the early lead. With 7:19 left in the first, Austin Cho scored his first of the season after his hard shot from the point made it past everyone, giving the Raiders the 1-0 lead.
The second period saw the boys in blue take the 2-1 advantage thanks to some strong plays by veterans. It all started around the eight-minute mark when defenseman Joey Maziarz was gifted the puck at the blue line. Maziarz made everyone believe he was going to try and send the puck out to the middle, but instead skated around the Georgetown net before fooling Mario Cavaliere with the five-hole marker.
Then, just after the halfway point in the game, Vegas Golden Knights prospect Nick Campoli made it 2-1. Campoli, a star in the OJHL, stole the puck at centre ice and flew into the zone. Campoli’s wrist shot was too much for Cavaliere, blowing past the 20-year-old netminder and in for the go-ahead goal for the home squad.
The Raiders would tie the game up while playing shorthanded in the third. With half the period done, Zack Dybowski beat Alexander with a fast wrist shot under the blocker, knotting the game up at two apiece.
Unfortunately for North York, some bad luck would see their opponents take the lead. This time, Jacob Payette’s shot from the point would be tipped in by Jonathan Hampton, giving the Rangers the 3-2 advantage with five minutes to go in the game. The goal would be the killer for the Rangers, who’d face their first loss of the season.
North York’s schedule will be busy this week with two games in Buffalo for the annual OJHL Governors Showcase. They’ll begin the action with an 8:00 PM start against Wellington before meeting up with Trenton the following afternoon at 4:45 PM.
Photo from Steven Ellis/North York Rangers
