Takamatsu, Morgan lead Rangers past Flyers

October 5, 2014

4:10 PM EDT

Ryan Takamatsu and Michael Morgan scored two goals apiece as the North York Rangers (4-6) rallied twice to down the Orangeville Flyers (4-5) 4-2 on Sunday.

Ted Hunt and Matthew Whittaker both added two assists on the day as the Rangers won two in a row for the first time this season.

Afterward, head coach Mark Joslin was thrilled with his team’s compete level.

“We talked pre-game about how Orangeville has a lot of young guys that want to make an impression in the league,” he said.

“They are a very hard working team and I think, especially in the third period, we either matched or exceeded their work ethic. That’s ultimately why we got the two points.”

Ian Nichols opened the scoring for the Flyers on the power play at 17:50 of the first period, but Takamatsu replied with his first of the game 1:38 into the middle frame when he one-timed home a perfect feed from Whittaker in tight.

Ryan Anton put Orangeville back ahead at the 6:40 mark of the second period when his point shot deflected past Rangers net minder Gianluca Baggetta, but Morgan tied it up again just under two minutes later by converting a breakaway after being sent in by a pretty pass from Hunt.

Takamatsu scored a similar goal to his first at 9:34 of the third period for the game winner by one-timing home a nice pass from Valenzuela in the high slot, and then Morgan cashed in on an empty netter with 56 seconds left in regulation.

Baggetta was superb once again on the day in making 35 saves, augmented by the fact that the Flyers had nine power plays.

“Sometimes you get refs that are going to call more than others, you can’t control that,” Joslin said.

“We worked hard, but they got a couple lucky bounces so it’s hard in terms of flow, but our penalty killers did a great job. We were pressuring the puck; we weren’t hesitating or giving them any time and space, especially off the half wall. I think we made them get in panic mode a bit there as well, so I’m happy with that.”

The Rangers will try to make it three wins in a row on Tuesday when they travel to Whitby to take on the Fury. Puck drops at 7:40 pm.