Trenten Bennett of the Owen Sound Attack. Photo by Natalie Shaver/OHL Images
The Christmas break couldn’t come sooner for the Owen Sound Attack.
“I don’t think it could come at a better time,” Attack Head Coach Scott Wray says. “Maybe it could have come two games ago.”
Christian Humphreys and Cameron Arquette scored in the first, as the Kitchener Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never looked back, downing the Attack 4-1 in Ontario Hockey League action Friday night at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Jakub Chromiak and Luca Romano also scored for Kitchener (20-10-3), which won its third straight game.
Noah Roberts had the lone goal for the Attack (17-15-1-3), which lost its sixth in a row.
“I thought we had a lot of guys that were checked out, and probably already thinking they’re on Christmas vacation,” Wray says. “We had core guys that weren’t. You have to praise (David Bedkowski) and (Pierce Mbuyi) today who kept working. And (Trenten Bennett) had a really good game.”
“But you have to wonder what’s going through some guys’ heads,” Wray continues. “You want to see a solid 60-minute effort out of everybody. Not worrying about who they’re playing with or not playing with, and playing hockey hard.”
Humphreys and Arquette staked the Rangers to a 2-0 lead in the first. And they never looked back. Chromiak made it 3-0 just over four minutes into the second, on a wrist shot from inside the blueline that got past Bennett five-hole.
Roberts responded for the Attack at 8:36 with a point-shot that Jason Schaubel never picked up.
It was 3-1 Kitchener after 40 minutes. Then Romano put a high wrist shot home just 1:44 into the third on the power play to make it 4-1.
The minutes just ran down from there.
The Attack battled some questionable calls throughout the game. Romano’s power play marker came on a kneeing call against Attack defenceman Elliot Arnett. It’s easy to spot on the replay he simply put a good hit with his hip on Humphreys.
Earlier in the game, a missed too many men on the ice call – a would-be slash when Easton Mikus had his stick chopped in half in the corner, called off after the official had put his arm up apparently ready to call a penalty, before changing course.
Strange game. The Rangers did their part though, outshooting the Attack 46-24 and playing at their pace.
Schaubel made 23 saves in the win, while Bennett stopped 42 taking the loss. The Rangers went 2 for 6 on the power play; Owen Sound finished 0 for 4.
The Attack head into the holiday break in sixth in the OHL’s Western Conference. The six-game slide has dropped them seven points back of the Midwest Division leading Rangers. And they’re now three off of London. The Knights and Rangers both hold games-in-hand.
It’s been a challenging stretch, no doubt. But now a chance to take a breathe, and then the second half of the season begins in earnest come Sunday, Dec. 28, when Owen Sound hosts the OHL-best Brantford Bulldogs (23-4-4-1) at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
Wray is hopeful his team is able return from the break and rediscover the style of hockey they were playing earlier in the season.
“We were a hard-working, lunch-pail group,” the Attack head coach says. “We’ve got to get back to that.”
Post game comments from Owen Sound Attack head coach Scott Wray after 4-1 loss to Kitchener Rangers. Listen 🎧 https://t.co/01lDmggLua
— Matt Hermiz (@MattHermiz) December 20, 2025