One key moment turned this one and the Attack couldn’t recover.
Luca Romano scored a short-handed goal 5:25 into the third to break a 1-1 tie and give Kitchener its first lead, sparking a five-goal rally in the period as the Rangers went on to beat the Owen Sound Attack 6-2 in Ontario Hockey League action Friday night at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Dylan Edwards, Jack Pridham, Haeden Ellis, Alex Bilecki and Tanner Lam also scored for Kitchener (29-11-3-1), which won its sixth straight game and extended its point streak to eight.
Cole Zurawski and Masen Wray scored for the Attack (18-22-1-3). Owen Sound lost its sixth in a row and 13th in the past 14 games.
It was a 1-1 game heading into the third, and after the Attack killed off a pair of Rangers power plays – opportunity knocked and they had a chance to take the lead as Pridham was called for slashing just over four minutes into the period.
But it was the Rangers who managed to turn the tide on that Attack man advantage, as Romano broke up ice short-handed and tucked one low that just got past Matthew Koprowski and put the Rangers in front 2-1 at 5:25 of the third.
It was the 12th short-handed goal against for the Attack this season, most in the OHL. And this one stung. After playing the Midwest-Division leading Rangers tight through two periods – the Bears couldn’t get back on track after conceding the short-handed goal against.
“I thought we played a really good 40 minutes. Was it picture perfect? No, but we were good when we needed to be,” says Attack Head Coach Scott Wray. “And then we gave up that short-handed goal, which is the tale of the season – short-handed goals.”
“After that it just seemed to snowball,” Wray continues. “We were just not picking up assignments and not continuing to play the way we were in the first 40. And it’s not one guy. A line would go out there and it’s like they would just try to tie the game from our own end. And you can’t do that, you have to just continue to play.”
Pridham, Ellis, Bilecki and Lam scored from there as the Rangers went on to score five in the third to blow the game open.
Christian Kirsch made 21 saves in the win, while Koprowski stopped 25 taking the loss. The Rangers outshot the Attack 31-23 while going 1 for 4 on the power play; Owen Sound finished 0 for 4.
Next up for the Attack is a home game Saturday night at the Bayshore Community Centre against Niagara Ice Dogs (20-19-3-1). It’s the first of two meetings between the Attack and Ice Dogs this season.
BUMPS AND BRUISES
Attack Head Coach Scott Wray provided some injury updates prior to Friday’s game. Jacob Therrien has been out nearly all season, and while he remains out indefinitely for the Attack with an upper-body injury, Wray says Therrien skated again Friday and increased his intensity.
Noah Nelson has been nursing a lower-body injury he suffered in mid-December in Sault Ste. Marie. He is making steady progress but could still be a few weeks away from a return.
And Landon Jackman suffered an upper-body injury back on Jan. 2 in Sarnia and has been out since. Wray says Jackman is getting closer to a return, and could be back as early as next weekend, when the Attack play games Jan. 30 in Brantford and Jan. 31 at home against Guelph Storm.