The KV Rangers were looking to bounce back into the win column when they hosted the Saint John Bandits on Sunday at the Quispamsis Memorial Arena.   

The Ranger’s offence exploded in the first.  Edward MacDonald netted a hat trick, while Ryan MacNeill chipped in with one and Cade Nadeau buried two more to put the Rangers up six to three.

It was a big lead, but the Bandits poured on the pressure in second period.   However, with some superb defensive play from Kyle Gould, Caelum Snow and Trent McGrath, the Rangers held off the Bandits to preserve their lead going into the third.

In a gritty third period, the Rangers saw their lead vanish despite some great scoring chances from Kegan MacLean, Mathew Beach and Noah Hyslop.  Shawn Smith even had a goal disallowed because the referee was out of position and did not see the puck cross the line.   The Bandits, with all of their big guns on the ice, tied up the game with only minutes to go.   The Rangers did not give up.  With some clutch goaltending from Joey MacPhail and some impressive efforts from Ben Fullerton, Ethan Saunders and Jack Breckenridge, the Rangers were able to hold off the surging Bandits and secure the tie.

Coach Jones liked the way his team stuck to their plan.  “Our motto is, play hard and play fair.  Despite what the scoreboard says, if our team sticks to that philosophy, we win every time.  Tonight our whole team stuck to the plan and they can be proud of that. I know I am.”

Assistant Coach Mike Stackhouse thought goaltending was the  difference.  “Joey was great. Especially in the last few minutes when Saint John had all of their snipers out there.  Ironically, in the end, it was the Bandits who were robbed.”

The Rangers are on the road next week, playing in the Riverview Tournament.  As luck would have it, their second game of the tournament is against the Saint John Bandits.