RANGERS HAVE TO ‘PLAY DESPERATE HOCKEY’ AFTER GAME 5 LOSS

 

GRIMSBY (Apr. 12) — Something that was so full of promise has gone full circle and now the Glanbrook Rangers find themselves on the brink in their South Bloomfield Division Final against the Grimsby Peach Kings.

The Rangers came to this predicament after losing a 3-0 decision to the Peach Kings in Game 5.  It was their third consecutive loss after opening the series with two straight compelling, if not dominant, victories.   Game 6 will be played tonight at Glanbrook Arena, 7:30 p.m., and the Rangers know full well the challenge facing them.

“We’ve got to empty the tanks and leave everything we have on the ice,” said Rangers’ coach Andrew Tait.   “We have to play desperate hockey.”

Their effort in Game 5 was something less than desperate, although it wasn’t terrible.  It was “listless,” Tait said, and something of a disappointment considering that even though the Peach Kings had managed to even the series, the Rangers certainly weren’t out of it and a push-back performance after losing Game 4 at home would have swung the momentum back in their favour.

And for two periods, neither team could gain the edge.   The Peach Kings held the initial advantage in the first period and generated a few good opportunities that Rangers’ goaltender Ethan Cook had to be sharp to thwart.   As the game progressed, Glanbrook fought back and had their chances too, the best being a breakaway by Sean Golebiowski that went awry as he lost control of the puck before he could make an authoritative shot on Grimsby’s Riley Eberhardt.

The death blow came in the first minute of the third period when a careless clearing attempt by the Rangers was seized by Reid Woodcock, who put the Peach Kings up 1-0.  Even that minimal lead seemed sufficient as the Rangers just couldn’t muster the energy or the necessary finishing touch.

“We had no offensive spark,” said Tait.  “Very few players put in the extra effort that we needed.”

Jarome Myers added to the margin at 14:21 and Blake Venneri closed out the Grimsby ledger with an empty-netter at 19:47.

So, the Rangers now face the perennial playoff plight:   win the remaining two games or their season is over.

“We have to throw everything we have at them and hope that something works,” said Tait. 

NOTES:  The Rangers were outshot 31-21 and were 0-for-3 on the power play.  Their penalty killing remained the most effective aspect of their game as they stopped all four of Grimsby’s extra-man opportunities … Should the Rangers win Game 6, Game 7 is scheduled for Friday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m., Peach King Arena.

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