In what would be one of their final preseason games before the start of the new OHL campaign, the Kitchener Rangers made sure to put on a show for the people of Elmira, taking home a 5-1 win in a special neutral-site game at the Woolwich Memorial Centre against the Saginaw Spirit. A dominant first period saw the Blueshirts take a 2-0 lead through efforts from Avry Anstis and Haeden Ellis. Anstis continued his momentum, opening the second period with a goal just 21 seconds into the frame. Evan Nicholson scored with just under two minutes left to take a 4-0 advantage into the final period. In the third, Saginaw finally broke through, as Gordei Khotkov found a consolation goal for the Spirit. What little hope of the comeback the Spirit had left was crushed by Anstis, burying an empty netter to complete his hattrick, delivering the last goal in the 5-1 affair. The Rangers Forward spoke to the joy he felt being back with his squad. “Felt unreal, to get three goals, it’s nice,” Anstis said. “Just being back on the ice… to be honest, just with the boys in the locker room around the rink, it’s the best time of my life, so I enjoy it.” The good vibes had spread beyond the bench to the fans, with several holding high expectations following a season which saw Kitchener conquer junior hockey, winning an OHL Championship and a Memorial Cup. “Good, they’re doing really good… I hope for a high caliber team like last year, but let’s see,” said Rangers fan Ryder Nesbitt. “Too good that they’re going to win a Memorial Cup again,” another young fan said. While the Rangers don’t frequent the area often, the love throughout Elmira and other surrounding neighbourhoods continues to be felt by the players. “It’s great, that’s the reason the Rangers are as big as they are, because all the fans,” Anstis explained. “It’s really, really good to get back and play the game here and show the fans we support them to just as much as they support us.” Kitchener, like many teams across the league, will rely heavily on players with experience around the team to step up to become the new leaders of the franchise. Anstis said his performance today is something that can be found in anyone on the roster. “We don’t have many older guys like we did last year, but we still got a really good group of guys, a couple younger guys who still fill their roles and do their job,” he said. “It shows just how we play as Rangers… next man up.” Kitchener will take a road trip up to Barrie for their final preseason game on Sept. 12 against the Colts, before beginning their title defences on home ice against the Owen Sound Attack on Friday, Sept. 18.
