The Kitchener Rangers were hoping to go into the regular season on a high note but Sudbury Wolves goalie Sam Tanguay got in the way.
In fact, he got in the way of everything on Wednesday night at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. He made 48 saves en route to shutting out Kitchener 3-0.
Sudbury opened the scoring on the power play just 43 seconds into the game. Defenseman Jeff Corbett scored on a shot from the point, beating Rangers’ starter Jordan DeKort.
Sudbury continued to apply the pressure early. On another power play, Russian import Ivan Kashtanov snuck a shot past DeKort to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead.
Wolves forward Jacob Harris put the game out of reach in the second period with a nice individual effort. Breaking down the wing, Harris made a strong cut to the front of the net, beating DeKort.
For the rest of the game the Rangers tried to solve Tanguay by peppering him with shots. After two periods they outshot the Wolves 32-8. Rangers Centre Mason Kohn said that, while they had their chances, the team needed to get more players in front of Tanguay to be effective.
The Rangers now have a week to think about the loss. They open the regular season on the road in Owen Sound on September 24th.
