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Strong Performance From Vegreville Jr. B Rangers
Strong Performance From Vegreville Jr. B Rangers
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
The Vegreville Jr B Rangers took to home ice for the team’s first exhibition game of the 2023-24 season on Sept. 10 and put in a very strong performance against the Sherwood Park Knights.
It was an exciting and physical affair with the Rangers being edged out by a score of 5-4 after about a minute and a half of overtime. Top goal scorer for the Rangers was Breck Hrehorets who scored a hat trick for the team. Hrehorets scored the first two goals in the first period and again in the second period.
St. Albert rebounded by scoring two goals in the second period and struck early in the third period. With only two minutes remaining in the game St. Albert pulled its goalie, a move that paid off with them tying the game at 4 all with a minute and 28 seconds in the third period. Time ran out on the clock and the coaches agreed to play overtime three on three style. St. Albert scored at 3:29 of overtime to clinch the victory.
Rangers Head Coach Chris Chornohus was asked to rate the team’s performance following the game. He replied, “Fantastic. We went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the province. So, things are looking up here.”
Chornohus noted, “I think we shocked them. Last year we had a rebuilding season, we finished last, obviously. This season we’re going to be competing. They weren’t expecting our tempo for sure.”
Following the game, some of the opposing players were commenting on the Rangers goaltenders, and how good they were between the pipes. Chornohus said, “We spent a lot of time recruiting goaltenders. We have two very strong goaltenders that are going to help us carry us through the year.”
He describes the team as very young and fast. Additionally, “We are a very physical team. We took a lot of penalties. We’re going to have to clean it up a bit. But we have to stay physical, especially in our league. We’re a heavy hitting league.”
How will you prepare for your next exhibition game? “We have three practices this week. We have to work out a few bugs, but we’ll be getting prepared for St. Paul in two weeks, the top team in our league.”
