The Vegreville Rangers came up just short in their home opener on Saturday night. The Boys In Blue hosted the St. Paul Canadiens in NEAJBHL action. Things were knotted at 1-1 after the first with Gavin Hamaliuk netting his first goal for the Rangers. St. Paul struck twice in the second and carried a 3-1 lead into the third. The home side showed no quit though. After Hamaliuk notched his second of the night, a point shot from Colten Gargus deflected off of Teigan Drouin and tied things at 3-3. Unfortunately, victory wasn’t to be as the visitors got a short-handed goal with just 1:02 remaining and added an empty-netter for the 5-3 win. Despite the loss, captain Landon Olson was positive about the play of his team and says he’s thrilled to be a leader on this year’s squad.
The game was the start of a four-game homestand for the Rangers. Their next action sees them host Wainwright on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 8:00 pm at the Wally Fedun Arena.
