67's snake bitten in 3-1 loss to the Rangers

It was a battle of the first place teams at TD Place in Ottawa on Friday night but it was the first in the West Kitchener Rangers that showed why they were also first in the whole league.

Ryan MacInnis scored the game winning goal two minutes into the second period off a nice cross-crease pass from Jeremy Bracco. The Kitchener Rangers skated to a 3-1 victory over the 67’s in their first and only visit to Ottawa.

Courtesy of Robert Lefebvre / www.IceLevel.com

It was a frustrating game for the 67’s as they hit a couple posts early in the game and were not able to beat Luke Orpilka in the Kitchener net. But no one’s night was more frustrating than Jeremiah Addison who had at least 10 shots directed at the net and was unable to put the puck behind Orpilka.

“I want to be able to score and make a difference out there and today I should have been able to score,” said Addison. “For some reason I was snake bitten.”

Coach Jeff Brown agreed and had some advice for the young Montreal Canadiens’ prospect.

“(Brett Hull) just skated around and just was ready to put the puck in the net. It wasn’t all about firing it 100m/h, it was about getting the puck in the net fast before the goalie can be ready for it,” Brown said. “(Addison) could have had 6 or 7 goals tonight. He had that many chances.”

The 67’s found themselves with a 3-0 deficit early in the second period. They had several chances but were unable to capitalize until Stephan Falkovsky scored from the point late in the second. It was his third goal in his last three games. The team continued to build off of the momentum, but the hole was a too big against the top team in the league.

Courtesy of Robert Lefebvre / www.IceLevel.com

“I thought guys played really hard and we had lots of chances. Disappointed, obviously, but disappointed because I thought we could have won that game,” said Brown.

The 67’s lost more than just the game tonight. 67’s rookie and key faceoff man, Drake Rymsha, went down with injury early in the first period and never returned. With Sam Studnicka sitting out for his turn in the overage rotation, the 67’s were thin down the middle.

“We lost (Rymsha) early and we went with three lines for the rest of the game,” said Brown. “We were missing two huge pieces down the middle. It’s tough to compete against the top team in the league when your top two faceoff guys aren’t in the lineup.”

Courtesy of Robert Lefebvre / www.IceLevel.com

No time frame was given on Rymsha’s injury, but it didn’t look good as he left the arena on crutches and in a knee brace. With Rymsha out for undetermined amount of time, Brown hinted that there could be some tinkering with the overage rotation to play Studnicka more but he wants to wait to see how it plays out.

Down the 401, the Kingston Frontenacs won 4-1 against the North Bay Battalion tonight. With the 67's, they overtake sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference.

The 67’s will be unable to take back first as they are idle until next Friday as Sunday’s game against North Bay was postponed due to the Ottawa Fury’s playoff game. The 67’s embark on a long 6-game roadtrip starting in Niagara on November 13^th and ending in Kingston on November 25^th.

Game summary here.