Mite Rangers win big over Court Group, come up short to Douglas

Matt Cohen had five goals and an assist in the game's first 10 minutes as the Mite Rangers took a 7-1 lead into the second period and came away with a convincing 12-3 Friendship Tournament victory over Court Group of Burlington Saturday at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

Told not to shoot any more after the first period ended, Cohen added two more assists for an eight-point game.

Linemate and playmaking center Chris Dirienzo added five points on two goals and three assists. Patrick Rosen also added three assists for the Rangers in the win.

Burlington actually got on the board first as Sean Adsett and Jack Thorpe broke in two-on-one on Ranger netminder Jake Kantor and Thorpe neatly converted Adsett's offering past a sprawling Kantor. The lead didn't last long, however, as Dirienzo scored only moments later to tie the game.

Ranger forward Jason Koginos gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead after he took a pass from Rosen, wheeled in and let go a shot that beat the Burlington goaltender glove side.

Two minutes later, Cohen scored his first of five consecutive first period goals when he took a pass from Pat Greeley, blew down the left side of the ice and scored five-hole to extend the Ranger lead to 3-1.

Cohen made it 4-1 when he retrieved Dirienzo's laser shot behind the net and scored on a wrap around. He got the hat trick just five minutes into the game when he took Dirienzo's pass off of the ensuing faceoff and scored high on the stick side.

Cohen made the score 6-1 when he stick-handled the length of the ice and scored unassisted. He scored again at 9:40 into the game, and the first period ended with the Rangers ahead by a half dozen goals.

The second period was more evenly played and both teams had several quality scoring chances. A couple of minutes into the period, Greeley hit Cam Kiefer with a gorgeous cross-ice pass in front of the Burlington net, which Kiefer one-timed just wide. But only seconds later, Ryan Arrastia feathered another pass through traffic and this time Kiefer, standing to the side of the Burlington net, one-timed it home with authority to give the home team an 8-1 lead.

A great individual effort by Burlington's Ryan Karolak brought the visitors to within 8-2, but Dirienzo scored early in the third period to give the Rangers a 9-2 lead.

The Rangers hit double digits when offensive defenseman Michael Kreuz scored after pretty passes from Rosen and Koginos got the puck up ice.

Jonathan Phillips then converted Austin Stanley's delivery to make the score 11-2, and Brennan Hurley extended the lead to 12-2 from Rosen and Alex Streng.

Burlington scored in the game's final minute to make the final score 12-3, when Adsett and Thorpe teamed up again with Thorpe returning the favor.

In typical Ranger fashion, every member of the roster was a significant contributor. Only defensemen Drew Elliott and Mark Venditti and forward William Mann failed to pick up a point, and all three played spectacularly. Elliott was a puck handling machine all game long, while Venditti played a strong stay at home defensive game, protecting goaltender Kantor in front of the Ranger net. Mann, as usual, played a steady two-way game from the wing.

Burlington Douglas 7,

Amherst Mite Rangers 4

Sunday was a day of lost opportunity for the Amherst Mite Rangers.

Carrying the momentum of Saturday's 12-3 victory over Burlington's Court Group, the Ranger coaches, players, and faithful saw Sunday's Friendship Tournament game as an opportunity to avenge their only blemish on an otherwise perfect season.

Back in December, Burlington's Douglas Dental Care handed the Rangers their only defeat of the season thus far, and the Rangers aimed to even the score when they hosted their neighbors to the north this weekend. But Douglas, fresh off of an 8-1 victory against another Amherst foe on Saturday, was primed for the challenge. And for the Rangers it meant déjà vu as Douglas broke open a one-goal game in the third period, just like they did back in December when they hosted the Rangers up in Burlington.

Just like the first time the teams met, the action was furious from buzzer to buzzer. The Rangers carried play at the outset of the game and almost got on the board four minutes into the contest when Jonathan Phillips and William Mann came into the Douglas zone two-on-none but were denied.

For the first of countless times in the game, a near miss swung the momentum the other way as Douglas was able to turn the play in transition and, with Mann and Phillips trapped in the offensive zone, scored with the odd man rush at the other end of the ice to take a 1-0 lead.

Minutes later, Rangers goaltender Jake Kantor, who was phenomenal between the pipes against a constant barrage of shots, made the first of more than a dozen heart pounding saves when he stoned a Burlington forward on a breakaway. Just moments later, Ranger forward Matt Cohen evened the score when he picked up the puck along the boards in his own zone, went the length of the ice while fighting off a Burlington defender, and let go a wrist shot that found the back of the net.

The Rangers nearly took the lead later in the period when Michael Kreuz and Austin Stanley took turns pinching at the blue line to keep the puck in the offensive zone, which led to Phillips finding Mann again in front of the Burlington net. But once again Burlington's netminder came up large to turn away the Rangers and the opening period ended with the teams deadlocked.

The Rangers had yet another chance to take the lead early in the second period when Chris Dirienzo found Cam Kiefer in front of the net but Kiefer's one-timer was denied. Over the next several minutes, defensemen Pat Greeley, Alex Streng and Mark Venditti all made excellent plays in their own end to keep the score even, but with less than four minutes left in the period, Burlington scored on a breakaway to take a 2-1 lead.

Dirienzo had a chance to tie the game for the Rangers as he exploded into the Burlington zone but the Burlington goaltender made yet another great save, and again destiny turned to misery as Burlington scored twice in the last minute of the period to take a 4-1 lead into the final stanza.

But as they have all season long, the Rangers proved resolute as they battled back. Just 40 seconds into the third period, Cohen found Phillips alone in front of the net but once again, the Burlington goaltender made a spectacular save to keep the puck out. Center Jason Koginos also made a neat rush down the ice with linemates Brennan Hurley and Patrick Rosen trailing, but could not get a shot away. Then with 10:10 remaining, Cohen blocked a clearing pass along the boards, skated in and flipped a shot from a sharp angle that just crossed the goal line in the air before the netminder could clear it away, and the Rangers pulled within 4-2.

Several minutes later, the arena erupted when Cohen pounded home Dirienzo's rebound to pull the Rangers to within a goal. The action continued at a furious pace up and down the ice as the Rangers pressed for the tying goal, and Kantor made several sensational saves to keep his team in the game. But with just over six minutes left, Burlington's pressure proved too much and they took back their two-goal lead.

An already frenetic pace intensified over the last five minutes of the game as the Rangers, needing to score, were forced to take chances up ice which led to their defensemen being exposed. Kreuz, who was a force to reckoned with all game long, and Ryan Arrastia, then took turns making spectacular diving plays to strip Burlington forwards of the puck and prevent scoring opportunities, but Burlington was able to capitalize on the Rangers' need to create offensive pressure, scoring with four minutes left in the game to go up 6-3 and then again with 1:47 left to take a 7-3 lead.

With about a minute left in the contest, Dirienzo found Cohen behind the net and Cohen scored a wrap around goal - his fourth of the game - but it was too little too late, and as the final seconds ticked off of the clock the Rangers and their faithful were left to think about what could have been.

Left to lick their wounds with the bitter taste of defeat on their tongues, the Rangers get ready for the playoffs as they take on the dangerous Sharks next weekend in their regular season finale.