Sapurji: Majors shut down Rangers 2-1

KITCHENER, ONT. --- After spending more than three hours in traffic, I finally made it out to the Kitchener Aud to see the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors defeat the host Rangers 2-1 last night.

Of course once I made it to the rink, it took me at least 30 minutes to find parking.
I made it in for the last five minutes of the first period, thanks to Sportsnet and their numerous delays and TV timeouts. Thankfully I missed nothing, and was able to make a bee-line for the Tim Horton's coffee in the Rangers' press room.

Anyway, the game was billed on the OHL's website as the battle between Team Canada coaches Dave Cameron and Steve Spott, which seemed a bit ridiculous, since no one watches hockey games to see coaches coaching ... unless it's Plymouth's Mike Vellucci, then we just watch in case he gets ejected.

Rangers defenceman John Moore opened the scoring on the power play 31 seconds into the second period with a blast from inside the blue line that beat goaltender Chris Carrozzi.

The Majors tied it up just before the half with some fortunate bounces as goalie Brandon Maxwell made the save on T.J. Battani's shot but the rebound hit the arm of St. Mike's forward Jordan Mayer and went into the net.

With just over 15 minutes left in the game, the Majors turned on the pressure forcing Maxwell to make some huge saves -- though he was lucky on one play as the Majors batted a puck that went sliding through his crease.

Riley Brace broke the tie at 6:39 of the third potting in a rebound during a scramble in front of the net while the Majors were on the power play. Guys like Brace contributing to the offence -- it was his 11th goal of the season -- are a big part of the Majors' success this season. They play really well together as a team and are able to rely of their depth, rather than one or two flashy superstars.

"We don't have as much flash and dash as a Windsor or a Barrie," said Brace. "We're a team with guys that play different roles and night in and night out a different guy steps up for us. Our penalty killers are always great for us and our power play seems to click when we need it."

Sophomore Brace only played in 49 games last season with three goals and nine assists, having spent a lot of quality time in the press box as a healthy scratch. This year in 42 games he already has 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points.

"It was tough but last year was a learning experience... I tried to bring what I learned last year and bring it in to the season," said the Woodlawn, Ont. native. "Over the summer I worked really hard and coach (Dave Cameron) gave me a bigger role and I think it's worked out pretty good."

And even though the Majors held the lead, it was so strange nice to be in an arena with fans ... who would actually cheer. Announced attendance was 6,354 -- that's like a whole month's worth of fans at the Hershey Centre.

At any rate the Majors did what was expected of them in the third and totally shutdown any semblance of Rangers offence, holding them to only five shots over the final 20 minutes.

"They work hard as a club, and they kept the puck down low in our end so it kept our scorers from being dangerous," said Kitchener captain Dan Kelly. "I have to compliment their forwards for their puck protection tonight."

The Majors allegedly outshout the Rangers 46 to 29, only because some of the Majors' shots were rather generous.

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