At the beginning of the season, many of the players laid out their goals for the year. They all had one in common: beat Mona.

Going into this game, the Rangers knew it would be a tough matchup but that didn’t seem to phase them early in the game. The first period was dominated by the Rangers with sophomore Rocco Gonzalez starting the scoring streak. His goal was followed by two goals scored within a minute of each other by seniors Collin Wojcynski and Sammy Mielock. The score was 3-0 Rangers.

“I felt like once we built the lead, we were kind of shocked a little because we knew how good they were, and we potted three quick ones. We all kind of got startled almost,” said Eli Lipke.

The lead didn’t stay three for long because the Sailors were able to net one goal just before the 1st intermission. Mona was able to shorten the Rangers’ lead to just one right after the second period started. The score was 3-2 and the Rangers, once again, had to turn on the jets and strengthen their lead.

After one period of play, the mindset of many of the players on the team, such as Owen Barber, changed. “I thought that we had a good shot at winning. Our performance and lead in the first period gave me the confidence that we could come out on top,” said Barber

A goal from freshman Benny Mielock was quickly equalized by Mona Shores which put the score at 4-3; however, the Rangers weren’t done scoring yet. Sammy was able to net his second goal of the night only ten seconds after the Sailors’ goal. Unfortunately, the Rangers couldn’t hold onto the lead into the 2nd intermission due to two late Mona goals.

The last period presented a challenge that the Rangers had to face: score more than the Sailors. A gritty 3rd period opened up with Mona taking their 1st lead of the night with 10 minutes left in the game. It was now crunch time for the Rangers. They wasted very little time and Sammy capped off his hat trick three minutes after the Mona goal. The teams stayed level for the seven remaining minutes of the 3rd period and forced the game to be decided in overtime.

The Rangers battled, but Mona was able to put the game to rest with a goal midway through overtime. Dramatically, the Rangers fell short to the Sailors in a game that doesn’t necessarily feel like a complete defeat for the team.

“In the end, even though we took the loss I still feel like this was a major building block for our team that we can hang with a top-five team in the state,” said Lipke.

The Rangers will play Grand Rapids Christian next Tuesday, January 17, at Patterson Ice Center at 8:30.