Last night saw the Rangers face off against both sister schools: Forest Hills Northern and Eastern, as these two schools combine for hockey. Coming into the game, both teams remained tied for fourth place in the OK Baum Division as each team had six points in conference play. FHNE’s record before the game was 5-4 after they defeated Big Rapids by a score of 5-2 on Wednesday.

In the first period, it would be the Rangers’ own senior Ryan Demeter scoring a big goal after a beautiful pass from sophomore Sammy Mielock. FHNE would match the intensity the Rangers brought early after Ryan Almassian found the back of the net, bringing the score to 1-1 at the end of the first.

The second period would see the scorebook remain silent as both teams could not find the back of the net as goalies Gavin Brady and Caleb Woolery remained locked down for both of their teams respectively. The Ranger defense led by juniors Josh Smith and Lucas Jefferys made the game significantly tighter as the Rangers remained in a dog fight at the end of the second period.

Unfortunately, in the third period, FHNE would pull away after scoring three unanswered goals. The goals were scored by Ayden Riley, Eli Howe, and Drew Donakowski, with the last two coming on empty-netters. The breakdown in the game for the Rangers was on the powerplay as the offense did not achieve a goal on the seven powerplay opportunities they were given. The final score would be 4-1, dropping the Rangers to 3-7 on the season.

The Rangers now fall to 2-5 in the conference and also drop down one spot to fifth place with the loss. The upcoming week for the Rangers sees a rematch with Northern/Eastern on Wednesday, a rematch with Lowell/Cal on Friday, and a road trip to Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Saturday.