A buzzer beating goal from the Pioneers ended the second period and killed a strong defensive stand for the Rangers. The boys varsity hockey team fell to the rival East Grand Rapids Pioneers Saturday night at Patterson Ice Center. For FHC, execution was a problem. The Rangers could not get any offense going as EGR had 21 more shots on goal than FHC. Senior captain Charlie Brewer says being aggressive is going to be important going forward.

“We just need to have a harder forecheck and start hitting more people in the corners,” said Brewer. “We also need to start shooting more and get to the net more often. “

In the first period, the Rangers could not generate any offense as the Pioneers out shot them by 15. In the middle of the first, a 5 minute penalty on sophomore Tim Kramer killed FHC and led to 2 goals by EGR just in the matter of 2 minutes. Once Tim got back on the ice, the Rangers slowly started to have sporadic shots on goal, but they could still not find the back of the net.

The second period was a quiet period offensively, but bodies were flying everywhere from big hits. Junior goalie Carl Mielock stepped up his game in the second by having better vision and reading plays perfectly. The Rangers also held strong during a double penalty by Tim and sophomore Ryan Jeffreys. Right as things slowly started heading the Rangers’ way defensively, however, EGR put in a goal at the buzzer to go up 3-0 with one period left to play.

Head coach Kevin Zaschak said the final seconds of the second period were merely a lack of effort.

“We just had a lapse of effort,” Zaschak said. “They scored at the buzzer to make it 3-0. We just have to finish everything and not dig ourselves in a hole going forward.”

The third period started off quiet, but the Pioneers put another goal in to extend the lead to 4-0. The Rangers did not give up there, as Charlie Brewer put FHC on the board in the middle of the third to give the Rangers hope. EGR came right back just one minute later and slipped in their 5th goal of the night to polish off FHC 5-1.

This loss hurts the Rangers in the conference race, but FHC will shift their focus to Mona shores for a weekend double-header next Friday and Saturday. If the Rangers can get both wins against the Sailors, they could pick up some momentum heading into playoffs, where every game counts.

Senior and assistant captain Jacob Demeter says that shots on net and aggressiveness will be key against the Sailors.

“In order to bounce back against Mona we have to play a lot better on both sides,” Demeter said. “We have to hit harder, get shots on net, and just battle hard.”