The play of senior Cole Beaufait and sophomore Jake Munger were the deciding factors in the matchup between varsity hockey and Mona Shores, as Cole’s hattrick and Jake’s 28 saves would prove to be crucial to the 5-2 win.

Coming off a much-needed 3-1 win over rival FHNE, the Rangers traveled up to Muskegon in hopes of not suffering a setback on a potential trap game on a Wednesday night. Weekday games can sometimes be tough with players out of their routine with games usually taking place on the weekend, and slow starts can often happen.

This is exactly what took place on Wednesday; neither team scored throughout the first period, leaving the score 0-0 at the intermission. In the second period, however, the Rangers instantly picked up the pressure. FHC scored three goals in the second 17 minutes of play, only giving up one goal defensively to the Sailors.

In the third and final period, both the Rangers and Sailors scored a goal apiece with two minutes to play and the score at 4-2. With the Mona Shores goalie pulled for a man advantage for the final two minutes, FHC netted an insurance goal to make the final score 5-2.

Besides Cole’s three goals, junior Xavier Ott and sophomore Lucas Jeffreys each scored as well. Six different Rangers recorded an assistant on Wednesday: juniors Jacob Campbell, Mason Kelly, and Xavier Ott, and seniors Ryan Jeffreys, Cole Munger, and Hayden Sarjeant. 

In between the pipes for the night, Jake made 28 saves on 30 shots, further adding to the defense’s confidence from the previous game. His performance was one of the key differences, as the Mona Shores goalie also faced 30 shots, but he gave up four goals on the same amount of shots.

With this win, the Rangers are now 13-4 on the season with another quality non-conference win under their belt. They have just under a week to prepare for the next conference game against a Grand Rapids Christian team that has struggled as of late, winning one of the Eagles’ last five. However, the Eagles still sit in third in the conference behind FHNE, and they will certainly be looking to close the gap between third place and the top two spots with a win over the Rangers.