5 Takeaways From Kitchener Rangers’ Loss to Kingston Frontenacs

In honour of Remembrance Day, both teams suited up in special jerseys. The Frontenacs in their military camo green, and the Rangers, debuting an awesome new grey uniform that had so much thought behind every detail.

Game Recap

Early in the first period, the Frontenacs came out pressuring early and would open the scoring on their sixth shot, nearly six minutes into the game, on Tyler Hopkins’ seventh goal of the season, when the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect banged a rebound past Jason Schaubel after a flurry of chances.

Through the early portion of the first period, the Rangers were struggling to connect on passes through the neutral zone. However, they finally broke loose on an odd-man rush with less than three minutes remaining in the period. Matheas Stark made a beautiful cross-crease pass to Alexander Bilecki for his third goal of the season.

Despite the Rangers’ answer, they fell behind again almost immediately as they left Jacob Battaliga, a Calgary Flames first-round pick, all alone in front of Schaubel, which gave the Frontenacs a 2-1 lead 15 seconds later, which they carried into the first intermission.

After the break, the Frontenacs came out and extended their lead to two as Matthew Frost scored his second of the season just under three minutes into the period, which was the lone goal of the second frame.

The Rangers finally clawed back within one with just under a minute to play, when Luas Ellinas got credit for a goal where it looked like he perfectly fed Cameron Arquette for a deflection. However, their answer was too little, too late as the Frontenacs closed out the victory, snapping their six-game losing streak and getting their first win at the Aud since 2018.

Rangers Have a Rare Poor Defensive Performance

While the Rangers generated plenty of quality chances offensively, they did not come in a typical fashion, where their strong defence led to offence. For most of the afternoon, the Rangers were not focused defensively, overcommitting on the forecheck, losing track of players behind them, and getting caught flat-footed in transition.

Following the game, head coach Jussi Ahokas said, “We didn’t win battles, too many turnovers, and we gave up too many odd-man rushes,” when asked about his team’s performance by Josh Piercey of 570 News.

It only took the Frontenacs 23 minutes to score more goals against the Rangers than they had in their previous three games. This is not an issue the Rangers have had consistently this season; in fact, the opposite has been true, as they entered play with the fewest goals allowed in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and had allowed only three goals in their last four games.

While the defensive structure hasn’t been an issue for the Rangers this season, the turnovers have at times. Too often, they get caught up in trying to make something happen every time they have the puck.

Many times throughout this game, the Rangers turned pucks over on one too many passes or on forced passes into traffic that led to an odd-man rush the other way. Sometimes, instead of looking for the perfect play, they need to live to fight another day, whether that be dumping a puck in and forechecking or firing a puck on net from distance to get an offensive zone draw.

With the talent this team has, they will get their scoring chances in every game they play. But when they have struggled this season, it’s often because they’ve complicated the game and made it hard for themselves to defend against the transition chances they give up off turnovers. When they’ve succeeded, they’ve moved the puck quickly, smothered teams, and then let their talent take over.

Rangers Run Into a Hot Goalie

Matthew Minchak was on fire in the Frontenacs’ net on Sunday afternoon. He made countless sprawling saves and was dialed in on everything else, saving 31 of the 33 shots the Rangers threw at him.

Following the game, head coach Ahokas said, “We had plenty of chances to score more,” then added that “their goalie played a great game, I have to say that.” Post-game, Alexander Bilecki also chimed in on the opposition goaltending, saying, “their goalie stood on his head.”

Many may not be familiar with Minchak, as this is his first season in the OHL. But the 6-foot-5, 18-year-old was recently named in the NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary ranking for the 2026 NHL Draft. They have graded him as a late-round pick, but after what I watched in this game, I could see that changing, especially considering he sits with a .935 save percentage through eight games after Sunday’s victory.

Lucas Ellinas Gets First Point of the Season

Lucas Ellinas returned to the lineup for the Rangers on Friday night against the Saginaw Spirit. After several quality scoring chances throughout both games since returning, he finally broke through late in the third against the Frontenacs.

Not to take credit away from Ellinas, but initially, it looked like an incredible shot pass from the right hash marks ramped off Cameron Arquette’s stick and over Minchak’s shoulder. However, it appears the Frontenac defender got a piece of the puck before it hit Arquette’s stick.

Regardless, the puck was ending up in the back of the net, whether it was the defenseman’s or Arquette’s stick; it was one of many quality chances he created on the night, finishing with six shots on net.

Ellinas scored 20 goals for this team last season. With the chances he is creating in the first couple of games since returning, he could be the Rangers’ missing piece offensively once he fully gets up to speed.

Matthew Hlacar Driving Depth Offence

After the game, coach Ahokas mentioned that he thought his fourth line of Matthew Hlacar, Evan Headrick, and Avry Anstis played well. Against the Frontenacs, I thought that was primarily driven by Hlacar, who started the game by using his size and speed to generate a partial break, taking the puck to the net, then later in the shift flattening a Frontenacs defender on the forecheck.

Later in the first period, Hlacar made a phenomenal pass from behind the Frontenacs’ goal line and found Tanner Lam on the far side of the net, who Minchak robbed.

Earlier this season, Hlacar made headlines after being suspended for six games. His physical side is well known. However, since returning, he has been providing a nice spark offensively, scoring two goals in the Rangers’ last three games.

Right now, he is on pace for 13 goals and 20 points, which is nearly double his goal total and more than double his point total from last season. Maybe not eye-popping numbers, but that type of production would be huge on the fourth line with the physicality he brings.

Alexander Bilecki Credits Matheas Stark For the Opening Goal

After scoring the game’s opening goal, Alexander Bilecki immediately pointed at Matheas Stark, who did the dirty work on the play. Postgame, he gave a great description of the goal, “That’s a great play by him, I just kinda saw a bouncing puck and jumped in the rush, I mean he was all alone and made the unselfish play dishing it backdoor to me and I just had a tap-in.”

While Stark may have deserved much of the credit for this goal, Bilecki has been getting better and better as this season has gone on. This was his third goal of the campaign, and second in his last three games for the Rangers, which brings his point total up to six.

He reads the ice and skates really well, which allows him to take advantage of these chances to jump up in the rush. This offensive upside, combined with a little bit of size, is an intriguing skill set that is sure to have a lot of scouts’ attention leading up to the 2026 NHL Draft.

What’s Next for the Rangers?

The Rangers’ loss to the Frontenacs felt different than others this season. There were a lot of positives to take away from this game, but overall, it didn’t feel like Ranger hockey with the lack of defensive structure.

The Rangers will look to get back to playing their game on Friday night against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and then will close out the weekend against the Guelph Storm on Saturday.