The Vegreville Rangers saw their 50th anniversary season come to an early end on Friday night. The Boys In Blue fell 5-1 to the Vermilion Tigers, allowing the visitors to advance with a first round sweep. Rookie defenceman Carter Ogrodnick scored the lone goal for Vegreville on a shot from centre that fooled Tiger netminder Aiden Fox. Netminder Tyler McKenna turned aside 35 of 40 shots in the loss. Despite the early exit, there are plenty of positives to take away from this season for the Rangers. They finished with 14 victories on the season, a big improvement over last season’s win total of five and the most wins by a Rangers team since the 2015/2016 team finished 18-18. Team captain Ethan Bast says the team continues to grow together and things are looking good moving forward.
While the Rangers season has come to a close, the Tigers will advance to the second round. After losing in last year’s final, Vermilion is anxious for another shot at glory. Meanwhile the Wainwright Bisons, who earned a first-round bye thanks to a first place finish, are looking to take home their eighth straight NEAJBHL title.
