Wolves win in shootout in Kitchener

It had the makings of a winless weekend, but an unexpected win in a building the Wolves never win in changed all that.

Sunday night, the Wolves limped into Kitchener having just lost back-to-back 5-2 decisions in both Mississauga and Sarnia.

However, goalie Sam Tanguay and grinder Brody Milne became the story as the Wolves beat the Kitchener Rangers 3-2 in a seven-round shootout.

The win snapped the Wolves 24 game losing streak at Kitchener's Memorial Auditorium dating back to October 1995.

Tanguay was outstanding making several game-saving saves to backstop the team to the win.

Tanguay likes playing in Kitchener. He also picked up a win over the Rangers during the pre-season.

"I don't know what it is, but I feel good here," said Tanguay after the game. "The guys played great in front of me and made it pretty easy for me".

"I mean there are some nights it almost feels like you don't have to try, and I had some lucky bounces, too. Every win is big for us so it makes tonight even better."

The win was also a big for Wolves head coach Paul Fixter for a couple of reasons. First off, he was pretty frustrated with the losses in Mississauga and Sarnia, and it was also a homecoming for the Kitchener native, who spent five years as an associate coach with the Rangers.

"It's a very fulfilling win," said Fixter. "For me it was very special for the obvious reasons. I grew up here, played in this rink and coached in this building, so it was a fun night.

"For the team, it shows we have a group of guys that care. Even through some tough games and through some tough stretches, these guys care and they proved it tonight.

"I think the effort from the guys was up and beyond, and I hope the team knows that they've raised the bar, so now we expect that from them every night.

The Wolves got off to a good start as Pavel Jenys scored his fifth goal of the season at the 3:08 mark of the first period.

Nick Baptiste got his sixth of the season at 19:34 of the second as the Wolves took a 2-0 lead into the third.

The Rangers fired 20 shots on goal in the third period and managed to tie the contest.

In overtime, the Wolves fired eight shots on goal while the Rangers had seven shots against Tanguay. Both goaltenders played strong games.

The Rangers scored on their first two attempts in the shootout, and after Baptiste was stopped, the Wolves' chances appeared bleak. But queue forwards Jacob Harris and Ivan Kashtanov, who both scored high-light reel goals to tie the shootout.

Tanguay then stopped the next five Ranger shooters before Milne scored for the Wolves and gave the Wolves the shootout victory.