Over the weekend, the Kitchener Rangers responded to Friday’s coaching change with a pair of big wins.
On Friday morning, the team announced that head coach Chris Dennis had been fired and that GM Mike McKenzie would go back behind the bench for the remainder of the season.
The move was made in an attempt to jumpstart a moribund franchise that was stuck in eighth place heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
The change provided quick dividends as the Rangers went out and thumped the Hamilton Bulldogs by an 8-1 score.
Matthew Sop and Carson Rehkopf each recorded hat tricks in the win, while Hunter Brzustewicz and Filip Mešár also found the back of the net.
Marco Costantini was in goal and he made 27 saves to record the victory.
After easily dispatching the Bulldogs, who are in sixth in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers travelled up to Barrie to face the Colts on Saturday night.
The Colts, who are in third place in the east, kept things tighter as Kitchener needed extra time to pull off a 4-3 win.
It was the team’s in-season acquisitions who led the way for Kitchener, with Danny Zhilkin scoring the winner in overtime, while Francesco Arcuri also netted a pair and Lleyton Moore was the other goalscorer.
The wins firmly cement the Rangers in eighth place as they hold a three-point lead over the Soo Greyhounds with two games in hand.
The Rangers can now look upwards in the standings at the Flint Firebirds, who are four points in front of Kitchener but have also played four extra games.
Kitchener will return to game action on Tuesday night when they play host to the London Knights at the Aud.