Junior Tigers rip Rangers 6-1 in North York

For the second Sunday in a row, the Aurora Tigers won a road game decisively.

In a tip of the cap to Bill Murray's Groundhog Day, the Tigers repeated history by ripping the North York Rangers 6-1 at Herb Carnegie Arena.

Last Sunday, they upset the second-place Toronto Junior Canadiens 5-2 in Newmarket in the squad's best game of the 2024-25 campaign.

Aurora's season-long scoring leaders figured prominently in the decisive win over the last-place Rangers (5-40-1-0).

Leading goal scorer Simon Howard led the Tigers' attack with three goals. Assist leader Matthew Johnson had a four-point night in North York with a goal and three helpers.

Six minutes into the game, Howard fired his 13^th of the season to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Howard's power play goal with less than five minutes to go in the opening frame gave the Tigers a two-goal lead. Johnson assisted on both of Howard's goals.

Aurora resident Jack Rispin's power play goal at 4:11 of the second period put the Tigers up 3-0.

Johnston earned his 26^th assist of the season when he fed Cayden Smith who fired the puck past Rangers' goaltender Dylan Dewachter at 11:56.

Mason Wharton got the Rangers on the scoreboard at 14:04, but Howard completed his hat trick less than two minutes later to restore the Tigers' four-goal lead.

Johnson's short-handed goal at 14:42 of the third period closed the Tigers' six-goal outburst in Toronto.

Aurora goaltender Christopher Thompson earned the win by repelling 29 of the 30 shots he faced.

With the victory, the Tigers improved their eleventh-place East Division record to 10-33-0-4.

By Jim Stewart