QUEBEC CITY, ONTARIO, Canada – Josh Freitas of Sandy Hook scored four goals and assisted on another as the Pee Wee Rangers went 7-3 at the Championnats Mondiaux Hockey Tournament in Quebec, Ontario, Canada this month.

Coached by the father-son team of Doug and Mark Messier, the Pee Wee Rangers competed in the Class AA Bolduc Division.

In the preliminaries on February 10, the Rangers opened with a 3-1 win over the Alaska All Stars before falling, 4-2, to the Czech Republic. The following day, the Rangers smashed the Hamilton Reps, 4-1 as Freitas notched a goal. Freitas also notched a goal the next day in a 4-3 with over the Pee Wee Oilers of Edmonton.

The Rangers then started the run in the 28-team tournament with a 3-2 upset win over the Minuteman Flames at the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City – the former home of the Quebec Nordiques (now the Phoenix Coyotes). Freitas tallied a goal and an assist as the win moved the Rangers into the bracket quarterfinals against Moscow.

Prior to that game, though, the Rangers tuned up with exhibition games against the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Compuware, Germany, and the Los Angeles Hockey Club. While the Rangers defeated the Flyers, 4-2, with the help of a Freitas goal, they fell, 5-1, to Compuware, a program that has produced several National Hockey League stars.

The Rangers then defeated Germany, 5-1, and Los Angeles, 1-0. But Moscow stopped the Rangers’ run in the tournament quarterfinals with a 1-0 win.

During the course of the week, the Rangers were treated to a Quebecois tradition during a visit to a Maple Sugar Farm – eating traditional French treats such as pea soup, pork pie, ham and crepes with fresh maple syrup. Players also took in traditional folk music played by a violinist and learned how to play the spoons (wooden), and traditional folk dance.

The event was capped with sleigh rides pulled by the magnificent Clydesdale horses.