OHL Kitchener Rangers

Game Day Video Preview: Blueshirts Open Three-Game Weekend Friday vs. Owen Sound

Published on March 9, 2023 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


Kitchener, Ont. - Now on a five-game winning streak and having earned points in nine of their last 11 games, the East Avenue Blue begin a three-game weekend Friday night when the club hosts the Owen Sound Attack at 7:30 p.m. at The Aud. Kitchener can leapfrog the Attack in the OHL's Western Conference standings with a victory Friday. Great seats are still available online here.

Head-to-Head:

The Rangers have played the Owen Sound Attack six times this season and have played to a 2-2-2-0 record. Despite the four losses, Kitchener have earned a point in four of the six games. Kitchener is 12-6-2-0 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium against the Attack over the past five seasons and 22-13-4-1 overall.

Kitchener are playing some of their best hockey of the season as of late and have won five in a row, earning a point in each of their last six games. Kitchener are 6-2-2-0 in their last ten games and sit on 62 points in the eight-seed, just one point behind the Owen Sound Attack. Kitchener is also just three points out of the five-seed with two games in hand.

Owen Sound have lost three straight games which began with a 3-0 home loss to the Rangers. Owen Sound are 3-7-0-0 in their last ten games and are trying to hold on to their position in the standings. The Attack have 63 points in 59 games and sit just two points out of fifth with two games in hand.

Scouting the Rangers:

Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) leads the way on the Rangers roster 79 points with 35 goals and 44 assists in 52 games this season. Pinelli has the ninth most points by any skater in the OHL this season.

Hunter Brzustewicz leads the Rangers blueline with 50 points (5G 45A) in 59 games. Brzustewicz is the seventh highest scoring defender in the OHL this season and has the fourth highest assist total. He is also currently on a three-game points streak in which he has four assists.

Another trio of Rangers enter the game on active point streaks. Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) is the hottest Ranger on a six-game point streak with six goals and five assists. Arcuri is up to 43 goals on the season now. Kitchener native, Matthew Sop extended his streak to four games and is now up to three goals and two assists. Reid Valade is the final Ranger with an active streak getting points in three-straight games with three goals.

Marco Costantini has earned a winning decision in his last four stars for Kitchener. Costantini is second in shutouts this season with four and now has a 21-16-3-0 record on the season.

Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars), Tomáš Hamara (Ottawa Senators), Filip Mešár (Montréal Canadiens), Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings), Roman Schmidt (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Danny Zhilkin are six Kitchener skaters that are both drafted, and signed, by their NHL clubs respectively.

Scouting the Attack:

Colby Barlow owns the team lead in goals (44) and points (75) this season. Barlow has 75 points (44G 31A) in 56 games. Barlow has the second most goals in the OHL trailing only Matthew Maggio of Windsor who has 47. He has six points (4G 2A) in six games against the Rangers this season including a hattrick and the OT winner the last time these two teams met at The Aud.

Sam Sedley leads the Attack blueline with 47 points (5G 42A) in 57 games. Sedley is tied for the eighth most points by a defenceman this season and has the sixth most assists with 42. He also ranks in the top 10 with 15 power-play assists for the Attack this season.

Carter George has started the last two for the Attack against the Rangers and has a 1-1-0-0 record. He has a 0.942 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average. On the season, George has a 5-3-0-0 record with a 0.931 save percentage and 2.21 goals against average in eight appearances.

Cedrick Guindon (Montréal Canadiens), Kaleb Lawrence (Los Angeles Kings), and Servac Petrovsky (Minnesota Wild) are three Owen Sound skaters drafted by their NHL clubs respectively.

Broadcast Coverage:

Friday night's contest against Owen Sound will be televised live throughout Kitchener and the Waterloo Region on Rogers TV, cable channel 20. In addition, the contest can be watched across the province of Ontario on the Super Sports Pack on channel 470 for cable subscribers. Jason Hagholm (play-by-play), Dan Polischuk (colour commentary) and Sean Furfaro (host) will call the game on television.

The game will be streamed live online in a web browser at OHLLive.com, and on the CHL App for mobile devices, including smart TV's such as including Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire.

Additionally, fans can listen to the game on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL. Mike Farwell (play-by-play) and Chris Pope (colour commentary) will call the game on the radio. Fans can tune in to the radio pregame show 30 minutes prior to puck drop and can be a part of the broadcast with extended postgame shows as Farwell takes phone calls from Rangers Nation after all home games at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Fans can call 519-570-2545 during the radio postgame shows to talk Rangers Hockey.

Next Up:

The Rangers finish the weekend on the road against two of the top three teams in the Western Conference. Kitchener is in Windsor Saturday night and Sarnia Sunday afternoon.

Check out the Kitchener Rangers Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 9, 2023


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