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OHL Kitchener Rangers

Kitchener Rangers Host Kingston Frontenacs with Special Honors for 1981-82 Team

March 3, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


Kitchener, ON - The Kitchener Rangers are hosting the Kingston Frontenacs on Sunday afternoon for a special game with several events going on. 16 members of the 1981-82 Rangers team will be reunited with the Memorial Cup while being honoured during the game. The Rangers are also teaming up with the House of Friendship and Rogers TV for a charitable initiative in honour of Don Cameron. You won't want to miss this one, puck drops at 2 pm!

TV: Rogers Channel 20 (Kitchener)

Video Stream: OHL Live on CHL TV

Radio: 570 AM CKGL

PROMOTIONS

As we continue on the legacy of Don Cameron by hosting charitable games in his name to support House of Friendship and Food Banks, we ask that you bring in a monetary donation to be collected upon entry on Sunday to support House of Friendship - we aim to raise a record amount of funds in honour of the legendary #OHLRangers broadcaster.

The Kitchener Rangers are dedicating Sunday's game to honour the remarkable achievements of the 1981-82 Memorial Cup winning team. Sixteen members of the iconic 1981-82 roster, including two Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, Al MacInnis and Scott Stevens and former Rangers Captain Brian Bellows, will attend the game and join in on a special pre-game ceremony at the Aud when the Rangers take on the Kingston Frontenacs at 2pm.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This season Kitchener and Kingston have played each other once in a tightly contested game on February 9th, With some back-and-forth scoring in the final minutes of the game, the Rangers fell 5-4 in regulation. Carson Rehkopf (Seattle Kraken) had two goals, and Matthew Sop and Luke Ellinas each had one goal. Hunter Brzustewicz (Calgary Flames) and Trent Swick each registered two assists while Filip Mešár (Montreal Canadiens), and Tanner Lam each tallied one assist. 10 Frontenacs got onto the scoresheet: Linus Hendström and Luke McNamara had a goal and an assist each, Quinton Burns (St. Louis Blues), Ethan Miedema (Buffalo Sabres), and Jacob Battaglia all grabbed a goal. Jax Dubois tallied two assists, and Christopher Thibodeau, Gabriel Frasca, Cal Uens, and former Ranger Roman Schmidt (Tampa Bay Lightning) all registered one assist each.

Dating back to the 2016-17 season the two clubs have played each other 11 times with the Rangers holding the overall record at 6-4-1-0 and continuing to have the advantage when on home ice with a 4-1-0-0 record. The best Rangers campaign was the 2019-20 season in which they won both games. There is a two-goal differential with the Frontenacs scoring 35 and the Rangers netting 33 through these 11 games.

Team Statistics:

Kitchener

Overall Power Play: 6th in the OHL at 22.6%

Home Power Play: 6th in the OHL at 23.4%

Overall Penalty Kill: 5th in the OHL at 82.0%

Home Penalty Kill: 1st in the OHL at 85.8%

Kingston

Overall Power Play: 5th in the OHL at 23.7%

Away Power Play: 4th in the OHL at 26.4%

Overall Penalty Kill: 10th in the OHL at 79.1%

Away Penalty Kill: 14th in the OHL at 77.7%

SCOUTING THE RANGERS (37-20-2-0)

4th in the Western Conference, 6th in the OHL / 5th in Week 21 of the OHL Power Rankings

Rangers Recently:

The Kitchener Rangers went head-to-head against one of the CHL's top teams, the London Knights, on Friday night, ultimately clinching a thrilling 4-3 victory in overtime. Luke Ellinas started the Rangers' comeback halfway through the second period, with Max Dirracolo and Mitchell Martin providing the assists. Carson Rehkopf then notched a crucial power-play goal, with assists from Eduard Šalé (Seattle Kraken) and Hunter Brzustewicz (Calgary Flames). Despite trailing by a goal at the start of the third period, Matthew Andonovski (Ottawa Senators) levelled the score, with assists from Antonio Pugliese and Brzustewicz (Calgary Flames). As the game entered overtime, Matthew Sop and Rehkopf (Seattle Kraken) pulled off an impressive passing play giving the latter a breakaway opportunity to secure the win for the Rangers.

Razor's Race:

Carson Rehkopf (Seattle Kraken) has played 51 games this season recording 49 goals and 37 assists for 86 points. Rehkopf has his name written on nearly every leaderboard in the OHL with the most goals, and the third most points, tied for the most power play goals (15), the most game-winning goals (9), and the most insurance goals (9). Rehkopf over the past 10 games has 20 points (12G, 8A). He is on the brink of joining the 50-goal club; the last Rangers player to hit 50 goals in one season was Jonathan Yantsis in the 2018-19 season which was done in 67 games.

Ando's Appetite

Matthew Andonovski (Ottawa Senators) owns the league's best plus/minus going plus 51 with plus-five padding in his 56 games played this season. The blueliner scored his seventh goal of the season on Friday night after only scoring his first goal of his OHL career on September 29th. Andonovski has a 7-21-28 stat line and the most penalty minutes in the league with 111.

Kitchener Kid:

Matthew Sop's overage season domination continues as his stat line grows to 37-44-81. Sop is ninth in scoring in the OHL and third on the Rangers. The centreman also sits behind Rehkopf for the second most game-winning goals in the OHL with eight. He has seven goals and six assists for 13 points over the past 10 games going pointless in three of those games.

Between the Pipes:

Jackson Parsons is leading Rangers' goaltenders playing 44 games this season, with a 24-15-1-0 record. Parsons has a 3.02 goals against average and a .896 save percentage. In their most recent game against the London Knights on Friday night, he was faced with 25 shots, allowing three for a 2.96 goals against average and a .880 save percentage.

Marty's Return

Mitchell Martin made his return to the Rangers lineup on Friday night after sustaining an injury on November 5th (42 games missed). The 6-foot-4 forward made his presence known being only a goal away from a Gordie Howe Hattrick tallying an assist and seven penalty minutes (five minutes for fighting, two minutes for instigating) including a 10-minute misconduct for instigating a fight.

SCOUTING THE FRONTENACS (28-29-2-0)

7th in the Eastern Conference, 12th in the OHL / 13th in Week 21 of the OHL Power Rankings

Last Time Out:

The Kingston Frontenacs will close out their three-in-three weekend on Sunday afternoon against the Rangers. They played Erie on Friday night at home where they lost 5-3 followed by another 5-3 loss to the Brantford Bulldogs on Saturday on the road.

Roman Schmidt Returns:

Overage defenceman, Roman Schmidt (Tampa Bay Lightning) was drafted by the Kitchener Rangers in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection in the third round, 96th overall. Schmidt played 146 games for Kitchener scoring 15 goals and 50 assists for 65 points. The defenceman was traded from the Rangers to the Frontenacs on December 13th in exchange for a 2nd round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft and a 3rd round selection in the 2027 OHL Draft. Since being traded Schmidt has recorded 21 points (5G, 15A) for the Frontenacs. Sunday's game will be his first return to The Aud.

Frontenacs to Watch:

Paul Ludwinski (Chicago Blackhawks) leads the Frontenacs in points with 58 (19G, 39A) in 51 games played. In his last 10 games played, he has nine points, two goals and seven assists.

Jacob Battaglia has a 29- 28-57 stat line in 59 games this season. The 2006-born forward is the Frontenacs' the top goal scorer and second in points. Battaglia is ranked 57th by NHL Central Scouting in North American skaters as part of this year's NHL Draft class. Battaglia has eight points (4G, 4A) over the past 10 games.

Leading the Frontenacs blueline is St. Louis Blues prospect Quinton Burns with six goals and 25 assists for 31 points in 49 games.

Goaltending:

Mason Vaccari has played 52 games this season with a 23-25-2-0 record, a 3.70 goals against average and, a .879 save percentage. Vaccari started against the Rangers on February 9th when he saw 28 shots allowing 4 in for a 4.00 goals against average and 0.857 save percentage.

RANGERS REACH

Support our community while cheering on your Rangers through 50/50 and Jersey Raffle! Rangers Reach 50/50 is going big this week with the MEGA JACKPOT. You can buy tickets for the mega jackpot now until March 8th at the start of the Rangers' third period. All proceeds go to support our many community initiatives, including Scholarships, Community Impact Grants, in-kind donations, and more! Your 50/50 and jersey ticket purchases help to make a difference in our community! Tickets can be purchased online anywhere in Ontario at Rangers5050.com and rangersjersey.com.

BROADCAST COVERAGE

Sunday afternoon's game vs the Kingston Frontenacs will be televised live throughout Kitchener and the Waterloo Region on Rogers TV, cable channel 20, and can be watched across the province of Ontario on the Super Sports Pak on channel 470 for cable subscribers. The game will be streamed live online on OHL Live on CHL TV. Additionally, fans can listen to Sunday's action on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL.

UP NEXT:

The Rangers travel to Owen Sound for a midweek game on Wednesday night. Puck drop is at 7 pm at The Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. The Rangers are back at home on Friday night to host the Flint Firebirds for their International Women's Day Game. The puck will drop at 7 pm. Don't miss any of the action and grab your tickets at The Aud Box Office sponsored by White Way Plumbing or online.

Check out the Kitchener Rangers Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2024


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