OHL Kitchener Rangers

Rangers Look to Even Season Series in London Wednesday

Published on February 8, 2023 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


London, Ont. - The Rangers and Knights face-off for the fourth time this season and second time in London Wednesday night. Kitchener looks to even the series with London as the road team has won every game when these two teams have met this season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Budweiser Gardens.

Notable Links:

TV: Rogers TV, cable 20 (Kitchener)

TV: Rogers TV, cable 13 (London)

TV: Super Sports Pack, cable 468 (Ontario)

Video Stream: OHL Live on CHL TV

Radio: CityNews 570 AM CKGL

Rangers' Wideman to be honoured by Knights Wednesday:

Rangers assistant coach and Kitchener-native Dennis Wideman will be inducted to the London Knights' Don Brankley Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony at tonight's game in London. Wideman played three and a half seasons with the Knights from 2001-04, recording 197 points (79G, 118A) in 204 games as a defenceman with the Knights. He was then drafted in the eighth-round by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2002 NHL Draft before beginning a 12-year career in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals and the Calgary Flames. Wideman recorded 387 points (99G, 288A) in 815 NHL games until 2017 when he began as the assistant coach with the Rangers.

Rangers recall Scott from Ayr:

The Rangers announced Wednesday morning that the club has recalled defenceman and Kitchener-native Blair Scott from the Ayr Centennials in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). Scott was acquired by Kitchener in a trade with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in October. He's recorded 32 points (13G, 19A) in 37 games with Ayr this season. He has played in 12 games with the Rangers this campaign.

Head-to-Head:

Kitchener and London have seen each other 31 times in the last 5 years. Kitchener holds a 10-21-0-0 record overall and a 6-9-0-0 record in London. Kitchener won the last meeting between these two clubs and in the first game at the Budweiser Gardens this year by a score of 5-2 on Jan. 22.

Kitchener is an even .500 over their last ten games with a 5-5-0-0 record in that span. The Rangers have a four-point cushion in the final playoff spot with two games in hand over ninth place Sault Ste. Marie.

London is the Midwest division leader, ranked second in the Western Conference with 65 points and are on a four-game wining streak. The Knights are 6-4-0-0 in their last ten games.

Scouting the Rangers:

Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) leads the Rangers roster in points this season with 60 points (30G 30A) in 39 games. Pinelli has already matched his point total from a season ago where he had 60 points (22G 38A) in 55 games. He ranks 11th overall in OHL scoring this season.

Hunter Brzustewicz leads the Ranger blueline this season with 39 points (4G 35A) in 46 games. His 35 assists lead the Rangers roster. Brzustewicz ranks sixth in points by defencemen this season and ranks sixth in assists. He has points in three-straight games with one goal and five assists averaging two points per game.

Goaltender Marco Costantini has played in 31 games this season and holds a 3.52 goals against average (GAA) and a .890 save percentage (SAV%). Marcus Vandenberg has played in 17 games and has a 3.37 GAA and a .897 SAV%.

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 Knights:

George Diaco and Sean McGurn share the lead for the most points on the Knights roster with 55. Diaco has 20 goals and 35 assists in 45 games while teammate McGurn has 19 goals and 36 assists in 46 games.

Logan Mailloux (Montréal Canadiens) leads the London defence with 36 points (17G 19A) in 38 games. Mailloux has points in his last two games and has four goals, and one assist, on this current point streak.

Ryan Winterton (Seattle Kraken) is the other London Knight who is currently supporting an active point streak with points in his last three games. Winterton has two goals and two assists.

Brett Brochu is the main man between the pipes for the Knights. Brochu ranks third in goals against average (2.59) and save percentage (0.909%) amongst starters in the OHL this season.

Jackson Edward (BOS), Isaiah George (NYI), Logan Mailloux (MTL), Max McCue (SJ), Landon Sim (STL), and Ryan Winterton (SEA) are the six London skaters that are drafted by their NHL clubs respectively.

Broadcast Coverage:

Wednesday night's contest 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 468 for cable subscribers.

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. For more information on Kitchener Rangers broadcast coverage, click here.

Next up: The Rangers are back at The Aud Friday night as they host the reigning OHL champions, the Hamilton Bulldogs, for the only time this season. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m and great seats are still available.

Check out the Kitchener Rangers Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2023


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