GD12 – Niagara IceDogs vs. Kitchener Rangers – Feb. 5, 2016
12 THINGS TO KNOW GOING INTO TONIGHT’S GAME
Friday, February 5th, 2016
Niagara IceDogs vs. Kitchener Rangers
1) Tonight marks the final meeting of the regular season between the IceDogs and Rangers. The first was a 5-2 Rangers win in St. Catharine’s on December 31st.
2) The Rangers come into tonight’s game with a 34-9-5-0 record and 73 points, sitting third place in the Western Conference standings. Their last game was a 3-2 shootout loss to the Sarnia Sting.
3) The IceDogs enter with a 25-17-3-3 record and 56 points. They rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 3-2 win over the London Knights last night.
4) The Rangers are 20-4-2-0 at the Aud this season, while the IceDogs are 14-8-1-2 on the road.
5) Kitchener comes into tonight with points in five of their last six games (4-1-1-0), while the IceDogs are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10.
6) Niagara’s Stephen Harper rides a five-game point streak into tonight’s contest (2-3=5).
7) The Rangers are tied for the fourth most goals scored in the OHL this season with 186. They have also surrendered the second fewest (130). Niagara’s goals against is the fourth fewest in the league at 139.
8) The IceDogs are 18-7 when scoring the first goal of the game, and 6-16 when giving up the game’s opening goal. Kitchener is 31-6 when scoring the first goal of the game, and 3-8 when the opposing team scores first.
9) Kitchener boasts the league’s fourth best power play on home ice, converting on 24.7% of their opportunities (24-of-97). Niagara’s road penalty kill is fifth in the league, shutting down the opposing man advantage 82.5% of the time (99-of-120).
10) The IceDogs enter tonight with the league’s 13th ranked road power play, converting on 17.9% of their chances (17-of-95). The Rangers home penalty kill is ranked 10th, killing off 81.7% of shorthanded situations (94-of-115).
11) Rangers captain Ryan MacInnis is tied for second amongst OHL skaters in game winning goals with seven.
12) IceDogs’ centre Ben Jones is a local product, hailing from Waterloo, ON.