GD12 – Erie Otters vs. Kitchener Rangers – Mar. 4, 2016
12 THINGS TO KNOW GOING INTO TONIGHT’S GAME
Friday, March 4th, 2016
Erie Otters vs. Kitchener Rangers
1) Tonight marks the sixth and final meeting in the regular season between the Otters and Rangers. The Rangers are 1-3-0-1 vs. the Otters this season. The most recent meeting between the two teams was February 21st when the Otters rallied for a 6-5 shoot-out win over the Rangers.
2) The Rangers come into tonight’s game with a 40-13-5-1 record and 86 points, sitting fourth place in the Western Conference standings. Their last game was a 5-0 loss to the Oshawa Generals last Saturday.
3) The Otters maintain first place in both the Western Conference and overall league standings heading into tonight’s game with a 47-12-1-0 record and 95 points. They were in London last night to face the Knights and suffered a 6-1 defeat.
4) The Rangers are 23-5-2-0 at the Aud this season, while the Otters are 25-6-0-0 on the road. Their 50 road points are the highest in the OHL, with Kitchener and Kingston following at 38.
5) The Rangers have allowed the second fewest goals against in the OHL (161).
6) The Rangers have scored the first goal of the game in 43 of their 59 games played this season (73%). When scoring first, the Rangers are 35-8. They are 5-11 when the opposition scores first.
7) The Otters have scored the first goal of the game in 32 of their 60 games played this season (53%). When scoring first, the Otters are 29-3. In the 27 games in which they have allowed the game’s opening goal, they are 18-10.
8) Kitchener is tied for the league’s second best power play on home ice, converting on 25.7% of their opportunities with the man advantage (29-of-113). Erie’s road penalty kill is 7th in the league, shutting down the opposing man advantage 80.2% of the time (97-of-121).
9) The Otters enter tonight with the league’s 3rd ranked road power play, converting on 24.0% of their chances (29-of-121). The Rangers home penalty kill is ranked 9th, killing off 82.5% of their shorthanded situations (104-of-126).
10) Otters’ Alex DeBrincat is ranked second in the league in game winning goals with nine. Rangers captain Ryan MacInnis and the Otters’ Dylan Strome are tied for third with eight game winners each.
11) Ryan MacInnis recently cracked the Top-50 all-time Rangers leading scorers list. He is currently tied for 49th in team history with 174 points (77-97) in 185 regular season games played.
12) Rangers forward Adam Mascherin tallied his 100th career regular season OHL point (an assist) in the Rangers 4-1 win over the Guelph Storm last Friday night.
