Game Preview: Rangers Start Up Weekend Hosting London Knights on Friday Night
Kitchener, ON – The Kitchener Rangers look to begin the last month of regular season play with a victory as they host the visiting divisional rivals the London Knights. Friday night is the last time the rivals will face off in Kitchener this regular season. Puck drop is slated for 7 pm.
- TV: Rogers Channel 20 (Kitchener)
- Video Stream: OHL Live on CHL TV
- Radio: 570 AM CKGL
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- Live Tweets
- Game Preview Video
- East Avenue Blue Magazine
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Kitchener and London’s rivalry has been in full effect this season with the season series at 1-3 favouring the Knights. It has been a heated four games with a total of 187 minutes of penalties given out. The last time the two clubs met was on January 30th in Kitchener resulting in a 4-0 win for London.
Team Statistics:
Kitchener
Overall Power Play: 6th in the OHL at 22.6%
Home Power Play: 7th in the OHL at 23.4%
Overall Penalty Kill: 5th in the OHL at 81.8%
Home Penalty Kill: 1st in the OHL at 85.5%
London
Overall Power Play: 2nd in the OHL at 30.8%
Away Power Play: 1st in the OHL at 34.9%
Overall Penalty Kill: 1st in the OHL at 84.5%
Away Penalty Kill: 4th in the OHL at 84.7%
SCOUTING THE RANGERS (36-20-2-0)
4th in the Western Conference, 6th in the OHL / 5th in Week 21 of the OHL Power Rankings
Rangers Recently:
The Rangers broke a five-game win streak on Sunday afternoon against the Soo Greyhounds. Prior to that they had beat Guelph, Mississauga, Sudbury, Peterborough, and Sarnia scoring 29 goals and allowing 14 in those five games. On Sunday afternoon, the Rangers travelled to the Soo to face the Greyhounds, but were not able to register a goal as they finished the game with a final score of 3-0. This is only the second game this season that the Rangers were unable to get onto the scoreboard. Over their last 10 games at home, the Rangers have a 7-3-0-0 record.
The Kid From Kitchener:
Matthew Sop has shown his importance in the Rangers’ top-line ranking as the second overage and eighth top scorer in the league with 37 goals and 43 assists for 80 points. Sop has the fourth most goals and is tied for most game-winning goals (8) in the OHL. The centreman has 14 points (9G, 5A) over the past 10 games, going pointless in three contests.
Razor’s Race:
Carson Rehkopf (Seattle Kraken) is fourth in points and first in goals in the league with a 47-37-84 stat line. Additionally, Rehkopf is tied for the second most power play goals (14), tied for most game-winning goals with Matthew Sop (8), and has the most insurance goals (9) in the OHL. Over the last 10 games, Rehkopf has 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points.
Brzustewicz Blueline:
Hunter Brzustewicz (Calgary Flames) has played 57 games this season registering an 11-69-80 stat line, placing himself second in the league in points by defencemen, only one point behind Saginaw’s Zayne Parekh. Brzustewicz has a 10-point cushion with the most assists. The defender has 11 points (3G, 6A) over his last 10 games.
Goaltending:
Jackson Parsons has played 43 games this season registering a 23-15-1-0 record. Parsons has the third-best goals-against average in the OHL at 3.02 and has a .896 save percentage. In his most recent game in the Soo on Sunday he saw 25 shots, allowing two to finish the game with a 2.01 goals against average and a .920 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS (42-13-0-3)
1st in the Western Conference, 1st in the OHL / 3rd in Week 21 of the OHL Power Rankings
Last Time Out:
The London Knights hosted the Oshawa Generals on Wednesday night in which they lost 6-4. Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia Flyers), Kasper Halttunen (San Jose Sharks, 1G, 1A), and Denver Barkey (Philadelphia Flyers- 2G, 2A) registered the Knights goals. Sam Dickinson, Ruslan Gazizov, Jacob Julien (Winnipeg Jets), and Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs- 2) each had helpers.
Knights to Watch:
- Denver Barkey (Philadelphia Flyers) leads the Knights and is ranked as the third in the league with 31 goals and 55 assists for 86 points. Barkey leads the league in short-handed goals (7) and has the third-best plus/minus in the league at 41. He is currently on a four-game point streak with 10 points (4G, 6A) in these games.
- Easton Cowan, the Toronto Maple Leafs first-round draft pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has the second points for the Knights with a 29-50-79 stat line in 45 games played. Cowan is currently on a 27-game point streak with 20 goals and 31 assists for 51 points. The forward is tied for the second most power-play assists in the league at 25, second most short-handed goals (6), and in a seven-way tie for the third most insurance goals (5).
- Sam Dickinson is in his NHL Draft year and is ranked seventh by NHL Central Scouting for North American skaters. Dickinson is leading the Knights’ backend and is third amongst defencemen in the league in points with 17 goals and 46 assists for 63 points. Dickinson is currently on an 11-game point streak with 20 points (4G, 16A) in these games.
Goaltending:
- Michael Simpson has been the Knights go-to starter this season with a 29-9-0-1 record. Amongst the league goaltenders he has the best goals-against average in the league at 2.60 and the third best save percentage at .907. In his most recent start against the Oshawa Generals, he faced 29 shots, allowing five to finish the game with a 5.76 goals against average and a .828 save percentage.
- Owen Willmore has played 20 games this season registering a 13-4-0-2 record. His goals against average is 3.11 and his save percentage is .898. Willmore suited up in the last game between the Rangers and Knights in which he registered his first OHL shutout.
BROADCAST COVERAGE
Friday’s game vs the London Knights 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 Friday night’s action on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL.
UP NEXT:
The Kitchener Rangers will host the Kingston Frontenacs as well as the 1981-82 Memorial Cup Winning Rangers team for a special welcome back in a Sunday matinée. The puck drop is set for 2 pm at The Aud. Grab your tickets to the game and help us welcome back some Rangers greats! Tickets to the action can be purchased at The Aud Box Office sponsored by White Way Plumbing or online here.
For inquiries, contact:
Lindsay Eastwood
Manager of Communications and Team Services
Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club
613-793-0168
[email protected]
