Game Preview: Rangers host Erie Otters for Friday Night at The Aud

Game Preview: Rangers host Erie Otters for Friday Night at The Aud

Kitchener, ON – The Kitchener Rangers are gearing up on Friday night for the fourth of six meetings against the Erie Otters this season. Puck drop is set for 7 pm at The Aud.

• TV: Rogers Channel 20 (Kitchener)
• Video Stream: OHL Live on CHL TV
• Radio: 570 AM CKGL
• Live Stats
• Live Tweets
• Game Preview Video
• East Avenue Blue Magazine

RANGERS TRANSACTIONS

• The Kitchener Rangers completed a trade with the Barrie Colts on Tuesday, January 9^th acquiring forward Eduard Šalé (Seattle Kraken) and defenceman Olivier Savard in exchange for Kyle Morey, Blair Scott, and the following OHL Priority Draft Selections; 2nd 2026 (SAG), 3rd 2027 (KIT), 3rd 2027 (WSR), 4th 2027 (BFD), 4th 2026 (KIT), 4th 2025 (OTT), 5th 2027 (NIA), and 5th 2026 (SAG). Šalé and Savard are both 2005 birth year and are eligible to return to the Rangers for the 2024-25 season.
• Brno, Czech native, Eduard Šalé was drafted 20^th overall by the Seattle Kraken in the 2023 NHL Draft. Šalé has played in 25 games with the Barrie Colts this season and scored seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points. He recently played for Team Czechia in the U20 World Juniors, earning a bronze medal while registering three goals and four assists in his seven games in Gothenburg, Sweden. Šalé is nursing a minor injury after World Juniors and will join the team next week. He will number 12 for the Rangers.
• Defenceman Olivier Savard has played 141 OHL games registering six goals and 14 assists for 20 total points. Savard played for the Saginaw Spirit in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before being traded to the Barrie Colts in the offseason. Savard played 32 games this season for Barrie recording two goals and four assists. The defenceman will wear number 34 for the Rangers and will be available on Friday against Erie.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This Season:

The Kitchener Rangers and Erie Otters have faced off three times so far this season with the Rangers owning a 3-0 record. The most recent game was hosted in Erie on November 29^th where the Rangers won 5-4 in overtime. Matthew Sop was the first star of the game scoring the game-tying goal and overtime winner while also tallying an assist. Rangers Trent Swick, Antonio Pugliese and Filip Mešár (Montreal Canadiens) each registered a goal. Justin Bottineau and Cameron Mercer both had an assist. Hunter Brzustewicz (Vancouver Canucks) and Adrian Misaljevic each recorded two assists. Going the other way, current Otters Malcolm Spence recorded one goal and two assists and Carey Terrance (Anaheim Ducks) finished the game with two goals.

Over the Years:

The Rangers and Otters have played each other 32 times dating back to the 2017-18 season. In this time the Rangers own a 22-7-1-2 record and when playing on home ice the Rangers continue to dominate with a 12-3-0-2 record. The 2019-20 and 2017-18 seasons were the best campaigns going undefeated against them in both of those seasons. In these 32 games played the Rangers have scored 139 goals while the Otters have 109.

Team Statistics:

Kitchener

Overall Powerplay: 4^th in OHL – 26.4%

Home Powerplay: 2^nd in OHL – 28.6%

Overall Penalty Kill: 4^th in OHL – 82.3%

Home Penalty Kill: 1^st in OHL – 88.2%

Erie

Overall Powerplay: 7^th in OHL – 24.1%

Away Powerplay: 4^th in OHL – 27.4%

Overall Penalty Kill: 19^th in OHL – 71.4%

Away Penalty Kill: 20^th in OHL – 62%

SCOUTING THE RANGERS (27-11-2-0)

1^st in the Western Conference, 1^st in the OHL / 5^th in Week 14 of the CHL Power Rankings

Last Time Out:

The Rangers closed off the northern swing with a 3-2 win in North Bay against the Battalion. Matthew Sop registered a goal, assisted by Trent Swick. Trent Swick then recorded the game-tying goal making it a 2-2 game. Former Ranger Kyle Morey and Justin Bottineau grabbed the assist on Swick’s goal while Bottineau closed the game with the game-winning goal assisted by Cameron Reid. Bottineau received the game’s first star.

Rangers to Watch:

• Rangers blueliner Hunter Brzustewicz (Vancouver Canucks) continues to impress with 62 points (8G, 54A) in 40 games. Over his last 10 games, Brzustewicz has registered one goal and 11 assists for 12 points. Brzustewicz has the most points and assists in the OHL. The defenceman has had 19 multi-point nights and gone pointless in only six games. Against the Otters this season, Brzustewicz has recorded multi-point nights in each of the three games played with eight assists total.
• Carson Rehkopf has played in 32 games for the Rangers and has registered 34 goals and 25 assists for 59 points. Rehkopf has had 20 multi-point nights this season while going pointless in only seven games. In the centerman’s return from the World Juniors on Saturday against the Sudbury Wolves he recorded a hattrick and one assist for a four-point night.
• Tanner Lam has recorded eight goals and 15 assists for 24 points and is ranked 4^th amongst true rookies for points. He received the play of the week on January 10^th in the game against the Saginaw Spirit on January 4^th with a swift deke to beat the Saginaw defender and then goaltender.

Netminding:

• Tristan Malboeuf has a 10-2-1-0 record this season registering a 3.18 goals against average and a .866 save percentage. Malboeuf played the most recent game in North Bay and faced 33 shots allowing two goals to finish the game with a .939 save percentage.

SCOUTING THE OTTERS (17-15-4-0)

7^th in the Western Conference, 14^th in the OHL / 12^th in Week 14 of the OHL Power Rankings

Last Time Out:

The Otters were last in action on January 6^th in Erie against the Windsor Spitfires ultimately taking a 4-3 shootout victory. Erie skaters Ondrej Molnar, Sam Alfano and Malcolm Spence all scored in regulation with assists from Spencer Sova, Matthew Schaefer, Pano Fimis, Alexis Daviault, Brett Bressette. Molnar was the only player to record two points. In the shootout, Dylan Edwards shot third for the Otters and scored to wrap up the game.

Otters to Watch:

• Pano Fimis is currently leading the Otters in points with 11 goals and 27 assists for 38 points. Fimis over the last five games has recorded one goal and three assists. The centerman has played against the Rangers five times in his OHL career so far and has recorded two goals and three assists through these five games. This season, Fimis has registered one goal and three assists in the three games against Kitchener.
• Malcolm Spence trails Fimis for the second most points on the team. He has recorded the most assists on the Otters with 28 and nine goals for 34 points. In his most recent game, Spence tallied a goal and assist while also scoring in the shootout to help secure the win. Against Kitchener, Spence has two goals and four assists in the three games this season. In his total nine games played against the Rangers Spence has three goals and nine assists.
• Carey Terrance (Anaheim Ducks) returned from the Team USA U20 World Junior Championship with a gold medal, having played in seven games registering two goals and four assists for six points in his time in Gothenburg, Sweden. Before Terrance’s departure to Sweden, the Otters centerman was on a three-game point streak with four goals. Terrance has recorded nine multi-point nights in his 28 games played. With a 22-12-34 stat line, he leads the Otters in goals. Against the Rangers this season Terrance has registered four goals.

Netminding:

• Ben Gaudreau was traded from the Sarnia Sting to the Erie Otters on October 10^th and has won 18 games which is good for second most in the league. This season the netminder has a 3.33 goals against average and a .891 save percentage.

RANGERS REACH 

Support our community while cheering on your Rangers! Rangers Reach 50/50 and game worn jersey Raffles take place at each Rangers home game and 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 rangersjerseys.com

BROADCAST COVERAGE

Friday’s match vs the Erie Otters 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 the action on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL.

UP NEXT:

The Rangers are hosting the Ottawa 67’s for a Sunday Matinée with Special Guest Paul Bissonnette “BizNasty” in attendance. Puck drop is set for 2 pm. Great seats to the action are still available grab your tickets to the action at The Aud Box Office sponsored by White Way Plumbing or online here.

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The Kitchener Rangers will be joined by hockey personality Paul Bissonnette also known as “BizNasty” for two different fan experiences and a special puck drop at the game on Sunday, January 14^th vs. the Ottawa 67’s at 2 pm. These include a pre-game event in Subscribers Lounge with a mingle and Q+A and a separate event in the Blueline Club to watch the game and interact with Biz over some food and good hockey.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE:

Biz Night Subscribers Lounge Experience

The Biz Night Blueline Club Experience

For inquiries, contact:

Lindsay Eastwood
Manager of Communications and Team Services
Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club
613-793-0168
leastwood@kitchenerrangers.com