Game Preview: Rangers Seek Revenge against London

Game Preview: Rangers Seek Revenge against London

Kitchener, ON – The Kitchener Rangers are back at home for a Tuesday night tilt against their rivals the London Knights. This will be their third meeting in 12 days. The puck will drop at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium at 7 pm, you won’t want to miss it!

• 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

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This Season:

The Rangers and Knights have played each other three times so far this season. London currently leads the season series 2-1. The two teams played in a home-and-home series just over a week ago where the Knights stole four points from the Rangers. In the most recent game on January 20^th in London, Kitchener gave up 10 goals for the first time of the season finishing the game with a final score of 10-3. With the abundance of goals came 118 minutes of penalties, needless to say, it was a heated affair.

Team Statistics:

Kitchener

Overall Power Play: 5^th in the OHL at 24.1%

Home Power Play: 4^th in the OHL at 25.6%

Overall Penalty Kill: 8^th in the OHL at 81.5%

Home Penalty Kill: 1^st in the OHL at 86.5%

London

Overall Power Play: 1^st in the OHL at 33.3%

Away Power Play: 1^st in the OHL at 40%

Overall Penalty Kill: 2^nd in the OHL at 84.4%

Away Penalty Kill: 6^th in the OHL at 84.2%

SCOUTING THE RANGERS (30-14-2-0)

4^th in the Western Conference, 6^th in the OHL / 8^th in Week 16 of the CHL Power Rankings

Last Time Out:                                                                                                                  

Kitchener last hit the ice in Saginaw on Saturday night where they lost their fourth straight game 5-2. This is the longest the Rangers have gone without a win this season. Luca Romano opened the game’s scoring followed by a goal from Matthew Sop before Saginaw came back from the two-goal deficit to win the game.

Rangers to Watch:

• Matthew Sop is currently second on the Rangers in points with 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points and is ranked fourth in the OHL in points. Over his last 10 games, Sop has registered 10 points (6G, 4A). Against London this season he has two goals and one assist all occurring in the first meeting on November 5^th.
• Hunter Brzustewicz (Vancouver Canucks) has led the Rangers blueline all season with eight goals and 61 assists for 69 points. Brzustewicz is the third top point-getter in the league and first in assists. He has gone pointless in the last two games, marking the first instance this season where he has been without a point for consecutive games.
• Adrian Misaljevic is fifth on the Rangers for points with 22 goals and 25 assists averaging a point per game. Over his last 10 games, he has tallied seven points (1G, 6A). The winger has one goal and one assist in three games against the Knights this season.

In Net:

• Jackson Parsons is fifth in the league in the goals-against average category at 2.98 and is first for shutouts with four. Parsons’ record on the season so far is 18-11-1-0 with a .899 save percentage.
• Tristan Malboeuf played in the Rangers’ most recent game against Saginaw on Saturday night and faced 36 shots allowing four to finish the game with a .889 save percentage and a 4.01 goals-against average. He has played in 18 games this season (12-4-1) and has a 3.34 goals against average and a .870 save percentage.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS (31-11-0-3)

1^st in the Western Conference, 1^st in the OHL / 3^rd in Week 16 of the CHL Power Rankings

Last Time Out:

The London Knights lost 5-4 against the Erie Otters in a shootout on Saturday night for their second shootout loss in a row. The Knights goals were scored by Jacob Julien (Winnipeg Jets), Max McCue (Drafted by San Jose Sharks in 2021 – Free Agent), Sam O’Reilly and Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia Flyers). Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs) tallied two assists and Jacob Julien picked up his second point of the game with an assist. Denver Barkey (Philadelphia Flyers) and Isiah George (New York Islanders) each recorded one assist.

Knights to Watch:

• Denver Barkey (Philadelphia Flyers) leads the Knights leaderboards ranking first in points (65), goals (24), assists (41), short-handed goals (6), first goals (7) and has the second most power-play assists (17). Against Kitchener this season, Barkey has one assist in two games.
• Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs) has played 32 games this season with a 20-39-59 stat line. Cowan has the second most points for the Knights. He is currently on a 14-game point streak with 11 goals and 20 assists including 11 multi-point games during that time.
• Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia Flyers) leads the Knights d-core with 15 goals and 35 assists this season. The defenceman has registered 15 multi-point games including a five-point night over a total of 37 games this season.

In Net:

• Michael Simpson leads OHL goaltenders in goals-against average (2.54) and a save percentage (.909). Simpson started the home-and-home series against the Rangers on January 19^th when faced by 25 shots allowing two to finish the contestant with a .920 save percentage.
• Owen Willmore got the nod against the Rangers on January 20^th where he faced 21 shots allowing three to finish the game with a .857 save percentage. Willmore has played 14 games for the Knights this season and has an 8-4-0-2 record, a 3.38 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 rangersjersey.com.

BROADCAST COVERAGE

Tuesday’s match 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 Tuesday night’s action on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL.

UP NEXT:

The Rangers will host the Guelph Storm on Friday night for a 7 pm puck drop. Guelph sits right behind the Rangers in the standings. Don’t miss any of the action and grab your tickets to the action 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]

Photo Credit: Tiffany Luke / Kitchener Rangers