Game Day Video Preview: Rangers host highway-seven rival Guelph Friday
Kitchener, Ont. – The Blueshirts begin a three-games-in-three-days weekend Friday night when the club hosts their highway-seven rivals Guelph Storm, with a capacity crowd of more than 7,000 fans expected The Aud. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. and limited seats are available here.
Notable Links:
- Tickets: Buy Online | (519) 578-1570
- TV: Rogers TV, cable 20 (Kitchener)
- TV: Super Sports Pack, cable 470 (Ontario)
- Video Stream: OHLLive.com | CHL App
- Radio: CityNews 570 AM CKGL
- Live Stats
- Live Tweets
- Game Video Preview
- Media Notes Packet
- Lines
- Digital East Avenue Blue Magazine
Zhilkin & Fishman face former teams:
Rangers’ forward Danny Zhilkin (Winnipeg Jets) and Storm forward Jesse Fishman will face their former teams for the first time since being acquired in a trade for each other on Jan. 2. Zhilkin was Guelph’s first-round pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection, before being tabbed in the third-round by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2022 NHL Draft. Zhilkin signed a three-year NHL Entry Level Contract with Winnipeg on Dec. 30, 2022. Fishman was the Rangers’ fourth-round pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection and has now played in nine games with Guelph after departing Kitchener.
Head-to-Head:
Kitchener is 4-1-0-0 against the Storm this season and are 2-0-0-0 on home ice vs. Guelph at The Aud. This matchup also favours the Rangers over the past five seasons with Kitchener owning a 24-13-2-0 record.
Lately, the Rangers are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 games and are tied for eighth place in the Western Conference with 40 points. Guelph is winners of two straight and are one of the hotter teams in the league, going 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games. Guelph is coming of a shootout win over the Erie Otters in an 11 a.m. road start Thursday morning in Erie. The Storm sit in sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
Kitchener has the seventh-best power-play at 22.7% and ninth-best penalty kill at 79.1%. Guelph owns the fourth-best power-play percentage at 23.6% and is 20th on the penalty kill at 69.9%.
Scouting the Rangers:
Danny Zhilkin (Winnipeg Jets) faces his old club for the first time since being acquired in a trade from Guelph. In just 12 games with Kitchener, Zhilkin has 10 points, seven goals and three assists. He played 155 games for the Storm, which includes four playoff games in the 2022 postseason. In his Storm tenure, Zhilkin accumulated 98 points, scoring 43 goals and assisting on 55.
Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) extended his point streak to seven games in Tuesday’s contest vs. Sarnia. He has six goals and six assists for 12 points in the last seven games and leads the Rangers roster in points with 55 points (27G 28A) in just 36 games.
The Ranger sharp shooters remain atop the OHL ranking in goal scoring categories. Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) is fourth in goals with 32 and he’s also tied with teammate and NHL Draft eligible forward Carson Rehkopf for the OHL’s second most power-play goals with 14. Additionally, Both Francesco’s have been clutch for the Rangers as Pinelli has three shorthanded goals and Arcuri has six game-winning goals.
Michigan-native Hunter Brzustewicz is also NHL Draft eligible this year and recently represented Kitchener in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game last week. Brzustewicz is eighth in the league among all defenceman with 30 assists in 43 games.
Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars), Tomáš Hamara (Ottawa Senators), Filip Mešár (Montréal Canadiens), Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings), Roman Schmidt (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Danny Zhilkin are six Kitchener skaters that are both drafted, and signed, by their NHL clubs respectively.
Scouting the Storm:
Matthew Poitras (Boston Bruins) has points in three-straight games. On his current streak, Poitras has tallied two goals and six assists for a total of eight points. Poitras also leads the Storm roster in points this season with 56 points (12G 44A) in 41 games. His 44 assists rank third-most in the OHL this season.
Michael Bunchinger (St. Louis Blues) has put together a nice season from the Storm blueline. The St. Louis draft pick ranks fifth in scoring by defenceman this season with 39 points (10G, 29A) in 39 games. Buchinger’s 39 points ranks second-most on the Storm roster.
Jesse Fishman returns to The Aud for the first time as a visiting player. Fishman suited up in 77 games for the East Avenue Blue across two seasons and accumulated eight goals and seven assists for 15 points. Fishman has one goal in nine games for the Storm so far this season.
Michael Buchinger (St. Louis Blues), Jake Karabela (Washington Capitals), Matthew Poitras (Boston Bruins), and Chandler Romeo (Ottawa Senators) are four Guelph skaters that are drafted by their NHL clubs respectively.
Broadcast Coverage:
Friday night’s contest will be televised live throughout Kitchener and the Waterloo Region on Rogers TV, cable channel 20. In addition, the contest can be watched across the province of Ontario on the Super Sports Pack on channel 470 for cable subscribers. Jason Hagholm (play-by-play), Dan Polischuk (colour commentary) and Sean Furfaro (host) will call the game on television.
The game will be streamed live online in a web browser at OHLLive.com, and on the CHL App for mobile devices including smart TV’s such as including Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire.
Additionally, fans can listen to the game on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL. Mike Farwell (play-by-play) and Chris Pope (colour commentary) will call the game on the radio. Fans can tune in to the radio pregame show 30 minutes prior to puck drop and can be a part of the broadcast with extended postgame shows as Farwell takes phone calls from Rangers Nation after all home games at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Fans can call 519-570-2545 during the radio postgame shows to talk Rangers Hockey.
Next Up:
The Rangers will continue their three-in-three weekend tomorrow night in Niagara, followed by Sunday in Guelph. Both games will be televised live in Kitchener on Rogers TV, cable channel 20, and will also be broadcast on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL.
Photo Credit: Tiffany Luke / Kitchener Rangers
For inquiries, contact:
Dominic Hennig
Senior Director, Broadcasting, Communications & Hockey Operations
Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club
519-497-9342
[email protected]
