Game Day Video Preview: Blueshirts open three-game weekend Friday vs. Owen Sound
Kitchener, Ont. – Now on a five-game winning streak and having earned points in nine of their last 11 games, the East Avenue Blue begin a three-game weekend Friday night when the club hosts the Owen Sound Attack at 7:30 p.m. at The Aud. The Blueshirts can leapfrog the Attack in the OHL’s Western Conference standings with a victory Friday. Great seats are still available and can be purchased online 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
- ‘East Avenue Blue’ Game Day Magazine
Promotions:
Friday’s game is sponsored by GoodLife Fitness. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free seven-day fitness voucher to GoodLife Fitness, a value of $175 each.
Additionally, the Rangers are pleased Friday to recognize the work of Rangers Reach, the independent non-profit organization which focuses on supporting the community that continues to support the Kitchener Rangers in our community. Rangers Reach and The Ivan Tennant Memorial Scholarships have awarded over $359,000 in scholarships to students in the Waterloo Region since 2004. In 2022, a total of $10,000 was awarded to seven students from the Waterloo Region entering first year post-secondary education programs. The Rangers are pleased to recognize these recipients prior to Friday night’s game.
The Rangers are also supporting the Family and Children’s Services (FACS) Foundation’s ‘Currency for Kids’ campaign on the North Concourse Friday, Mar. 10 and Sunday, Mar. 19. The Rangers are supporting FACS in their goal of raising 60KG of currencies in celebration of the Rangers’ 60th Season. It is estimated that over $2 Billion in global currency can currently be found in homes and businesses across Canada. These are the coins (or bills) left in the bottom of your suitcase from a trip abroad. Maybe they are in the junk drawer or in a jar or in your desk. FACS is asking you to donate those coins. The currency will be repatriated to their countries of origin and FACS will receive the proceeds in Canadian currency.
Additionally, the Intercounty Baseball League’s (IBL) Kitchener Panthers will be in attendance and available for information on The Aud’s West Concourse corporate partner kiosk.
Rangers recall Scott from Ayr:
The Rangers announced Friday that the club has recalled defenceman and Kitchener-native Blair Scott from the Ayr Centennials in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). Scott was acquired by Kitchener in a trade with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in October. He’s recorded 38 points (13G, 25A) in 42 games with Ayr this season. He has played in 13 games with the Rangers this campaign.
Head-to-Head:
The Rangers have played the Owen Sound Attack six times this season and have played to a 2-2-2-0 record. Of note, Kitchener has earned a point in four of the six games this season against the Attack. Kitchener is 22-13-4-1 overall against Owen Sound over the past five seasons are are 12-6-2-0 at The Aud. This year, Kitchener is 1-1-1-0 at home against Owen Sound.
Kitchener is playing some of their best hockey of the season as of late, having won five in a row and have earned a point in nine of their last 11 games. Kitchener is 6-2-2-0 in their last 10 games and sit at 62 points in the eight-seed, just one point behind the Owen Sound Attack. Kitchener is also just three points out of the five-seed with two games in hand.
Owen Sound has lost three straight games which began with a 3-0 home loss to the Rangers. Owen Sound is 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games. The Attack have 63 points in 59 games and sit just two points out of fifth place with two games in hand.
Scouting the Rangers:
Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) leads the way on the Rangers roster with 79 points (35G, 44A) in 52 games this season. Pinelli has the ninth-most points by any skater in the OHL this season.
Hunter Brzustewicz leads the Rangers blueline with 50 points (5G 45A) in 59 games. Brzustewicz is the seventh-highest scoring defender in the OHL this season and has the fourth highest assist total. He is also currently on a three-game point streak in which he has four assists.
Another trio of Rangers enter the game on active point streaks. Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) is the hottest Ranger on a six-game point streak with six goals and five assists. Arcuri is up to 43 goals on the season now. Kitchener-native, Matthew Sop extended his streak to four games and is now up to three goals and two assists. Reid Valade is the final Ranger with an active streak getting points in three-straight games with three goals.
Marco Costantini has earned a winning decision in his last four starts for Kitchener. Costantini is second in shutouts this season with four and now has a 21-16-3-0 record on the season.
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 (Winnipeg Jets) are six Kitchener skaters that are both drafted, and signed, by their NHL clubs respectively.
Scouting the Attack:
Colby Barlow owns the team-lead in goals (44) and points (75) this season. Barlow has 75 points (44G 31A) in 56 games. Barlow has the second-most goals in the OHL trailing only Matthew Maggio of Windsor who has 47. He has six points (4G 2A) in six games against the Rangers this season including a hat-trick and the overtime winner the last time these two teams met at The Aud.
Sam Sedley leads the Attack blueline with 47 points (5G 42A) in 57 games. Sedley is tied for the eighth-most points by a defenceman this season and has the sixth most assists with 42. He also ranks in the top-10 with 15 power-play assists for the Attack this season.
Carter George has started the last two games for the Attack against the Rangers and has a 1-1-0-0 record. He has a .942 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average. On the season, George has a 5-3-0-0 record with a 0.931 save percentage and 2.21 goals against average in eight appearances.
Cedrick Guindon (Montréal Canadiens), Kaleb Lawrence (Los Angeles Kings), and Servac Petrovsky (Minnesota Wild) are three Owen Sound skaters drafted by their NHL clubs respectively.
Broadcast Coverage:
Friday night’s contest against Owen Sound 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 finish the weekend on the road playing two games in the next two days against two of the top three teams in the Western Conference. The Rangers face-off against the Spitfires in Windsor Saturday before battling the Sting in Sarnia Sunday.
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]