Game Day Video Preview: Rangers host Knights for Valentine’s Day Affair
Kitchener, Ont. – The Rangers have a Valentine’s Day reservation set with the London Knights Tuesday. This will be the final time London comes to The Aud in regular season action this year. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium and great seats are still available here.
Notable Links:
- Tickets: Buy Online | (519) 578-1570
- TV: Rogers TV, cable 20 (Kitchener)
- TV: Super Sports Pack, cable 463 (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
Head-to-Head:
Kitchener is winners of their last two games, most recently taking the extra point in an overtime thriller in Barrie Saturday night. The Rangers are now 6-4-0-0 in their last 10 games and sit in the eighth seed in the Western Conference with 48 points. Only seven points separate Kitchener and Saginaw who own the five-seed and Kitchener has as many as four games in hand over teams ahead of them.
London is the hottest team in the league coming into play Tuesday night. London is winners of eight-straight including a goal with 32 seconds left in regulation to steal a point from the Rangers last Wednesday. The Knights are 8-2-0-0 in their last ten games and are just one point behind the Windsor Spitfires in first place with a game in hand.
This matchup tilted the way of the Knights in most recent years. In the past five seasons, Kitchener owns a 10-22-0-0 record against the Knights and are 4-12-0-0 at The Aud. Kitchener has a 1-3-0-0 record against the Knigths this season with their lone victory coming in London.
Scouting the Rangers:
Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) continues to lead the Rangers roster in points and ranks 10th in the OHL this season with 66 points (30G 36A) in 42 games. His 1.57 point per game production still ranks in the top five of players who have played at least 30 games.
Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) recorded four points for Kitchener on Saturday night and added another two goals bringing him up to 35 on the season. That total leads the Rangers roster and is tied for fourth overall in the OHL. Arcuri is also tied with teammate Carson Rehkopf for the second most power-play goals in the OHL at 15. Arcuri has points in three-straight games with two goals and five assists.
Hunter Brzustewicz leads the Ranger blueline in points this season with 43 points (5G 38A) in 49 games. Brzustewicz has 19 power-play assists this season which ranks sixth overall and third most by a defenceman. His total of 38 assists also ranks fifth most by defencemen in the league.
Marco Costantini is coming off a win against his former club Friday night, earning the victory against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Costantini was great in stopping 27-of-28 shots he faced for a .964 save percentage. Costantini is now up to 16 wins on the season posting a 3.48 goals against average and .891 save percentage.
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 Knights:
Sean McGurn is the points leader on the Knights roster this season ranking himself eighth in the league with 68 points (24G 44A) in 50 games. McGurn has exploded as of late, currently on a five-game point streak totaling 16 points (6G 10A), which averages to 3.2 points per game.
Denver Barkey who scored the winner for London against Kitchener on Wednesday night has points in three-straight with four goals and an assist. George Diaco has points in five-straight with two goals and five assists. Ryan Winterton (Seattle Kraken) has points in seven-straight with two goals and six assists.
Logan Mailloux (Montréal Canadiens) leads the London defence with 41 points (19G 22A) in 42 games. Mailloux has 22 points on the power-play for London this season with 11 goals and 11 assists. He also has points in three-straight games with two goals and three assists.
Brett Brochu is the second ranked goaltender in the OHL this season. The OA netminder ranks second in both goal against average (2.59) and save percentage (0.910) amongst starters in the league. He also ranks third in wins with 22. Kitchener has seen Brochu twice this season and have gone 1-1-0-0. Brochu earned a 28-save shutout in his lone victory this season.
Jackson Edward (BOS), Isaiah George (NYI), Logan Mailloux (MTL), Max McCue (SJ), Landon Sim (STL), and Ryan Winterton (SEA) are the six London skaters that are drafted by their NHL clubs respectively.
Broadcast Coverage:
Tuesday 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 463 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 be away from The Aud this weekend they begin a road trip in Sault Ste. Marie Friday. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. at the GFL Memorial Gardens before facing off in Flint against the Firebirds this Saturday.
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]
