Game Day Video Preview: Rangers & Spirit face-off Friday in Kitchener
Kitchener, Ont – The Kitchener Rangers are back on home-ice Friday night when the club hosts the Saginaw Spirit in a St. Patrick’s Day tilt. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. and great 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 (Coming Soon)
- ‘East Avenue Blue’ Game Day Magazine
Promotions:
Friday’s game is sponsored by Sun Life and will feature a special cheque presentation from Sun Life before puck drop. For the 2022-23 season, Sun Life has been the goal sponsor of the Kitchener Rangers and is donating $50 for every goal scored on home-ice to local mental health organizations in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region. To date, there have been 125 goals scored at The Aud, totaling $6,250. Sun Life is generously rounding their total donation to $7,500!
Additionally, Friday’s game is the Rangers’ St. Patrick’s Day Game. Fans have many chances to win “pot of gold” prizes, including Rangers’ Sun Life warm-up jersey giveaways and playoff ticket giveaways, there will be green elements on the video boards and LED ribbons and green beer at The Aud!
Head-to-Head:
Kitchener and Saginaw have faced each other three times this season, twice in Saginaw and once at The Aud in November. Kitchener is 2-1-0-0 against the Spirit this season splitting the games in Saginaw and winning 1-0 on home ice on Nov. 4. The Rangers are 12-6-1-0 over the past five seasons against Saginaw and 7-1-1-0 on home ice.
Despite having their six-game winning streak Saturday, Kitchener is 6-3-1-0 in their last 10 games as they sit in the eighth seed in the Western Conference with 64 points.
Saginaw has earned at least a point in each of their last six games to go 4-0-1-1 in that stretch. The Spirit are also 5-3-1-1 in their last 10 games. Saginaw now sits in the fourth seed in the Western Conference with 73 points. They are four points up on the fifth-seed Firebirds with five games remaining on their schedule.
Scouting the Rangers:
Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) leads the way for the Rangers with 84 points (37G 47A) in 55 games this season. Pinelli has points in his last four games, scoring two goals and providing four assists.
Hunter Brzustewicz leads the Rangers on defence this year with 54 points (6G 48A) in 62 games this season. Brzustewicz has suited up in every game for the Rangers this season. He also has points in six-straight games with one goal and seven helpers.
Another trio of Rangers have been consistently on the scoresheet as of late. Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) holds the longest active streak at nine games. Arcuri has eight goals and seven assists for 15 points. Matthew Sop is on a seven-game streak with six goals, three assists, and 10 points. Filip Mešár (Montréal Canadiens) is the third with points in three-straight, having one goal and four assists for five points in that time.
Marco Costantini earned a loss for the first time in six starts Sunday afternoon. Costantini is approaching the most appearances in a single season as he has played in 43 games this season. 45 was the most has had in a season a year ago for Hamilton. Costantini has played to a 22-17-3-0 record this season and posted one of his three shutouts of the season against the Spirit earlier in the year in a 1-0 Kitchener victory.
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 Spirit:
Dean Loukus is the leading points getter on the Spirit roster. The right winger has 17 goals and 39 assists for 56 points in 62 games this season. Loukus also has the longest active point streak with six points (2G 4A) in four games.
Mitchell Smith leads the Spirit in points this season after the team traded away Pavel Mintyukov (Anaheim Ducks) before the trade deadline. Smith has 47 points (13G 34A) in 63 games and is coming off a hattrick in their last game Wednesday night against Windsor.
Michael Misa was granted exceptional status becoming the sixth ever OHL player to be granted that honour. The just-turned 16-year-old forward leads all rookies this season in points with 51 points (21G 30A) in 41 games. Although he leads by just two points, Misa has played in less games and has the best points per game percentage by a significant margin. Misa is producing at a 1.24 PPG clip, while the next closest rookie is at 0.88 PPG (Beckett Sennecke).
Tristan Lennox (New York Islanders) has suited up in 45 games for the Spirit this season. The New York Islander prospect signed an entry-level deal with the NHL Club earlier this year. Lennox has the sixth best goal against average of any starting goaltender in the OHL this season at 3.15. Lennox has a 25-15-2-2 record this season.
Hunter Haight (Minnesota Wild), Tristan Lennox (New York Islanders), and Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights) are the three Saginaw skaters that are drafted by their NHL clubs respectively.
Broadcast Coverage:
Friday night’s contest against Saginaw 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. Ian Joudrey (play-by-play), Isaac Carmichael (colour commentary) and Brittany Ramsay (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 James Sebastian-Scott (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 hit the road for a Saturday night contest in Owen Sound and then will host Kingston Sunday at The Aud at 2 p.m. Sunday’s game is presented by Tim Horton’s and is the Rangers’ Alumni Recognition and 2000’s Retro Game. Fans are encouraged to wear their best 2000’s and 2010’s look as we honour our history from the past two decades! There will be over 60 Rangers’ alumni in attendance from the Rangers’ 60 years in Kitchener. The Blueshirts are also honouring Dave Schneider for his past 25 seasons as the public address announcer of the Rangers. Additionally, the Rangers are debuting a throwback retro jersey. With more than 7,000 tickets sold for Sunday’s game, limited seats are available here.
Rangers Mega Jackpot 50-50 Raffle:
Sunday is also the first game of the Rangers’ Mega Jackpot 50-50 Raffle, presented by Arnold Hearing Centres. Rangers Reach will have a guaranteed minimum prize jackpot of $20,000 with the winner being announced at the Rangers’ Fan Appreciation Game next Friday, March 24th. Tickets for the Rangers’ Mega Jackpot go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, March 18th at 10:00 a.m. at Rangers5050.com
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]
