Game Preview: Storm, Rangers conclude home-and-home
In the sixth of eight meetings on the season, the Guelph Storm host the Kitchener Rangers on Sunday to cap off a home-and-home series between the Highway Seven rivals.
Steph Coratti, GuelphStorm.com —
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The Guelph Storm and the Kitchener Rangers will meet for the second time in three days on Sunday, concluding a home-and-home series that saw the blue shirts take a 3-2 win in Kitchener on Friday.
On the season, the Storm are last in the OHL with 11 points and a 4-28-3-0 record. Most recently, however, Guelph has strung together its best stretch of hockey, earning at least a point in each of their last four games played (including two wins) prior to the loss in Kitchener on Friday. Even then, the Storm held a 2-1 lead over one of the league’s contending club’s after 40 minutes of play, only falling 3-2 after a Ranger comeback in the final frame.
At the other end of the ice, the Rangers are in the midst of a Midwest Division battle that also extends into a pushing match for the OHL lead, sitting one point back of the second-place London Knights with 56 points and a 26-5-4-0 record. In the last 10 games played, Kitchener is 7-2-1-0.
Puck drop is slated for 2:00pm on Sunday afternoon at the Sleeman Centre.
Last Match-Up: Guelph 2 @ Kitchener 3 (Jan. 1)
It’s safe to say the Storm and the Rangers are fairly familiar with each other at this point in the season, already having met five times through the 2015-16 campaign. Adding to the always-exciting Highway Seven rivalry, the two Midwest Division clubs met two days ago, kicking off the New Year in Kitchener to begin a home-and-home series.
In the contest, Adam Mascherin was the top performer, registering a goal and two assists to help push the Rangers to a 3-2 win. Guelph’s Matthew Hotchkiss pocketed both goals for the visiting Storm, while netminder Justin Nichols was stellar between the pipes, turning aside 31 shots on the night.
Dawson Carty was in the paint for the Rangers, stopping 28 of 30 shots in the win.
To read the complete game recap, CLICK HERE.
To view the game sheet, CLICK HERE.
Last Match-Up’s Top Performers
- GUE: Matthew Hotchkiss
After struggling to start the 2015-16 campaign, Storm sophomore Matthew Hotchkiss has been playing with the hot-hand, recording at least a point in five of his last seven games played, compiling five goals for seven points in the stretch. With Guelph’s two goals against Kitchener this past Friday, the Whitby, Ontario native now finds himself a mere three points back of matching his rookie point total of 13 (six goals, seven assists) tallied through 63 games in the 2014-15 season. The six-foot-one, 195-pound forward is also one goal removed from matching his rookie goal total of six, currently sitting with five through 34 games this season.
- KIT: Adam Mascherin
With a three-point (one goal, two assists) performance against the Storm on Friday, Adam Mascherin propelled his team to a 3-2 victory while overtaking Ryan MacInnis to lead the roster in points. Through 32 games this campaign, the Maple, Ontario native has registered 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists), and takes a 10-game point streak into Sunday’s match-up. Spanning back to Nov. 29, the five-foot-nine, 199-pound forward has posted eight goals for 19 points in the stretch. Against Guelph this season, Mascherin has compiled two goals and four assists in four games.
GAME NOTES
- Sunday’s match-up is the sixth of eight meetings between the Storm and the Rangers this season.
- The clubs most recently met this past Friday in the first of a home-and-home series in Kitchener. The Rangers took the contest 3-2.
- Overall, Kitchener holds a 5-0 season series.
- Kitchener’s Connor Bunnaman is a native of Guelph, Ontario.
- Storm sophomore Matthew Hotchkiss is one goal removed from matching his rookie goal total of six after registering two goals against the Rangers on Friday.
- The Storm will be back in action following Sunday’s contest on Friday, hosting the Barrie Colts.
