Class act on the ice
When the Kitchener Rangers face off against the Guelph Storm, the rivalry is hot enough to melt the ice.
Maybe it’s because the cities the Ontario Hockey League teams come from see themselves as competitors more than neighbours. Maybe it’s because both Rangers and Storm are contenders this year and there’s only room for one winner. Or maybe some folks in Guelph never forgot that the Kitchener team became the Rangers after being snatched out their city way back in 1963. Wherever it comes from, the rivalry between the teams on the rink and their fans in the stands is as inescapable as a Zamboni coming at you at full throttle.
Yet fierce rivals can still be good sports. And when a Storm winger offered himself up as a human shield for four blistering pucks from Ranger sharpshooters, the Rangers fans at Kitchener Auditorium didn’t just applaud, they got out of their seats and gave him a standing ovation.
