Match-up preview: Kitchener Rangers vs Kingston Frontenacs
Coming into tonight’s game on a seven-game winning streak, the Kitchener Rangers are the hottest team in the Ontario Hockey League.
With a 15-5-0-0 record, the Rangers are doing damage in the Western Conference. Pushing for top spot, only the Owen Sound Attack and Saginaw Spirit are ahead in the standings. Meanwhile in the Eastern Conference, the Kingston Frontenacs share a similar position. At 13-6-1-0, the Frontenacs are behind only the Mississauga St. Mike’s Majors, Niagara Ice Dogs, and Ottawa 67’s.
This weekend will be one of Kitchener’s toughest tests, as they battle both the Frontenacs and the 67’s – two top-notch teams from the East.
“We’ve got to be ready, just like we were tonight,” defenseman Jamie Doornbosch said after Tuesday’s game. “Kingston is a good team, and we’ve got to be ready to shut them down.”
Doornbosch, who potted a pair of goals for the Rangers, earned second star of the game in the team’s 7-1 win over the Guelph Storm.
“I was just happy to bang in the rebounds,” said Doornbosch. “That’s my job to stand there and look for the trash, and I’m happy to do it.”
Proving why their power play is tops in the league, the Rangers earned four of their seven goals with the man-advantage.
“I think we’ve had the ability to hurt teams this year when they take penalties against us,” head coach Steve Spott said of his lethal power play.
Right-winger Jason Akeson remains first overall in the league in scoring with 10 goals and 31 assists for a total of 41 points. Gabriel Landeskog (31 points) and Ryan Murphy (35) are also amongst the league’s top ten.
In the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s mid-season rankings, Landeskog was listed first overall in the Ontario League. Tobis Rieder was sixth on the list, while Ryan Murphy was eighth.
The Kingston Frontenacs, led by head coach and former NHLer Doug Gilmour, have won their last three straight and will be ready to battle tonight. With the addition of Boston Bruin’s prospect Ryan Spooner, the Frontenacs add depth to an already potent line-up.
Spooner– the 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward, requested a trade from the struggling Peterborough Petes earlier last week. In his time with the Petes, Spooner had 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points. Since being picked up by Kingston the Kanata, Ontario native has already earned a pair of goals and assists in his first two games.
Nathan Moon and Ethan Werek are two other powerful forwards to look for on the Frontenac front lines. Moon has 31 points – 12 goals and 19 assists, and has once been named CHL Player of the Week. Werek has 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points.
Kingston’s blue line is loaded with talent. Led by team captain and San Jose prospect Taylor Doherty, 2010 third-overall NHL draft pick Erik Gudbranson and younger brother Alex; not to mention fourth-year Cameron Odam and Slovak Michal Cajkovsky. Doherty, Gudbranson, and Werek had the chance to share the ice with Rangers Murphy in the SUBWAY® Super Series last week for Team OHL. The OHL defeated Team Russia by a final score of 4-0. Team OHL’s second contest against the Russians was determined in a 2-1 shootout victory, making the OHL undefeated in the tournament’s eight year history.
Also, just yesterday the Team Ontario roster was named for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and Kingston’s Alex Gudbranson and Kitchener’s Matia Marcantuoni were named to the team.
The Kingston Frontenacs and Kitchener Rangers are two very evenly matched, highly-skilled and competitive squads – and we can expect to see an exciting game with a lot of action, in tonight’s East versus West match-up at The Aud.
