Match-up preview: Rangers vs Generals
The Kitchener Rangers kick off a two- game homestand at the Kitchener Auditorium this weekend with their first and only home game against the Oshawa Generals. Former Kitchener Rancors players from the past 48 years will be in attendance this evening in celebration of the Annual Rangers Alumni Night.
Since their founding in 1963, the Rangers have made six Memorial Cup appearances and have won two championships. They have produced a total of 29 first-round draft picks, and have seen the likes of many NHL greats take to the ice. Seven of those most prestigious names have since been honoured, and if you look up amongst the rafters you will see the banners bearing their names.
Tonight the Rangers are hoping to improve on their 1-2-0 record from last weekend and furthermore, their 3-4-0 overall record for the month of January. "Right now we just have to stay healthy,” said defenceman Ryan Murphy. "Some of the guys are battling through injuries, but when they come back I'm sure we'll continue to win."
Gabriel Landeskog, Matia Marcantvoni, and Michael Catenacci have all been absent over the course of last week wit injuries or health concerns. Add to that a missing Cody Sol, who was serving a suspension, and that's a set of significant losses for the squad.
Recently coming back from injury is centreman Andrew Crescenzi, who has made a triumphant return scoring a goal in each of his three appearances. His presence among the forwards adds some punch back into a fractured Rangers' offence.
Murphy, along with Tobias Rieder, took part in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and Skills Competition this past week at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Landeskog was also selected to compete, but was unable to play. The two Rangers represented Team Cherry - led by head coach and former Jack Adams' winner Don Cherry - and competed against Team Orr led by NHL Hall of Famer and current Kingston Frontenac head coach, Doug Gilmour.
"One of the main messages [Cherry] got across to the team was to just go out there and have fun," said Murphy, who leads delete return shift command option all OHL defencemen in scoring with an impressive 52 points in 40 games.
Cherry has been Murphy's number one fan since proclaiming he would be selected first overall on Hockey Night in Canada at the beginning of the season.
“It was pretty cool to meet him for the first time," said Murphy. "And even though we lost (7-1], I still had a lot of fun."
Murphy and Rieder participated in the fastest skater competition, and were two of the best among their peers. Sault Ste Marie's Daniel Catenacci won the contest with a time of 14.017. In comparison Rieder clocked in 14.068, while Murphy was 14.197 - both just fractions of a second off. "I knew all along he was a faster skater than me," said Murphy, who played alongside Daniel growing up. Daniel's father coached the pair, and Murphy recalls competing in this drill many times at practice. "Maybe a couple times I won," he said with a laugh. "But [Catenacci] is a really good skater - got the best of me usually.”
The Generals were also represented in the Top Prospects Game by Boone Jenner (ranked 18th overall in the Midseason Central Scouting Rankings), Nicklas Jensen (ranked 20th) and Lucas Lessio (ranked 44th). Oshawa is led by their captain - and Team Canada silver medalist - Calvin de Haan. The defenceman has 25 points in 30 games this season with a plus-9 rating. On the offence, right-winger Christian Thomas leads the team with 30 goals, 25 assists and a plus-12 rating in 40 games.
Although they are among the top of the Midwest Division, the Rangers know there is still a lot of work to be done to be a strong playoff contender. Head coach and general manager Steve Spott opted against making any moves at the trade deadline, but Murphy thinks this is good for his team.
"I think it's a positive thing seeing that Coach Spot is happy with the team that we have right now," he said. "He believes that we have a winning team and that gives us confidence."
"We have skill, we have grit, and we have good chemistry.
