Kitchener Rangers 2024-25 Season Thread, Part II

[Rangers True Blue]

Rangers didn't seem all that interested in playing (other than Pridham) last night until around the 3rd. Up to then, they didn't have the same sense of urgency that we have seen in the past. Were Rangers looking ahead to London?

They woke up in the 3rd and started pushing back against a D that reminded me of the old Plymouth Whalers where at least 4 of their players would fold-in towards the net like an accordion. Now there's a wall to contend with.

And yes, what's with their PP? It was just starting to come around and then...nada. How can you not score a goal with a 4-minute PP??

Ando was in a foul mood all night. The Fronts were on him quite a bit. Ando retaliated and paid the price. So it was karma when Ando scored the winning goal.

 

[GeoBlue]

Rangers didn't seem all that interested in playing (other than Pridham) last night until around the 3rd. Up to then, they didn't have the same sense of urgency that we have seen in the past. Were Rangers looking ahead to London?

They woke up in the 3rd and started pushing back against a D that reminded me of the old Plymouth Whalers where at least 4 of their players would fold-in towards the net like an accordion. Now there's a wall to contend with.

And yes, what's with their PP? It was just starting to come around and then...nada. How can you not score a goal with a 4-minute PP??

Ando was in a foul mood all night. The Fronts were on him quite a bit. Ando retaliated and paid the price. So it was karma when Ando scored the winning goal.

Pridham stood out like a sore thumb. He was a one man wrecking crew and could have easily gotten 3 or 4 goals. Missing Chromiak on the PP but I think it's been a few games now where we have sputtered. But as long as we keep winning, I am not that concerned.

 

[bobber]

Rangers didn't seem all that interested in playing (other than Pridham) last night until around the 3rd. Up to then, they didn't have the same sense of urgency that we have seen in the past. Were Rangers looking ahead to London?

They woke up in the 3rd and started pushing back against a D that reminded me of the old Plymouth Whalers where at least 4 of their players would fold-in towards the net like an accordion. Now there's a wall to contend with.

And yes, what's with their PP? It was just starting to come around and then...nada. How can you not score a goal with a 4-minute PP??

Ando was in a foul mood all night. The Fronts were on him quite a bit. Ando retaliated and paid the price. So it was karma when Ando scored the winning goal.

Rangers also never scored previously on two 5 minute advantages on other games.

 

[Krangers08]

0-for-18 over the last 5 games. 2 5 minute pp in that time.
Ranger PP is sitting at 21% while holding the best PK at 85.5%

 

[GeoBlue]

What happened on that play where Romano got clipped in the mouth? He seemed to be okay and he lined up for the face off but the official sent him off. Did he have to get off because he was the "victim" of the penalty? Is this a rule I have missed all these years? Does it apply to a player being tripped? Or interfered with? Or was he still bleeding and the ref ordered him off to get patched up?

 

[Gondrex]

The 2007 age group draft is the strongest draft the rangers have had in a LONG time. These players will be 19 years old come mem cup year. The 2008 has some good players too and we have yet to see our 1st round draft pick Headrick.

Potential line up for mem cup year.

Lam 19 - Romano 19 - Stark 19
Arquette 19 - Ellinas OA - Ellis 19
Antsis 18 - Headrick 18 - Cameron 19
Labrash 19 - Import - Import

Campbell OA - Reid 19
Bilecki 18 - Max OA
MacNeil 19 - Schneider 19

Schaubel - 18
Edwards - 19

So we are 2 years away. All these players have this year and next year to get better. We have 0 imports in this line up plus we will add some good 2009 players in this upcoming draft. Xu is rumoured. I still think Valentini eventually comes. This will be a very veteran team in 2 years with a lot of options to greatly improve the team at zero costs in the next 1.5 years. I’m still all for giving the team in 2 years the best chance and that means moving out some vets this year to have a bunch of picks to get better and improve weaknesses in 2 years.

I know the above is for illustration purposes, but to be serious contender it would need a few tweaks IMO.

They'll need a Connor Punnett-type D-man (or two) on the backend and likely a bit more toughness up front before I personally feel confident they get out of the Western Conference. The lack of toughness on the backend (and overall) last year came to light pretty quickly in the 2nd half when London started playing "their game", and was equally evident in round 2 of the playoffs. Now maybe this team eventually gets a bit of nastiness out of Dirracolo, MacNeil and Schneider....I don't know, but that still remains to be seen.

 

[Jives]

I know the above is for illustration purposes, but to be serious contender it would need a few tweaks IMO.

They'll need a Connor Punnett-type D-man (or two) on the backend and likely a bit more toughness up front before I personally feel confident they get out of the Western Conference. The lack of toughness on the backend (and overall) last year came to light pretty quickly in the 2nd half when London started playing "their game", and was equally evident in round 2 of the playoffs. Now maybe this team eventually gets a bit of nastiness out of Dirracolo, MacNeil and Schneider....I don't know, but that still remains to be seen.

I can agree with that. I was just posting that the foundation is there for a very solid team. And unloading vets this year to fill those voids needed in 2 years is a must this year. There will be holes for sure….toughness and I’m not convinced an 18 year old goalie is the right move to compete unless he is absolutely a stud like George in Owen Sound.

Holes will be there….picks will be needed to fill those holes…we have the players this year to get those picks….we aren’t beating London in a 7 game series….this seems like an easy choice on what to do this year.

 

[Squirrel88]

One thing about this team - they have a high 'hate to lose' factor. The team tends to play better as the game goes on. I thought they played too much on the periphery last night, but took the puck to the net more in the third.

D had a rough night all around. Macneil was atrocious to start but improved. He needs more ice time. Bilecki showing more positive flashes, but can have difficulty in his own end. With Ando in the box for 9+ minutes, they saw a good amount of ice.

Is the BCHL a crazy defensive league or something? Pridham had middling numbers there, but he looks like the Rangers best pure goal scorer. Scored with a nice move in tight and on a hard shot from distance last night. Felt like he could have easily had the hatty on a couple of chances. The 'shoot' guys in my section must love him because he isn't shy at letting it rip. Much better as a scorer than a playmaker, though.

 

[Tim Wallach]

What happened on that play where Romano got clipped in the mouth? He seemed to be okay and he lined up for the face off but the official sent him off. Did he have to get off because he was the "victim" of the penalty? Is this a rule I have missed all these years? Does it apply to a player being tripped? Or interfered with? Or was he still bleeding and the ref ordered him off to get patched up?

He was bleeding. The rule is he has to go off to get it stopped and cleaned.

 

[Krangers08]

Avry Anstis had a 2 point night yesterday vs Komoka . Both primary assists, one on the PP and one SH

 

[OhSheilaa]

Any tips for Parking in London around Canada Life Place?

 

[GeoBlue]

Any tips for Parking in London around Canada Life Place?

Don't leave any Ranger flags or logos on your car.

 

[RangerNation]

Any tips for Parking in London around Canada Life Place?

Big lot on Ridout and Horton.

 

[Gondrex]

Don't leave any Ranger flags or logos on your car.

When lining up at the concessions while wearing Rangers merch, take your queues from Seinfeld's Soup Nazi episode...........don't "pull an Elaine" and you'll be good to go.

 

[dirty12]

One thing about this team - they have a high 'hate to lose' factor. The team tends to play better as the game goes on. I thought they played too much on the periphery last night, but took the puck to the net more in the third.

D had a rough night all around. Macneil was atrocious to start but improved. He needs more ice time. Bilecki showing more positive flashes, but can have difficulty in his own end. With Ando in the box for 9+ minutes, they saw a good amount of ice.

Is the BCHL a crazy defensive league or something? Pridham had middling numbers there, but he looks like the Rangers best pure goal scorer. Scored with a nice move in tight and on a hard shot from distance last night. Felt like he could have easily had the hatty on a couple of chances. The 'shoot' guys in my section must love him because he isn't shy at letting it rip. Much better as a scorer than a playmaker, though.

In the little bit that I have seen, vicious body checks are accepted and expected in the BCHL. In the OHL every hard check is reviewed for 5-15 minutes to find something wrong with the contact.

 

[EvenSteven]

That turnover making it 1-0 cannot happen.

 

[bobber]

Rangers D getting beat wide on the 2nd goal. Rangers D can't handle the speed of their forwards. Kingston got in behind the Rangers D several times also. Good measuring stick in this contest fir Rangers against short handed Knights.

 

[EvenSteven]

That turnover making it 1-0 cannot happen.

Again

 

[All the Answers]

That Andonovski penalty can't happen.

 

[bobber]

Ando's penalty basically ended the Rangers come back chances. Great game to watch for fans. Lots of speed with both teams going back and forth. Critical give aways can't happen against the Knights. Despite some top guys missing Knights still have players that can bury pucks quick.

 

[EvenSteven]

Ando's penalty basically ended the Rangers come back chances. Great game to watch for fans. Lots of speed with both teams going back and forth. Critical give aways can't happen against the Knights. Despite some top guys missing Knights still have players that can bury pucks quick.

The older, deeper Knights are a couple notches ahead of the Rangers to be sure. But you have to recognize that 2 one goal games against them this year is not too shabby.

If not for the “on a silver platter” giveaways on goals 1 and 3, this could have been a different outcome.

 

[EvenSteven]

I can agree with that. I was just posting that the foundation is there for a very solid team. And unloading vets this year to fill those voids needed in 2 years is a must this year. There will be holes for sure….toughness and I’m not convinced an 18 year old goalie is the right move to compete unless he is absolutely a stud like George in Owen Sound.

Holes will be there….picks will be needed to fill those holes…we have the players this year to get those picks….we aren’t beating London in a 7 game series….this seems like an easy choice on what to do this year.

I suppose if we’d have started the season not having traded Rehkopf, still had the record we have today, and sold only Rehkopf at the deadline for the return we got for him last September, we’d likely call MM’s deadline a moderate success.

He’d have kept the team competitive while deepening the draft cupboard.

I’d like to make another move to bring in a few more picks, but I suspect MM stands pat save for moving a couple excess skaters.

Standing pat should be a very good sign going forward. Standing pat could/should/would mean that MM has the knowledge that more flyers are to report this year and next, which will lessen the need for a deep draft cupboard. He gets to have his cake and eat it too.

Just wondering:

F-Christian Humphreys (11th round in 2022) has only played 9 of Michigan’s 18 games. Is he hurt or just been frequently scratched? In any case, with only 1 point in 9 games, and only dressing in half the games, could he be a guy who could make the jump here this year?

He was over a point a game last year in the Program. You’d think he and the Avs (7th round 2024) would be itching for a better opportunity this year. He could always go back to Michigan in a year or two.

 

[bobber]

Watching the game today I was really impressed with the Rangers in this game against the Knights. They played hard and fast especially in the 3rd period. It great to see the Rangers have a lot of speed for a change. Having speed through out the line up can never be over stated. The Knights seem to thrive on speed and grit. Rangers have has some speedy players in the past but this squad seems to be quicker and more aggressive on pucks than we have seen in a while.

 

[Ranger77]

How was the fight between Hlacar and Sawyer? Hlacar with two misconducts as well.

 

[EvenSteven]

How was the fight between Hlacar and Sawyer? Hlacar with two misconducts as well.

Slight edge Hlacar I’d say. That’s without the benefit of replay and not including Boulton’s persisting.

The first misconduct happened later when he thought he was getting into a fight and dropped his gloves, but nobody else did. So they gave him a 10.

The second misconduct came when off a face off (or “puck drop” in Bettman’s world), he and Aboflan dropped the gloves to fight, but Hlacar immediately slipped and fell down as they came together. No punches were thrown, so both players just got 10’s.

This was Hlacar’s first game in a while and he was making the most of it. Has he surpassed the three fight minimum with tonight’s bout?