Game day: Owen Sound in Kitchener

Rangers: 9-10, fourth in Midwest Division

Attack: 9-7-1-2, third in Midwest Division

Season series: Owen Sound leads 2-0 and outscored the Rangers 8-3 during that span.

Game time: 7:30 p.m.

Slim: So which Ranger team are we going to see? The one who lost 10 of 13 games or the one who broke their bumps and hung on to defeat a tough Soo team?

The last game was a magnificent one for the Rangers as everyone literally gave their all. Choosing three stars was a challenge because there were so many applicants.

Like the last case, Kitchener had a lot of free time. A full week in fact and they won’t play again until Sunday against Sarnia, who are just one point ahead of the Blueshirts (currently out of the playoffs) in the standings.

As for Owen Sound, the team have accumulated points in nine of their last 10 games.

Offense leads a tidy 7-1-1-1 streak that includes two wins against the Rangers. That should be all the motivation Kitchener needs. I mean, do you want to lose three games in a row to an enemy from the Midwest?

The Owen Sound course also includes two wins over Guelph and one loss in overtime and shootout to London.

Somewhere Harry Lumley is smiling.

To watch: Owen Sound defenseman Cedricson Okitundu is back after missing a dozen games with a groin injury. Okitundu is an interest cat, who moved to the Waterloo region to attend Victus Academy and play minor midget for the Waterloo Wolves. Coincidentally, you can read all about it here.

Further reading:

Ben Jones makes NHL debut his family will never forget

First they blocked out the noise, then the Rangers brought it in

Road game has a hometown feel for Soo goalie coach Matt Smith

Rangers back coach Mike McKenzie

Kitchener:

Joseph Serpa-Francesco Pinelli-Declan McDonnell

Michael Petizian-Matt Sop-Reid Valade

Mitch Martin-Carson Rehkopf-Antonino Pugliese

Adam Zidlicky-Cameron Mercer-Trent Swick

Arber Xhekaj-Justin Nolet

Jacob LeBlanc-Roman Schmidt

Simon Motew-Ty Hollett

Jackson Parsons begins.

Attack:

Stepan Machacek-Servac Petrovsky-Ethan Burroughs

William Portokalis-Deni Goure-Colby Barlow

Lorenzo Bonaiuto-Cedrick Guindon-Thomas Chafe

Cal Uens-Logan LeSage-Julian Fantino

Andrew Perrott-Mark Woolley

Nolan Seed-Sam Sedley

Igor Chibrikov-Madden Steen

Cedrickson okitundu

Nick Chenard starts up.

Game summary

Brownie Points:

– The Rangers signed a deal with goaltender Marcus Vandenberg on Thursday. He was a ninth-round draft pick in the 2020 OHL Draft and currently plays for the GOJHL Stratford Warriors where he is 10-1 with a 1.79 goals-against average and percentage of stops of, 935. This gives the team a solid brace going forward as Vandy and Jackson Parsons both turn 17. It also gives the Rangers some insurance in case either of their two goalies gets injured this season. The plan, for now, is to keep Vandenberg in Stratford so he can play a ton.

– Good news. Defender Simon Motew is set to return to action after missing the last 10 games with a knee injury. Its addition gives the background a much needed boost of experience.

– Captain Francesco Pinelli is also set to return after stepping down from the past with a sore wrist while rookie Carson Rehkopf returns from the Capital City Challenge (aka this year’s World U-17s). He had two goals and one assist in five games with the Canadian Red Team, which lost 5-4 in overtime to the Black team in the gold medal game. Will it be the tournament that triggers the much-vaunted rookie? We’ll see.

– In case you missed it, Dr. Donovan Sebrango gets his second chance on the Canadian Junior World Team. It was one of the last cuts last year. There are 11 rearguards trying, what I’m guessing is seven places. I like his chances.

– Kitchener’s import pick Filip Mesar was also added to the Slovakian’s preliminary roster for the world junior championships while F Declan McDonnell was invited to audition for the United States squad. McDonnell isn’t leaving until later this month and is ready to go tonight.

– Rangers rookie Andrew LeBlanc is a bit banged up and will be a decision to be made during the game. UPDATE: It came out and listed as day to day.

JB’s top three Rangers:

Next : Sunday in Sarnia at 2:05 p.m.