What Happened?

Well the season seemed a little too good to be true, and all of a sudden we're seeing the team everyone expected the Rangers to be; sloppy, unable to score timely goals (or goals at all really), and generally inexperienced. For lack of a better term, lets call it the curse of 2012.

Seems that when that clock flipped over to January 1st, the team simply put seemed confident. They only lost twice in the month of december, and both times by one goal margins (both times were also the first 2 friday's of the month, ironically). Heading to Guelph on new years day saw a team that struggled for puck control, took stupid penalties, and let the Storm come within one goal of winning the game. Had it not been for Tobias Rieder's quick goal in the final minute, I'm almost certain the Storm would have pulled out the win. They certainly deserved the extra point for on OT loss, had it gone that far. But The Rangers got lucky.

Last Friday, they fall behind 2-0 to the Generals early in the first, and never come back, eventually losing 6-3. Saturday night in Erie, they fall behind 4-2 but thanks to some strong play from Franky Palazzese they come back to win it 6-4. Thursday in Peterborough, they get badly outplayed 95% of the game, but thanks to one miscue from former Ranger Mike Morrison they eke out the win. Come back to tonight against Plymouth, and it's all gone again, falling behind 3-0 in the first period, eventually losing 6-1.

First word that came to my mind tonight: Pathetic. Second? Commitment. When the team is not ready to commit, they play pathetically. It's just that simple.

What's pathetic about the Rangers play? Their power play. Simply put, it was brutal tonight against Plymouth. Kitchener went 0/6 on the man advantage. They set 18th overall in the league with a lousy 14.8%. The one consolation is that they have allowed the fewest shorthanded goals against, at only 2. The penalty kill also needs a lot of beefing up, as the Rangers sit 19th. Again, there is a consolation, as the Rangers have the third most short handed goals for, at 11.

So where do they need to go from here? First, they need to get healthy and stay healthy. It currently looks like Matia Marcantuoni will either have surgery on his shoulder and be gone for the whole season, or do rehab and be back in about a month. That decision will be made on Monday. Regardless of whether it's for the season or a month, it's a huge loss for a guy who was projected to be selected by Carolina in the first round (Maybe Faksa now instead?). What a tough season for #91, certainly he can't be blamed for being injured, it's simply bad luck.

John Gibson needs to get back in between the pipes. Franky Palazzese could use a break. He's made the last 9 starts for Kitchener, going 7-2 in that time. That's pretty good, except those 2 losses he allowed at least 5 goals. My conclusion is, and it's not a knock at Franky's skill at all because he's very talented, he's simply tired and needs a game or two off. Gibson was away at the world juniors and now has a concussion, but hopefully he'll be back next weekend. The Rangers could really use his services.

Secondly, this power play needs a serious overhaul. For the past 2 seasons the Rangers have been trying the same system over and over again. It's not working. The special teams are easily the biggest hole in the Rangers game right now. Had they converted on a couple of those opportunities tonight, maybe it would have been a different game. Something to work on next time.

And finally, Ryan Murphy needs to get back in to it. He absolutely has the potential to be the best player in the western conference, hands down. He proved it over the last 2 seasons, he proved it with Carolina at their camp this summer, he needs to prove it now for this team to get going. If he can find his stride, maybe the rest of the team will start to build off it and the team as a whole will get better.

Here's hoping for a strong effort on Sunday.

Rangers vs. Oshawa, Looming deadlines

As we move closer to January 10th, it almost seems like everything that happened prior to the deadline doesn't matter. With teams like Sarnia and London getting significantly better (at least on paper) and Saginaw and Erie getting significantly worse (again, at least on paper), where will things go from here?

Saginaw and Erie weren't really making a lot of noise this season. The teams sit 9th and 10th respectively in the Western conference, so it really wasn't a surprise to see them sell the farm and land numerous key draft picks and young players. The otters have only won 5 games this season, and the Spirit aren't much better at only 16. Both teams will certainly be looking to make some noise over the next couple seasons.

The most surprising move for me, is the Sarnia Sting. Here's a team that has gone 3-7 in there last 10 without Nail Yakupov in the lineup. To me, that screams that the team lacks depth. During the gold medal game on Thursday, Yakupov left with a knee injury on crutches, and is likely to miss a significant amount of time. So they bet the future of the franchise, by sending picks as far away as 2017, to try and make a championship run when they sit in 4th at the half way point. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but i've been wrong before.

So what do the Rangers have to do? Well in order to go anywhere this season they need more than Radek Faksa to score goals. Last night against the Generals, they were badly outplayed and outshot the entire game. Could it be that the team chose to take an off night? Could be, or maybe it's just good luck ending at the same time as December did.

One thing is for sure; this team needs to get its special teams going. The power play is a joke most of the time, and the penalty kill also needs a significant amount of work. The Rangers went 1/4 tonight, while Oshawa when 2/5. Kitchener had plenty of opportunity on the power play when they were down by only a goal, and they failed to capitalize. Down by 2 heading in to the third, they failed to generate any good scoring chances and allowed a goal against. Suddenly this high flying Ranger squad looked a lot like the team everyone expected them to be pre-season, ie lackluster efforts, and essentially getting run over by the competition.

Of course this was only one game, so it's not time to panic. But this needs to be the stinker of a game that is also a wake up call to the boys in blue: you can't take a single night off in this league.

Where to Go From Here?

We're just about at that time of year again. Snow crunches under your feet, annoying Christmas music is played in every grocery store, and Bob McKenzie is causing controversy on twitter. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's junior hockey's second most glorious annual tradition, the World Junior Championship (some would argue the first most glorious, but I'm a big Memorial Cup fan)

So where does this leave the Rangers? Already short due to injury woes, the team now loses leading scorers Radek Faksa and Tobias Rieder, as well as defensemen Ryan Murphy and goalie John Gibson. Brent Pedersen will also play for Team Ontario at the World U17's in Windsor.

This becomes a true test of the team's depth. This is the perfect opportunity for Matia Marcantuoni (him more than anyone really) to step up and show that he really is worth all the pre-season hype after his rookie season last year. Brandon Francisco, Eric Ming, Zach Lorentz, and pretty much everyone else who plays forward for the Rangers has a huge opportunity ahead of them. Time to prove that they're worth it.

Of course it's also a great chance for Franky Palazzese. When I spoke with him at the beginning of the season, he told me he'd love to be the number 1 goalie in Kitchener. Then of course, John Gibson came around. No knock at Franky at all as he is a stellar net minder, but Gibson is just a little bit better. I'm sure Franky would love to prove me and everyone else wrong and show that he can be a starting net minder in this league. He's already proven that he's a strong goaltender. In 11 games played he has a save percentage of .932, and is 7-3-1. Not bad for a guy who was essentially hung and dried by fans in Kingston just a few months ago. So far Franky has proven to be very strong between the pipes in Kitchener, and I don't think anyone else would doubt that.

The final missing piece will be Ryan Murphy on defence and quite frankly, there isn't much to worry about there. Murph has been having his share of struggles this season. He was expected to lead the OHL in defensive points, yet only has 9 points as we get very close to the halfway point. Of course he has only played 14 games due to Carolina's camp and injury, and will now miss more due to WJHC, but there's been a few other defensive mistakes that, for a first round NHL draft pick, shouldn't be happening.

This is no big secret of course. On Tuesday night at the Aud it was obvious that Ryan was getting fed up with himself (and maybe the officials too.. i think everyone saw that slash except the zebras). He certainly puts more pressure on himself than anyone else puts on him. I fully expect Murph to make the world junior team, and return to Kitchener in January ready to take the league by storm.

The Rangers also made a trade with the Generals this week, sending a 4th round pick in the 2012 OHL Draft, a 4th round pick in 2015 and a conditional 3rd round 2017 pick, in return for Mitch Eden, a 17 year old blue liner currently playing Junior A in Hunstville. Could this be a sign of more trades to come?

I believe Spott has to decide over the WJHC whether or not this team is going to make a serious run in the spring. If the team performs well without it's top guys, why not? If they don't well then just stay the course and wait until next year. If the team were to make a run this year though, they can't trade away rookies or unsigned draft picks that will be next years core. My opinion is that the best option would be for a couple more guys who can score. Not necessarily a big name forward, but someone who can put the puck in the net more often than not to give this team a little more secondary scoring. With that in mind I do not think, that at this point, it's entirely impossible for the Rangers to make a long post season run in March. But again that all depends on the how things go over then next few weeks.

Congratulations to all Ranger fans for raising 7662 bears on teddy bear night this past Tuesday! I'm already looking forward to next year where an extra 1000 seats will mean an extra 1500 bears!

Rangers Continue to Roll

For a team that was predicted to be middle-of-the-pack pre-season, the Kitchener Rangers have done just that so far, albeit constantly down a man. We're quickly approaching the midway mark of the schedule. The Rangers sit third in the west, 2 points behind Plymouth with 2 games in hand, and 6 points behind London. But the injury bug continues to bite the team, which has yet to have a full lineup at any point this season.

John Gibson and Ryan Murphy finally returned to the lineup Thursday night in Brampton, and the team rallied after allowing a goal with 30 seconds to play. The ended up winning the game 2-1 in the shoot out.

Friday night with Mississauga in town was a different story. With top scorer Tobias Rieder out of the lineup with a banged up shoulder, the Rangers lost 3-2 after going down 3-1 by the end of the first period. How much does #9 mean to this hockey club right now? I guess we'll find out when he leaves for the World Juniors in a weeks time.

With Rieder gone, the Rangers add him to a list that includes Matia Marcantuoni, Andrew Cresenzci, Evan McEnemy, and Josh Gilbert. All players are currently watching from the press box.

Radek Faksa, the Rangers second highest point scorer, was named OHL Rookie of the Month for November. Faksa put up 16 points (8g,8a)in 10 games to earn the Czech import the honour. Hopefully he can continue to put on a show down the stretch, especially when the big guns are gone over the next month.

One common theme of discussions lately is how good this team will be next season. The Rangers are only guaranteed to lose Sol, Melchiori and Cattenaci (or is it Captainacci?). Of course there's a high likelihood of losing Murphy, Rieder and maybe even Gibson to the NHL come next October. Of course the loss of Jeff Skinner and Jeremy Morin to start last season is still fresh in everyone's mind (I call it 53 syndrome), so the last thing anyone wants is a repeat. So what does this mean really? I'd like to think that the Rangers 50th season will be a big one. So don't get too distraught if things turn sour down the stretch, just remember the Rangers are probably better than Guelph and Windsor and the future is very bright.

Don't forget your teddy bears Tuesday night against London!!

Import Success and Injury Woes

At what point did things go from bad to worse in Erie? Last place in the league, 11 points behind their next closest basement dweller, what's happened there this seasons? Of course this blog isn't about the Otters so moving on...

The Kitchener Rangers pounded the Erie Otters 7-3 last night. Of course that isn't exactly exceeding expectations for this Ranger team, who now has 33 points on the season. Talk about exceeding expectations, and you have to think of Radek Faksa and Tobias Rieder. The Kitchener Rangers two import picks are leading the team lately. Rieder has 19 goals, and Faksa has 13. It's not unusual for a player to come here from Europe and take a year to adjust to Canada. They usually don't find their stride until their second season. But Faksa has jumped on the ice and fit in perfectly. With his 2 goals last night, he now has 26 points in 23 games, and this should continue as, for some odd reason, he is not expected to join the Czech team at the World Juniors.

Tobias Rieder has been firing on all cylinders so far this season. 19 goals in 24 games, giving him 32 points so far this season. Just to compare that, former Ranger turned NHL first round pick, All star and Calder trophy winner Jeff Skinner took 25 games to reach 19 during his 50 goal season, which was his last in Kitchener. Not to put too much pressure on Rieder (Who just got on twitter @TobiRieder9), but I'm pretty sure everyone on East Ave and a few folks in Edmonton would love to see this trend continue.

And he may have to keep that trend up with the Rangers defensive corps all banged up. Goalie John Gibson is out with a sore back, and when it gets better he'll likely be off to the USA World Junior camp. Carolina draft pick Ryan Murphy is still out with his concussion but is likely to return Thursday vs. Brampton. Rookie blue liner Jared Gilbert has a broken wrist, and add that to Evan McEnemy, who is sitting the whole season after hurting his leg back in October. If a goalie and three defenders down wasn't enough, Andrew Cresenczi also has a sore hand, and sophomore forward Matia Marcantuoni has a shoulder that is so swollen, doctors have yet to even look at it.

Yet with all these injuries the Rangers have yet to skip a beat. They've won 7 of there last 8, are sitting in 4th place overall in the OHL (one point ahead of the 67's with a game in hand), and even received an Honourable Mention in the CHL Top 10 this past week. Once a few of these guys get back from injuries and the World Juniors are over, expect this team to really take off.

One final thought, when was the last time so many Rangers were expected to play at the World Juniors for different teams? The most I remember in the past was in 2002/2003 when Derek Roy, Gregory Campbell and Steve Eminger all played for Team Canada, but this year we have John Gibson (USA), Ryan Murphy (Canada) and Tobias Rieder (Germany), and I believe the Czech's could really use Radek Faksa, although that probably won't happen. It's great to see the Rangers international scouting staff working so well! Just as long as they don't burn the Canadians come that gold medal game.

Don't Look Now

Two weeks ago I wrote about Ryan Murphy getting hit by Tom Kuhnackl, and how this would be a huge blow to the Kitchener Rangers... What was I thinking? The team has now won 5 straight, and are 8-1-1 in there last 10. Anyone seen the Midwest division standings lately? The boys in blue are only 4 points back of the mighty London Knights, a team they beat in a shoot out not too long ago.

So what's going on here? Has it been a lull in the schedule, playing only weak teams? Sarnia, Guelph, Erie, Oshawa and Sudbury (in no particular order) all fell victim to the Rangers over the last 5 games. Those teams, With the exception of Sarnia, are at the lower ends of their respective divisions, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad teams. Regardless, the Rangers should have had 8 out of 10 points easy, and they got all 10. That's impressive. So whats with this sudden surge?

Look no further than John Gibson, Radek Faksa, Tobias Rieder and Zach Lorentz. Why Lorentz? As the kids say, he's got mad shoot out skillz bro. He came in to camp determined to be a better player and he has improved over last season, and he's continuing to get better.

Gibson has been incredible between the pipes, and Rieder and Faksa seem to score on almost every shot lately.

So far in the Month of November, Gibby has a 2.17 GAA and 0.941 Save percentage. When was the last time a Rangers net minder had those stats? Steve Mason? The guy is stopping and blocking almost everything out there and impressing everyone around the rink. He proved it even more on Thursday against Sarnia, when he outplayed former Rangers tender Brandon Maxwell. Maxx got pulled in that game after allowing 3 goals, while Gibon only allowed 2 goals on 40 shots.

Faksa has 9 points in seven games so far this month, good enough to get him placed on the top 5 of the OHL's Preliminary draft list for the upcoming NHL draft this summer. It seems he's found his stride in this country and is on his way to a great season.

The other import playing on East Ave, Tobias Rieder, has 10 points in the last 7 games including A three point night last night against Erie. In his sophomore season in Kitchener, Rieder has really stepped his game up and impressed all the fans in Kitchener. I'm sure there's a few scouts in Edmonton who are quite happy too.

The return of Captainacci (Rangers captain Michael Cattenaci) has been great as well. In his two games back the captain has 5 points including 4 last night against Erie. Hopefully this team can start getting healthy soon and we'll get Creszenci and Murphy back soon (and maybe McEnemy for the playoffs).

One more topic of note, City Council approved the expansion the the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, so at this time next year there will be an additional 1000 seats plus all new media boxes (more leg room for people 6ft tall maybe?) and private boxes. It only took 2 months to get this approved. Maybe Niagara's city council should pick up the slack too?