Showing posts with label Kitchener Rangers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kitchener Rangers. Show all posts
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Friday, October 21, 2011
RANGERS TOP SPITS IN SHOOTOUT
Radek Faksa scored in the sixth round of a shootout as the Kitchener Rangers escaped the WFCU Centre with a 4-3 win over the Windsor Spitfires on Thursday night.
Goals by Brady Vail, Zack MacQueen staked the Spits to a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Nick Czinder's fifth of the season put Windsor Windsor
Jack Campbell made 34 saves in regulation and 3 more in OT, but took the loss for just the second time in eight starts.
Brady Vail's goal set a modern-day Spitfires record for the fastest goal to open a game. The previous record was held by Conor O'Donnell, who scored 8 seconds into a 5-4 SO win over the Ottawa November 6, 2008 .
The Spits are right back at it on Friday night, as they visit the Guelph Storm. Stay with windsorspitfires.com for all the action live from Guelph
SCORING
FIRST PERIOD
SECOND PERIOD
THIRD PERIOD
OVERTIME
No Scoring
SHOOTOUT WINNER
Radek Faksa
SHOTS
POWER PLAYS
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Spits Shattered In Third By Rangers
(Windsor Kitchener
KIT Pedersen (1) (Meighan, McEneny) KIT Thomson (1) (McEneny, Catenacci) PPG WIN MacQueen (3) (Rychel, Kuhnhackl) PPG
WIN Clarke (2) (Maletta, Ebert) WIN Rychel (1) PPG
KIT Meighan (1) (Hasson, Gilbert) KIT Reider (1) (Catenacci, Thomson)
WINDSOR KITCHENER
PPS WINDSOR KITCHENER
The game featured the return of Tom Kuhnhackl, who was injured in the third period after an awkward looking collision with Kitchener
Kuhnhackl had to be helped from the ice and did not return.
Michael Clarke, Zack MacQueen and Kerby Rychel scored for the Spitfires (0-2-0-0). Rychel's powerplay goal put Windsor
The Spits looked to be in control early in the third period, until a pane of glass shattered next to the Spits bench, causing a near 30-minute delay.
When play resumed, Curtis Meighan tied the game near the midway mark with his first of the year.
Rieder's winner came on a two-on-two rush chance immediately after a scoring chance by Windsor
John Cullen took the loss in goal for Windsor
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
SECOND PERIOD
THIRD PERIOD
SHOTS
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Rangers’ Jason Akeson named OHL Overage Player of the Year
In Play on Facebook
Wednesday April 13, 2011
Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that forward Jason Akeson of the Kitchener Rangers is the 2010-11 recipient of the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s Overage Player of the Year.
Akeson tied for the OHL-lead in scoring with 108 points in 67 games. He scored 24 goals and recorded a league-high 84 assists to establish a new Rangers’ record surpassing Dwight Foster who produced 83 assists in the 1976-77 season. He capped off his four-year OHL career as a co-recipient of the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy awarded to the league’s Top Scorer, also receiving the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy awarded to the Top Scoring Right Winger shared with Tyler Toffoli of the Ottawa 67’s. Akeson is the franchise’s third Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy winner in the 28 years it has been presented following forward Joey St. Aubin in 1990-91, and defenceman Andre Benoit in the 2004-05 season.
“I am very thankful for the opportunities I have had with the Rangers,” said Akeson. “I have had a memorable career in Kitchener and am grateful to the Rangers’ coaching staff for helping me excel and play my game at both ends of the ice in front of such a supportive fan base. I am honoured to be named the league’s overage player of the year.”
A 20-year-old from Orleans, ON, Akeson was selected by the Kitchener Rangers in the sixth round of the 2007 OHL Priority Selection from the Cumberland Grads of the CCHL just one month before turning 17. He made his Rangers debut in the second half of the 2007-08 season and played 16 playoff games for the OHL Champions. He was named to the Second All-Rookie Team the following season with 64 points in 56 games, improving to 80 points in 65 games last season. He was recognized by Western Conference Coaches as the Most Improved Player this season in the annual Coaches Poll recording 30 multi-point games including two six-point games to finish his OHL career with 254 points in 201 games. In March, Akeson signed a three-year entry-level contract as a Free Agent with the Philadelphia Flyers.
“Jason should be an inspiration for all young players,” said Rangers General Manager and Head Coach Steve Spott. “Jason was a mid round draft pick into the Ontario Hockey League and never drafted to an NHL team. When Jason joined the Kitchener Rangers in 2008 he was on our fourth line and played as an energy player. His hard work both on and off the ice, combined with his personal confidence has allowed him to become an impact player as an over age in the OHL. We are proud that Jason has signed with the Philadelphia Flyers and will pave the way for future overage players in our league.”
The Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the top overage player of the year as selected by OHL General Managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for players from their own hockey club. Players received five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.
Akeson finished the voting process with 78 points ahead of Phil Varone of the Erie Otters who finished second with 38 points. Defenceman Marc Cantin of the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors finished in third with 30 points.
Former winners of the trophy include Bill Bowler (Windsor, 1994-95), and Dan Tessier (Ottawa 99-00), along with current NHL stars Chad LaRose (Plymouth 2002-03), and Ryan Callahan (Guelph, 2005-06). Bryan Cameron of the Barrie Colts scored 53 goals and 25 assists for 78 points in 62 games to capture the award last season.
The Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy was donated by the trainers of the Ontario Hockey League, in memory of the late Leo Lalonde, former Chief Scout of OHL Central Scouting. Leo Lalonde was also formerly the Chief Scout for the Belleville Bulls as well as a scout for the Peterborough Petes.
Akeson will be formally presented with the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy at the 2010-11 OHL Awards Ceremony scheduled for June 8 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
OHL LOG JAM IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE
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Spitfires ready for final five.
Many fans are flocking to their TV sets to watch the development of a big story headlined by the Windsor Spitfires. It’s going to go right down to the wire in the OHL Western Conference where four teams are pushing for the fourth spot in the standings, now occupied by the Spitfires. This is all about home ice advantage in the playoffs. Windsor has 76 points at the moment but is being pursued by four challengers including Plymouth @ 75, Otters @ 74, Knights @ 69 and the Storm @ 69 as well.
The schedule for Windsor doesn’t get any easier concerning their opponents in the last five games of the season. They will meet Owen Sound this Thursday but also have a date with Saginaw coming up soon. These are the teams who were at the top of the conference standings all season long.
Plymouth is one point away from fourth, right on the Spitfires’ tail while the Erie Otters are finally emerging from a so-so season on the ice. Don’t forget the Guelph Storm who have great forwards that know how to score. Taylor Beck, Peter Holland, Michael Latta and from the London Knights system, Daniel Erlich are the backbone of this team and can’t be counted out. Beck, Holland and Latta are all ranked in the top 12 in OHL scoring.
For a while there, after a lot of losing, the Knights started playing competitively as of late with solid goaltending from Michael Houser with Igor Bobkov in the back seat. London is a young team in a “rebuilding” mode at this time. Sending Erlich, D’Orazio, DeSousa and Varone into the trade basket will give London a few good draft picks down the road but guys like Jared Knight who are leaders on the team will probably not be able to push the youngsters too far into the playoffs. Dale Hunter would attest to the fact that his team has only 69 points at this time, a far cry from last year’s total of 101. All the way back to the Memorial Cup win in 2004-2005, London has assembled good hockey teams but this year they are obviously taking a break.
Erie is in sixth place behind the Spitfires in fourth. A couple of months ago, the Otters became a winning machine but the rest of their season was mediocre at best. Some of the big guns at Erie are flexing their muscles right now including Greg McKegg, Brett Thompson and the newcomer, Phil Varone from the London Knights who knows how to win tight games. Varone was instrumental in the Windsor/London playoff showdown of 2009. He scored important goals for the Knights during that series but Windsor came out on top. Ramis Sadikov in net is steady and one of the top goalies in the league right now.
Erie was a sleeper but everyone is starting to notice that they are a real threat to the Memorial Cup champs. Erie’s next five games are going to be tough but they are good enough to challenge some of the heavyweights including Kitchener, Saginaw and Plymouth.
The Plymouth Whalers have been fighting with Windsor for that fourth spot in the conference for a while now. The Whalers have knocked the Spitfires down to fifth on a couple of occasions this season. Coach Vellucci and the team have steadily improved their status in the division since the holidays. Plymouth is becoming a contender in the Western Conference. In the last five games, Plymouth will face the most gruelling schedule of the bunch with dates in Erie, Owen Sound and Kitchener.
It’s unlikely that the Spitfires will catch up to the Kitchener Rangers this year but they will have their fair share of adversity to get through with the four challengers who are situated very close behind. Bring on the playoffs!
Spitfires ready for final five.
Many fans are flocking to their TV sets to watch the development of a big story headlined by the Windsor Spitfires. It’s going to go right down to the wire in the OHL Western Conference where four teams are pushing for the fourth spot in the standings, now occupied by the Spitfires. This is all about home ice advantage in the playoffs. Windsor has 76 points at the moment but is being pursued by four challengers including Plymouth @ 75, Otters @ 74, Knights @ 69 and the Storm @ 69 as well.
The schedule for Windsor doesn’t get any easier concerning their opponents in the last five games of the season. They will meet Owen Sound this Thursday but also have a date with Saginaw coming up soon. These are the teams who were at the top of the conference standings all season long.
Plymouth is one point away from fourth, right on the Spitfires’ tail while the Erie Otters are finally emerging from a so-so season on the ice. Don’t forget the Guelph Storm who have great forwards that know how to score. Taylor Beck, Peter Holland, Michael Latta and from the London Knights system, Daniel Erlich are the backbone of this team and can’t be counted out. Beck, Holland and Latta are all ranked in the top 12 in OHL scoring.
For a while there, after a lot of losing, the Knights started playing competitively as of late with solid goaltending from Michael Houser with Igor Bobkov in the back seat. London is a young team in a “rebuilding” mode at this time. Sending Erlich, D’Orazio, DeSousa and Varone into the trade basket will give London a few good draft picks down the road but guys like Jared Knight who are leaders on the team will probably not be able to push the youngsters too far into the playoffs. Dale Hunter would attest to the fact that his team has only 69 points at this time, a far cry from last year’s total of 101. All the way back to the Memorial Cup win in 2004-2005, London has assembled good hockey teams but this year they are obviously taking a break.
Erie is in sixth place behind the Spitfires in fourth. A couple of months ago, the Otters became a winning machine but the rest of their season was mediocre at best. Some of the big guns at Erie are flexing their muscles right now including Greg McKegg, Brett Thompson and the newcomer, Phil Varone from the London Knights who knows how to win tight games. Varone was instrumental in the Windsor/London playoff showdown of 2009. He scored important goals for the Knights during that series but Windsor came out on top. Ramis Sadikov in net is steady and one of the top goalies in the league right now.
Erie was a sleeper but everyone is starting to notice that they are a real threat to the Memorial Cup champs. Erie’s next five games are going to be tough but they are good enough to challenge some of the heavyweights including Kitchener, Saginaw and Plymouth.
The Plymouth Whalers have been fighting with Windsor for that fourth spot in the conference for a while now. The Whalers have knocked the Spitfires down to fifth on a couple of occasions this season. Coach Vellucci and the team have steadily improved their status in the division since the holidays. Plymouth is becoming a contender in the Western Conference. In the last five games, Plymouth will face the most gruelling schedule of the bunch with dates in Erie, Owen Sound and Kitchener.
It’s unlikely that the Spitfires will catch up to the Kitchener Rangers this year but they will have their fair share of adversity to get through with the four challengers who are situated very close behind. Bring on the playoffs!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Spitfires in Ranger Danger
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windsorspitfires.com staff reports
It was a fate they didn't want to suffer again.
Tobias Rieder scored with 1:26 to play, as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Windsor Spitfires, 5-3, on Wednesday night.
It was the second time in two weeks the Spits allowed their 401 rivals to escape their building with two big points.
Jerry D'Amigo had two goals and an assist. Ben Thomson and Jason Akeson had the other goals for Kitchener (33-15-3-3).
The win moved the Rangers seven points up on Windsor (30-19-2-3) in the Western Conference standings; a deficit the Spits will have a hard time making up, with just 14 games to play.
Tom Kuhnhackl scored twice for the home side and Ryan Ellis had three assists in a losing cause.
Tied at 2-2 after a spirited, hard-hitting 40 minutes, Thomson picked defenceman Grant Webermin's pocket and slid one past John Cullen to give Kitchener at 3-2 lead at 2:48 of the third period.
With five minutes to play, Ellis made an outstanding play to set up the tying goal, darting past a pair of defenders before spotting Kuhnhackl in front for his second of the night.
But the Spits couldn't hang on in the late going.
After a solid minute in the Windsor zone, Rieder wrapped one past Cullen to give the visitors a lead they wouldn't give back.
The Spits tried to get Cullen to the bench for the extra attacker, but coughed up the puck at centre ice allowing D'Amigo to score his second of the night as the netminder scrambled to get back.
Zack Kassian scored for a third straight game, his 200th in the OHL.
Tom Kuhnhackl was given a match penalty for slew footing in the closing seconds; an offense that carries a minimum two-game suspension.
SCORING
FIRST PERIOD
No Scoring
SECOND PERIOD
Akeson, (21) (D'Amigo), 2:39
WSR Kassian, (24) (Ryan, Ellis), 10:17 (PP)
WSR Kuhnhackl, (30) (Ebert, Ellis), 18:36 (PP
KIT D'Amigo, (4) (Murphy), 19:22
THIRD PERIOD
KIT Thomson, (6) , 2:48
WSR Kuhnhackl, (31) (Ellis, Kassian), 15:06
KIT Rieder, (21) (Sol, Crescenzi), 18:34
KIT D'Amigo, (5) (Catenacci), 18:56
SHOTS ON GOAL
WINDSOR: 10 - 18 - 5 = 33
KITCHENER: 8 - 12 - 11 = 31
POWER PLAYS
WINDSOR 2-FOR-4
KITCHENER 0-FOR-5
windsorspitfires.com staff reports
It was a fate they didn't want to suffer again.
Tobias Rieder scored with 1:26 to play, as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Windsor Spitfires, 5-3, on Wednesday night.
It was the second time in two weeks the Spits allowed their 401 rivals to escape their building with two big points.
Jerry D'Amigo had two goals and an assist. Ben Thomson and Jason Akeson had the other goals for Kitchener (33-15-3-3).
The win moved the Rangers seven points up on Windsor (30-19-2-3) in the Western Conference standings; a deficit the Spits will have a hard time making up, with just 14 games to play.
Tom Kuhnhackl scored twice for the home side and Ryan Ellis had three assists in a losing cause.
Tied at 2-2 after a spirited, hard-hitting 40 minutes, Thomson picked defenceman Grant Webermin's pocket and slid one past John Cullen to give Kitchener at 3-2 lead at 2:48 of the third period.
With five minutes to play, Ellis made an outstanding play to set up the tying goal, darting past a pair of defenders before spotting Kuhnhackl in front for his second of the night.
But the Spits couldn't hang on in the late going.
After a solid minute in the Windsor zone, Rieder wrapped one past Cullen to give the visitors a lead they wouldn't give back.
The Spits tried to get Cullen to the bench for the extra attacker, but coughed up the puck at centre ice allowing D'Amigo to score his second of the night as the netminder scrambled to get back.
Zack Kassian scored for a third straight game, his 200th in the OHL.
Tom Kuhnhackl was given a match penalty for slew footing in the closing seconds; an offense that carries a minimum two-game suspension.
SCORING
FIRST PERIOD
No Scoring
SECOND PERIOD
Akeson, (21) (D'Amigo), 2:39
WSR Kassian, (24) (Ryan, Ellis), 10:17 (PP)
WSR Kuhnhackl, (30) (Ebert, Ellis), 18:36 (PP
KIT D'Amigo, (4) (Murphy), 19:22
THIRD PERIOD
KIT Thomson, (6) , 2:48
WSR Kuhnhackl, (31) (Ellis, Kassian), 15:06
KIT Rieder, (21) (Sol, Crescenzi), 18:34
KIT D'Amigo, (5) (Catenacci), 18:56
SHOTS ON GOAL
WINDSOR: 10 - 18 - 5 = 33
KITCHENER: 8 - 12 - 11 = 31
POWER PLAYS
WINDSOR 2-FOR-4
KITCHENER 0-FOR-5
Spitfires…trying to win when it counts
In Play on Facebook
by David Clark
Spitfires more than just “rebuilding!”
The Spitfires don’t act like a rebuilding team but at the beginning of the season they were somewhat limited to that title with most of the Memorial Cup players from the last two years had moved forward to professional hockey. Recognizing the talent he already has, Warren Rychel also pulled a few new players out of the hat by the trade deadline, complimenting his already formidable roster.
Unfortunately, Windsor lost backup goalie Troy Passingham who had a respectable record including a few wins against elite teams. In his first year as a Spitfire, we took a real hit by dealing Eric Locke to Barrie who was scoring in bunches before he left.
Former Barrie Colt sniper, Taylor Carnevale is now situated with the Spitfires, occasionally finding the net as of late. Carnevale, an offensive entity gave Windsor fits during the playoffs last year with a high-achieving Barrie Colts outfit. The Soo surrendered Jake Carrick who brought an instant injection of toughness to Windsor, complimenting Kassian’s supremacy on the ice. He fights, and has showed everyone that yes, he can score.
Rounding off the incoming guys is former Peterborough defenceman, Adrian Robertson and Jeff Brown who was very effective at stirring up trouble in Oshawa, a real gritty player to be certain. Kerby Rychel is now back home from Mississauga, modestly contributing to the Spitfires cause. To top things off we acquired John Cullen from the Sting in the Passingham trade and Cullen has been sensational in net, playing like it’s his last game everytime he suits up. We had to lose a few in preparation for a Memorial Cup run but now we’ve got more toughness, scoring ability with the help of a few seasoned veterans who can lead the Spitfires into the playoffs.
During this “rebuilding” season, the Spits are actually becoming contenders in the West but are still trying to catch up to the Kitchener Rangers and secure a third place position in the Western conference. Home-ice advantage is the reward. The Owen Sound Attack and Saginaw will probably finish one-two when everything is said and done.
Are Spitfires up to the challenge?
We can see that Windsor is now stacked and prepared for the post-season but they are still having trouble picking up wins against the elite teams. A notable exception, Windsor tussled with the Ottawa 67’s on January 14/2011 and came out victorious (6-3) but Tyler Toffoli still managed to score two and assist on one. Ottawa is positioned in the top three in the Eastern Conference amongst the high-flying Mississauga St. Michaels Majors and the Niagara Ice Dogs who have shadowed the Majors all season.
Since January 1/2011, the Spitfires have performed fairly well but we need to beat the elite teams if we want to have a long run deep into the playoffs. Already this year, we succumbed to Owen Sound twice, Kitchener and a nail-biter against the Majors. The vastly improved Plymouth Whalers also stole two from the Spitfires and are considered to be a powerful emerging team coming out of the West. Saginaw is another force in the West having shutdown the Spits on three occasions this season.
It looked like Windsor would try to catch the Rangers but the Plymouth Whalers are going after Windsor in a very determined manner from behind. As of February 16, Windsor is just one point ahead of the Whalers.
Kitchener was in town hoping to steal one from the Spitfires. A glorious opportunity, Windsor tried to inch closer to that third spot where the Rangers presently sit. Cullen got the nod for the Spits and the Ranger’s Gabriel Landeskog was back from injury with a vengeance. Akeson and Murphy were red hot.
In the end though Kitchener holds a seven point lead as the Rangers dismantled the Spitfires 5-3 in front of 6276 @ the WFCU.
by David Clark
Spitfires more than just “rebuilding!”
The Spitfires don’t act like a rebuilding team but at the beginning of the season they were somewhat limited to that title with most of the Memorial Cup players from the last two years had moved forward to professional hockey. Recognizing the talent he already has, Warren Rychel also pulled a few new players out of the hat by the trade deadline, complimenting his already formidable roster.
Unfortunately, Windsor lost backup goalie Troy Passingham who had a respectable record including a few wins against elite teams. In his first year as a Spitfire, we took a real hit by dealing Eric Locke to Barrie who was scoring in bunches before he left.
Former Barrie Colt sniper, Taylor Carnevale is now situated with the Spitfires, occasionally finding the net as of late. Carnevale, an offensive entity gave Windsor fits during the playoffs last year with a high-achieving Barrie Colts outfit. The Soo surrendered Jake Carrick who brought an instant injection of toughness to Windsor, complimenting Kassian’s supremacy on the ice. He fights, and has showed everyone that yes, he can score.
Rounding off the incoming guys is former Peterborough defenceman, Adrian Robertson and Jeff Brown who was very effective at stirring up trouble in Oshawa, a real gritty player to be certain. Kerby Rychel is now back home from Mississauga, modestly contributing to the Spitfires cause. To top things off we acquired John Cullen from the Sting in the Passingham trade and Cullen has been sensational in net, playing like it’s his last game everytime he suits up. We had to lose a few in preparation for a Memorial Cup run but now we’ve got more toughness, scoring ability with the help of a few seasoned veterans who can lead the Spitfires into the playoffs.
During this “rebuilding” season, the Spits are actually becoming contenders in the West but are still trying to catch up to the Kitchener Rangers and secure a third place position in the Western conference. Home-ice advantage is the reward. The Owen Sound Attack and Saginaw will probably finish one-two when everything is said and done.
Are Spitfires up to the challenge?
We can see that Windsor is now stacked and prepared for the post-season but they are still having trouble picking up wins against the elite teams. A notable exception, Windsor tussled with the Ottawa 67’s on January 14/2011 and came out victorious (6-3) but Tyler Toffoli still managed to score two and assist on one. Ottawa is positioned in the top three in the Eastern Conference amongst the high-flying Mississauga St. Michaels Majors and the Niagara Ice Dogs who have shadowed the Majors all season.
Since January 1/2011, the Spitfires have performed fairly well but we need to beat the elite teams if we want to have a long run deep into the playoffs. Already this year, we succumbed to Owen Sound twice, Kitchener and a nail-biter against the Majors. The vastly improved Plymouth Whalers also stole two from the Spitfires and are considered to be a powerful emerging team coming out of the West. Saginaw is another force in the West having shutdown the Spits on three occasions this season.
It looked like Windsor would try to catch the Rangers but the Plymouth Whalers are going after Windsor in a very determined manner from behind. As of February 16, Windsor is just one point ahead of the Whalers.
Kitchener was in town hoping to steal one from the Spitfires. A glorious opportunity, Windsor tried to inch closer to that third spot where the Rangers presently sit. Cullen got the nod for the Spits and the Ranger’s Gabriel Landeskog was back from injury with a vengeance. Akeson and Murphy were red hot.
In the end though Kitchener holds a seven point lead as the Rangers dismantled the Spitfires 5-3 in front of 6276 @ the WFCU.
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