A rare Thursday night tilt for the Kitchener Rangers.
And their opponent, the Niagara IceDogs, will be down a man on the blue line after dealing rearguard Brock Beukeboom to Guelph for a trio of picks. A nice pick up for a young Storm side.
As for the Rangers? For now, they're banking on some of the youngsters in their back end. Sophomore Jared Gilbert is going to see more ice time and responsibility in the wake of the Ryan Hanes deal (OA was shipped to Kingston).
Fans may forget that Gilbert was the team's second pick (third round) in last year's draft. He's trying to take his OHL career to the next level after suffering a set back during his rookie season due to a broken wrist.
It's more kudos for potential future Rangers. This time forward Jake Evans (8th round 2012) was named to the East squad for the World Jr. A Challenge.
Meanwhile, it was a busy night in CHL news with the story that the CHLPA's talking head Derek Clarke may be someone else altogether -- Randy Gumbley, a convicted fraudster. Is a CHLPA scandal brewing? Maybe says one columnist.
The CHLPA denies the allegations and is apparently going to straighten it all out on TSN sometime today. But trying to find a time or mention of it on the TSN's website is like trying to get a parking spot at the Aud five minutes after puck drop.
