Neil Young was two songs into his setlist last night at the Aud when he broached the local hockey club.
"Go Rangers," the 67-year-old rocker told the crowd. "We're in your house."
It was a rare shout out from the Hall-of-Famer (rock hall, that is), who hasn't addressed the crowd often on this tour.
No reports yet of Young strolling by the dressing room. But he is an avid hockey fan and regularly attends San Jose Sharks games, when the NHL is in session. That barn is a stone's throw from his west coast ranch.
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On the hockey stage, the Rangers are stuck in a mini rut as losers of two straight. Games against Sarnia and Erie this weekend should correct that.
Sophomore defenceman Jared Gilbert (concussion) has suffered a set back. He was beginning his return to play protocol but woke up with a headache today. He's still out indefinitely.
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Get ready to see some new bodies in the lineup soon.
World junior hockey championship commitments mean coach/GM Steve Spott, forwards Radek Faksa and Tobias Rieder and goalie John Gibson will all be gone for the better part of a month. Gibson's timetable is still unknown but the others are leaving in early December and will miss six games.
Canada has yet to announce its camp roster but defenceman Ryan Murphy and forward Matt Puempel are both expected to be on it.
That's a lot of missing bodies.
The team will make a series of call ups, so be prepared to welcome back blueliner Jesse Young, goalie Jack Moylan and forwards Keli Grant and Ty Learn at the very least.
Assistant GM and associate coach Paul Fixter will run the forwards while assistant coach Troy Smith takes care of the defencemen in Spott's absence. Mike McKenzie will also be behind the bench and take over the blueliners when Smith is away coaching Ontario's Under-17 team for about a week around the holidays.
