Keeping the intro tight this morning.
No Dmitrii Sergeev for the Rangers tonight as he's off to train for the worlds. Two more games to go for Ryan MacInnis and Luke Opilka before they leave to join Team USA.
Kitchener added some goalie depth yesterday by acquiring Liam Devine from Oshawa.
He'll help when Opilka is gone as Dawson Carty is still out with an ankle injury.
Also, from yesterday, a feature on life without teeth. Connor Bunnaman and Dylan Di Perna were great interviews for the piece.
Kitchener:
Mason Kohn-Ryan MacInnis-Jeremy Bracco
Connor Bunnaman-Gustaf Franzen-Adam Mascherin
Nick Magyar-Darby Llewellyn-David Miller
Nick McHugh-Jacob Cascagnette-Mark Bzowey
Miles Liberati-Dylan Di Perna
Doug Blaisdell-Frank Hora
Joseph Garreffa-Elijah Roberts
Luke Richardson (1-0) starts.
Owen Sound:
Justin Brack-Bryson Cianfrone-Josh Sterk
Petrus Palmu-Ethan Szypula-Liam Dunda
Jonah Gadjovich-Nick Suzuki-Jaden Lindo
Matt Struthers-Kevin Hancock-Keenan Reynolds
Santino Centorame-Thomas Schemitsch
Markus Phillips-Tyler MacArthur
Trenton Bourque-Sean Durzi
Michael McNiven (9-9-4-2) starts.
Brownie points:
- As mentioned yestereday, D Sean Allen is on the move. Both parties are waiting for some paperwork to clear up before it's official. Allen will likely have to waive his no-trade clause.
UPDATE: Allen was sent to Oshawa for a third and 10th round pick. So, essentially, the Rangers got their third round pick back as Allen went in that round in 2014.
- Don Cameron was back behind the mic calling the game only this time it was for the Owen Sound Attack. The radio crew from Owen Sound asked Cameron to do a one-off as a tribute to his lengthy career.
- Opilka was a late scratch due to illness.
- Was looking at the standings heading into tonight's action and a third of London's goals have been scored on the power play. Never realized it was such a massive part of their game. Could be problematic when (if) opponents smarten up in the post-season.
- No points for Connor Bunnaman but his frantic forechecking drew an Owen Sound penalty. The Rangers went 0-for- 2 on the PP but boy did it have poise. What a difference from last year.
- Winning certainly helps but confidence is just oozing with the Rangers. They were outshot 40-33 tonight but controlled the pace.
- Some good news on Brian Brosnan who has missed the past 10 games with a concussion. He's feeling better and making strides. It'd be nice to have him back before Christmas to help offset the players leaving for the world juniors.
- Think Jeremy Bracco isn't miffed over not being invited to USA Hockey's world junior selection camp? Two goals and two assists tonight. A motivated Bracco is a big bonus for the Rangers.
- The entire top line was plus-four tonight. Miles Liberati quietly chipped in two assists and went plus-three. That's five points in three games for the D-man.
- Streak check - Rangers have won five straight. MacInnis has points in 12 straight.
JB's top three Rangers: Jeremy Bracco, Luke Richardson, Ryan MacInnis