Kitchener Rangers 2021-22 Season Thread (Part 3)

[RangerNation]

I remember game 4 of that series. I thought at one point Kitchener was going to Win, then Windsor just took over and the rest is history. Was a crazy series and one of my favorite Rangers teams of all time. Certainly one of my favorite teams in the post PD era.

Rangers were down 4-1 at one point and Akeson tied it mid 3rd. That was the loudest I have ever heard the Aud. Shortly after Taylor Hall walks over the blue line and snipes it bar down. This game is ingrained in my memory. I can't believe how close they were.

 

[robertmac43]

Does anyone have predictions going into round 2?

 

[HockeyPops]

Check out the predictions thread

 

[sbpointer]

Does anyone have predictions going into round 2?

Coin Toss in 7 I'd say.
Cajan/Parsons are a weapon.

 

[robertmac43]

Check out the predictions thread

I was thinking more so for Rangers specific predictions.

Lots of Windsor winning in 5-6 game over there.

 

[RangerNation]

I'm just happy they are still playing.

 

[robertmac43]

Coin Toss in 7 I'd say.
Cajan/Parsons are a weapon.

We definitely have goalie stealing capabilities, that much is for sure.

 

[HockeyPops]

We definitely have goalie stealing capabilities, that much is for sure.

 

[CasualStats]

Rangers were down 4-1 at one point and Akeson tied it mid 3rd. That was the loudest I have ever heard the Aud. Shortly after Taylor Hall walks over the blue line and snipes it bar down. This game is ingrained in my memory. I can't believe how close they were.

I can still picture the goal as well. It was crazy. I remember the final but I couldn't remember the turning point of the game but I just remember Windsor running with it rest of series. Brandon Maxwell was quite the experience lol

 

[OHLTG]

Game 4 was in Kitchener and, to this day, it's the loudest road rink I've been to.

 

[rangersblues]

I remember in game 4 Skinner took a misconduct for Abuse of Official for disputing a goal too rigorously with about 5 minutes left. The goal was eventually disallowed but we were left without our best player, who was basically unstoppable for the decisive last 5 minutes. I thought that was the turning point of the series.

 

[robertmac43]

Some preview reading as we head into the weekend;

OHL Second Round: 1. Windsor Spitfires v. 7. Kitchener Rangers - The Hockey Writers OHL Latest News, Analysis & More

The top-seeded Windsor Spitfires now get ready to face another tough underdog - the seventh-seeded Kitchener Rangers.

thehockeywriters.com

Kitchener Rangers a big underdog yet again in OHL playoffs

Blueshirts hope to play spoiler for second time as they prepare for the top-ranked Windsor Spitfires

www.therecord.com

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Rangers in 9.

Seriously, they have absolutely nothing to lose against powerhouse Windsor and everything to gain from a playoff experience POV. I do like the fact that the Rangers haven't been off for an extended period of time because in the regular season, those rests didn't bode well for them. Give us some great hockey and don't make it easy on the Spits. GO RANGERS!!

 

[EvenSteven]

We probably had about the perfect length of time off between series. Maybe another off day would have been ok. But any more than 2 or 3 off days and rust starts to set in.

 

[K2]

I was thinking more so for Rangers specific predictions.

Lots of Windsor winning in 5-6 game over there.

I'll take the flyer and go with Rangers in 6.

 

[aresknights]

KTown Fs gotta keep being tough to play against. Take away time n space is key.
Mutter ( be smart )
Petizian, Valade, Pinelli n Serpa ( bigger role than I thought....good GAF meter lol) lead by example n be hard on pucks, tough, n add O.
Obviously G needs to outplay Spits G.
Put on the boots, buckets n go to work.
Be a bigger upset than LK series but I hope they can pull it off.
Good luck. Enjoy.

 

[CasualStats]

Well, that was about as good of a loss as one could hope.

I am not hoping for any but my expectations for this series are low in terms of wins/loses. This is just such a great experience for a really young squad who is essentially returning like 16+ bodies.


Boys kept battling back. Shots was close. Faceoffs was close.

One of the Windsor goals that put this game out of reach (At that point) Was just bad luck on Roman Schmidts end as he fell trying to put the puck behind the net for a breakout.

Windsor leads 1-0 with a game tomorrow. Would love for the boys to come back to the Aud with a win.

 

[HockeyPops]

Aren't you returning 21 players?

 

[EvenSteven]

With a little puck luck, Rangers could have won. This was a very close game.

Valade needs to relax. We could have very well tied this thing up late and would have been without his services for a stretch in OT.

 

[CasualStats]

Aren't you returning 21 players?

I took out the guys aging out, and figure there will be players moved due to returning so many bodies returning. Not suggesting that they move players out due to that reason but I think some players might need increased ice time for development and it might not be here. I could see a few off season, training camp deals being made.

 

[Jives]

Aren't you returning 21 players?

All can/should return besides the 3 OA’s and 1 19 year old as we have only 4 of them. Serpa and Valade are locks as great OA’s. Harper is nothing great but he is ok and Cajan would take up an import and OA spot which is rare in the OHL.

 

[GeoBlue]

All can/should return besides the 3 OA’s and 1 19 year old as we have only 4 of them. Serpa and Valade are locks as great OA’s. Harper is nothing great but he is ok and Cajan would take up an import and OA spot which is rare in the OHL.

I honestly don't see Cajan returning. We have Parsons ready for prime time and if Cajan stays in the OHL, and I say IF, we trade him for substantial picks for the cupboard, or maybe a blockbuster trade if next year is a "go for it" season. No use wasting a double OA AND import spot when we have Parsons ready to go. Oh yes, and trade him to another conference. Also, my hopes are for a fully healthy Fishman to return and he catches up on his development quickly.

 

[rangersblues]

All can/should return besides the 3 OA’s and 1 19 year old as we have only 4 of them. Serpa and Valade are locks as great OA’s. Harper is nothing great but he is ok and Cajan would take up an import and OA spot which is rare in the OHL.

Harper has improved. He made a really good play entering the zone and getting the shot off so Petizian could score the series winner vs London. I think a lot of his mistakes are due to inexperience; I don't think he got a lot of ice in Guelph.

Windsor threw some big hits last night. That was usually when we got ourselves in trouble. Battled to the end though.

 

[K2]

Aren't you returning 21 players?

Hopefully, though Schmidt could have other options given the chronology of his drafting. Presumably, Cajan could turn pro overseas if he doesn't attract NHL interest and we'll weight OA options with the OA roster players vs invitees that report to camp though (at least) two would be locks.

The import draft, Hage's report/defect decision and MM's job title are the other TBD notables.

 

[CasualStats]

All can/should return besides the 3 OA’s and 1 19 year old as we have only 4 of them. Serpa and Valade are locks as great OA’s. Harper is nothing great but he is ok and Cajan would take up an import and OA spot which is rare in the OHL.

The tail end of the regular season, I kept thinking to myself it would be a mistake for Harper to return as an O/A. Just wasnt enough to his game. Very vanilla if we're using Sheldon Keefe terminology lol.

But if I am being honest, and I may be alone here I feel very comfortable and relaxed when Harper is on the ice. Our D core has some serious holes on it but in a year where we're all just enjoying some super bonus hockey, he's really surprised me. Nothing special to his game but his experience is showing. He's calm. Like 0 offensive awareness despite him being a massive reason on the GWG in game 7 but I've warmed up to him.

Cajan I think will graduate or be moved. Plenty of teams in this league are in a similar spot as Kitchener next year where they're basically returning their whole roster. Could see one of the teams that doesn't do a ton of investing in import players and wouldn't mind using an O/A and Import spot on 1 player potentially picking him up but I imagine he could latch onto a league in Czechia or overseas where he'll make a nice paycheck.