Kitchener can advance tonight
Posted Apr 10, 2010 06:57:28 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Kitchener Rangers have again put themselves in position to wrap up a playoff series on home ice. The team failed to do that in Game Five against Saginaw in Round One and Game Six against London looms tonight at The Aud.
The Rangers earned this opportunity with back-to-back 8-goal performances, winning 8-7 in overtime at home on Wednesday and then snapping a nine-game losing streak in London with an 8-4 win in Game Five on Thursday.
Head coach and General Manager Steve Spott hopes the fans will be there to give his team a boost tonight. Spott tells 570’s Gary Doyle Show that the young Rangers club really feeds off the energy in The Aud. He also admits to hoping for a tighter defensive game after the teams combined for 56 goals over the first five games of the series.
Spott heaped praise on his leading scorer Jeff Skinner, suggesting that the 17-year old has answered his critics in these playoffs by showing maturity in the face of increased attention from opposing players and also by demonstrating an ability to play defense.
From the play of Skinner to someone who may not play tonight, Spott says Michael Catenacci is still feeling the effects of a hit by Michael D’Orazio in Game Five. Catenacci will be a game time decision but Spott also had high praise for the diminutive forward, calling him a “fan favourite” for the things he has shown a willingness to do in these playoffs like block shots and kill penalties. As for Brandon Maxwell, Spott says the coaching staff has only asked that he be better than the netminder in the opposite goal, and he has done that.
The puck drops at 7 and you can join Don and Gary for the pre-game starting at 6:30 PM on 570 News.
