No playoffs for Rangers this season
Posted Mar 7, 2014 07:58:59 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Kitchener Rangers have been eliminated from playoff contention.
The final playoff spot in the Western Conference was settled Thursday night with Plymouth’s 4-3 win over the Niagara Ice Dogs. The victory pushed the Whalers to 12 points ahead of the Rangers with only five games remaining on Kitchener’s schedule.
Inconsistent play throughout the season meant crucial missed point. So far the team has only one winning month. In September the team went 2-1. From there, wins were hard to come by.
October: 2-7
November: 6-7
December: 3-8
January: 3-9
February: 6-7
Currently this month the team is 0-2 and on a six game losing streak. Five different times this season the team has lost three or more consecutive games. It wasn’t until February 8th, or 52 games into the season that the Rangers were able to string together three wins in a row.
All things considered, the season has been a success in many ways. Especially when one looks towards the future. A number of positive things come to mind looking back at the season.
A high draft pick. Looking at the remaining games on the schedule for the Rangers, it’s likely the team will get the third overall draft pick. The last time the team had that pick, it turned into Ryan Murphy.
A career year for Justin Bailey despite recent injury troubles. Bailey has missed 9 games this season due to injury, but has surpassed his point totals from last season. He currently leads the team in points with 43 (25 goals, 18 assists).
Rookie Nick Magyar has been a bright spot for the team this season and will be a player to watch in the future. Magyar was an integral part of a line that worked for the team this year (Magyar, Pedersen, MacInnis). No doubt the reason why Magyar is second on the team in points, fourth in OHL rookie scoring, with 41 (17 goals, 24 assists).
Curtis Meighan’s expanded role. Meighan has become a solid two-way player who’s been getting rewarded. During his first 131 games he raked in 30 points. This year alone, Meighan has already passed his point total from all previous years combined. Sitting fifth on the team with 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists). Meighan is also the only none minus player on the team with a regular role. Dmitrii Sergeev is a +4 but has only played 44 games compared to Meighan’s 63.
Ryan MacInnis, a top prospect. MacInnis has been putting up good numbers this year and in without a doubt a player to watch in the future. But most noteworthy is the fact that MacInnis was invited to participate in the 2013 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game.
Darby Llewellyn’s nose for the net. Llewellyn played only 40 games last season for the Rangers, a team with a deeper bench, putting up 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists). This year with more time on the ice, Llewellyn has shown a top notch scoring ability scoring 24 goals, second only to Bailey.
No quit and Ben Fanelli’s leadership. Despite the rocky season, the team has very rarely quit on a game, on their coaches or on the fans. Evident by the fact that a team with 22 wins on the season still draws nearly 7,000 fans on a Tuesday night. Fanelli, who will play his last game as a Ranger March 14th must be given a piece of that pie. After going through a near career ending injury a few years back, ‘no quit’ is his middle name.
The coaching staff is positive and dedicated. Day in and day out head coach Troy Smith along with assistants Mike Van Ryn and Mike McKenzie, as well as the training staff, put it all out there at practice and during games. It’s no secret that this is a young team, which many of the times contributes to not playing a full 60 minutes. But the other side of that coin is that the young players are being put into situations that normally they may not have had the opportunity to experience.
After all that, there is hockey to be played tonight. The London Knights visit the Aud for 7:30 p.m. puck drop. 570 News has the pre-game show at 7 o’clock.
Game notes: Justin Bailey will miss the entire weekend. Max Iafrate will be a game time decision on Friday night.
