Rangers open first round of playoffs against Erie
Posted Mar 25, 2024 09:36:13 AM.
Last Updated Mar 25, 2024 09:36:19 AM.
The Kitchener Rangers will open the 2024 OHL playoffs against the Erie Otters.
The series will open in Kitchener on Friday, Mar. 29 at 7 p.m. from the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Kitchener finished the campaign in fourth place in the Western Conference with 86 points. The Rangers stumbled their way across the finish line to end the regular season with four straight losses, two in overtime. Those losses included back-to-back regulation losses against Guelph and two overtime losses to Oshawa and Erie.
It all came down to the final day of the regular season for the playoff brackets to be finalized. Guelph dropped their game to London Sunday afternoon where they finished sixth in the standings tied with Erie in points with 73 points. Erie took the tiebreaker as they won the season series against Guelph 4-2-0-0.
Erie finished their season on a hot streak winning seven of their past 10 games including most recently Saturday against Kitchener in overtime, 4-3.
The Rangers will start the first round of the playoffs without Trent Swick who is still serving his five-game suspension. He’s eligible to return for Game 4 of the first round series against Erie. Assistant coach Jeff Kyrzakos was also suspended for two games but he is eligible to return for the opening game of the series on Friday.
Below is how the scheduled series will be played.
- Game 1 Friday, Mar. 29 at 7 p.m. in Kitchener
- Game 2 Sunday, Mar. 31 at 2 p.m. in Kitchener
- Game 3 Tuesday, Apr. 2 at 7 p.m. in Erie
- Game 4 Thursday, Apr. 4 at 7 p.m. in Erie
- Game 5 Friday, Apr. 5 at 7 p.m. in Kitchener **If necessary
- Game 6 Monday, Apr. 8 at 7 p.m. in Erie **If necessary
- Game 7 Tuesday, Apr. 9 at 7 p.m. in Kitchener **If necessary
All playoff games will be broadcast live on CityNews 570 with Mike Farwell and Paul Fixter.
