Rangers Win Thanksgiving Game in OT vs. Erie

Thanksgiving seems quite the appropriate time of year for the Erie Otters to come looking for a fight in Oktoberfest-crazed Kitchener.

Because boy, have these Rangers feasted on the team across the border.

With Monday's 4-3 overtime thriller, make that 11 straight W's in the win-loss column dating back to an eight-game sweep last season of the water-cats.

If any game had the make-up to halt the excessive bleeding, it was surely this one.

Coming off a disheartnening 6-5 loss on Saturday night at home in the Tulio arena, the Otters lacked the intensity the Rangers brought in the first, yet skated to the dressing stalls with a 1-0 advantage.

Credit Toronto Maple Leafs' standout draft pick and Otters' captain Greg McKegg for that. You can also hand some responsibilty to new Rangers overager Jamie Doorbosch.

McKegg, applying the necessary offensive forecheck pressure on an early Rangers power-play, scooped up a how-do-you-do cough up by the former Peterborough Pete, Doornbosch, and flipped it over the shoulder of Mike Morrison.

Doornbosch was shown the door by Petes' General Manager Dave Reid for being a defensive disaster in his own end.

Potent on the power-play he may be, his defensive tendencies haven't seem to have left his repertoire in Kitchener.

Even with the score 3-2 with 20 seconds left in the period, and a late goal by the usual suspect McKegg, the Rangers never panicked over their 10-game gargantuan gold-mine of Ontario Hockey League points that the Otters have morphed into becoming in the eyes of the blueshirts.

Or make that redshirts. Kitchener sported their new third jerseys, donning the crest of a soldier's mug, honouring both the Canadian veterans from both world wars, as well as the popular Remembrance Day jerseys from the very first game of the Memorial Cup tournament held in the same Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in 2008.

Landeskog buried a rebound on an overtime man-advantage to send the Otters back home to once again contemplate what more they can do to beat their division rivals.

Ryan Murphy and Matt Tipoff tallied the other markers for the Rangers while Adam pelech added a bank-in job off Rangers' forward Ben Thomson's stick to go along with McKegg's deuce.

Monday's game also signalled a coming-out party for 2010 first-round draft pick Matia Marcantuoni (pictured).

While draft picks with much less fanfare and hype surrounding them racked up the points out of the starting gate in the O, (see Sarnia's Alex Galchenyuk and Belleville's Brendan Gaunce), Marcantuoni sputtered and despite getting his chances early, perpetually came up short when it came to putting the puck behind the keeper.

And while the kid may still only have one goal to his name so far, his play has caught fire, collecting that goal and five assists in his past three games while being promoted to second-line centre accompanying fellow rookie scoring sensation Tobias Rieder and Tipoff with the absence of Carolina's Jeff Skinner.

While the OHL's learning curve is steep, it seems the 16 year-old's hands have caught up with his blazing speed.

On this day, Marcantuoni's drive to the net gave Rieder and the Kitchener Rangers their go-ahead third goal of the match and was named first star for his efforts.

The Rangers can claim to become even more lethal as the next crop of stars in Marcantuoni and Rieder, 16 and 17 respectively, get more and more acclimatized to the league (Rieder's six goals in seven games have helped him claim eighth spot in league scoring).

Meanwhile, the Otters can circle their next date with the Rangers, November 27, on their calendars because something's gotta give.

And as always, the team across the pond eternally hopes they'll find the secret formula sooner, rather than later.

Rangers Continue Dominance over Erie with 7-3 Beating

It was familiar territory for Rangers fans.

The Kitchener Rangers were continuing their mastery over divisonal rivals Erie, with their 9th straight win against the Otters; a 7-3 thrasing, continuing last year's Otter slaughter of an eight-game season sweep of 2009-2010.

With one exception... free delicious winter smoothies?

With all the cheering and jeering that the Aud's spectators are known to dish to Rangers and visitors alike each Friday, a very new, and very different sound erupted from the stands when public address announcer Dave Schneider mentioned a Wendy's promotion that seemed to entice and delight the Rangers' faithful with unexpected glee.

Every stub-carrying attendee who mentions that the Rangers netted five against the Otters to Wendy's workers today receive a free small frosty.

Folks from Kitchener sure like their treats, don't they? Especially in the current economic climate, when they're free.

Take note Mr. Carl Zehr, the key to Kitchener's vote this coming election is in their stomachs.

It was fitting then, that the Otters would come to town when the Kitchener crowd receives a very rare, but nevertheless gratifying gratuity.

Kitchener and Erie stand in stark contrast in terms of marketing the on-ice product.

Erie can't seem to give their tickets away in a tough hockey market south of the border, let alone bait their fans with free provisions attached to their attendance.

Kitchener on the other hand has no trouble warming seats with bodies, who, judging by their audible reaction to Schneider's good tidings, apparently like to chill down once in awhile, even as October welcomed the area with a cool breeze Friday.

But even with the prospect of chilly snacks, the Rangers' following got their Friday-night filling of icy goodness in what has seemed to define the Rangers in the still-young season- a third period blitz.

Ryan Murphy (pictured), Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Tipoff all capitalized in the Rangers' new favourite frame to turn a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes into a 7-3 show-off.

Landeskog recorded two on the night, and Tipoff took a Ryan Murphy blueline blast off the chops- and converted the puck behind Otters keeper Chris Festarini via his martyred mug to cap off the seven goal outburst.

It was a night for the veterans to break out, as Jason Akeson, Andrew Crescenzi, and Michael Cattenaci all converted their firsts of the campaign.

Cattenaci and Akeson was akin to a chocolate and vanilla frosty, never failing to find each other last night, as each was threading no-look passes to the other all night long, with Akeson potting a slam-dunk back door pass from the Cat, and Catenacci wheeling for a highlight-reel, Matt Halischuk-esque, breakaway, backhand blitz in the first to put the Rangers ahead by two in the first.

David Shields, Anthony Luciani and Mitch Gaulton replied for the Otters, who drop to 1-3 on the year.

Don't look now, but the Kitchener crew have notched 18 goals in just their first three games.

That leads the Ontario Hockey League's Western Conference, tied with Sault Ste. Marie, who have played one more game than the Rangers.

The blueshirts are quickly proving that life without ex-snipers Jeremy Morin and Jeff Skinner isn't all doom and gloom that prognosticators had expected.

Tipoff, Landeskog, and Murphy are the emerging faces of the 2010-2011 season, and the return of either Morin and Skinner is quickly looking like the icing on an already structurally strong cake.

The Rangers will look to make it four straight to start the season when they face the red-hot Owen Sound Attack at the Bayshore Arena tomorrow night.