(Junior) Hockey Night in Canada

Tonight we (my dad, Louise, and I) went to see a Kitchener Rangers game. The Rangers are part of the Ontario Hockey League, which is for junior players (15-20 years old). Some get drafted to the NHL directly from junior, so it's a pretty big deal. The Rangers have been around since 1963 and the team is publicly owned by the season tickets holders, kind of like the Green Bay Packers. When I was growing up, I went to a good many Kitchener Ranger games and thought it would be fun to check it out again. In fact, one of my formative live sports experiences was seeing the Rangers play in 1990 against the Oshawa Generals (with Eric Lindros) for the Memorial Cup, a game that the Generals won in double overtime (jerks).

Anyway, last year the Rangers were very good -- in fact, they were tops in the OHL and went to the Memorial Cup. This year they are not, occupying second-last place in the OHL with 34 points. They were playing against the Brampton Battalion, a team with some pretty awful pea-green uniforms. However, the Battalion are fourth overall in the league with 46 points and I thought that it might be a trounce. Numerous friends also warned me that the Rangers this year suck.

Momentum, though, favored the Rangers and they won heartily, 6-1 with 5 unanswered goals in the second period after a 1-all tie in the first. There was an extended 5-minute powerplay in the second due to a check from behind from a Brampton player (he was ejected from the game). For fun, there was also a fight and apparently the player made 'obscene gestures' with both hands from the penalty box. He was 'benched' or more accurately, 'lockerroomed.' We missed the obscene gestures because we couldn't see the penalty box from our seats. At one point, though, the Ranger goalie iced the puck and swore loud enough for everyone at our end of the rink to hear.

Anyway, I have to say that the whole experience was enjoyable, particularly since we were at the end of the rink where the 5 unanswered goals were scored (as another plus, there was no 50 mph wind). The crowd was responsive, if not overly active, and a fun time was had by all -- except for the Brampton fans sitting ahead of us.

Player to watch for: C Matt Duchene (#9, Brampton Battalion) - he can stick-handle, pass, and skate. Plus he's 17 going on 18 in January AND chose a good hockey number.