Erie Otters (18-40-3-5) at Guelph Storm (38-23-1-4)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Sleeman Centre – Guelph, Ontario
On the air: WJET-AM/1400, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)*
Upcoming schedule: Saturday vs. Guelph, 7 p.m. (season finale)
What to expect: The Otters enter the final weekend of the season tied with the 2007-08 club (18-46-2-2) for the third-fewest, single-season wins in the franchise’s 17-year history. They currently have the fourth-worst, single-season winning percentage (.333) in franchise history, behind only the 2011-12 club (.191), 2006-07 club (.243) and 2007-08 club (.294). … The Otters have topped 300 goals against for the second straight season and fourth time in the past seven years. … The Otters have clinched the No. 2 pick in the OHL Priority Selection April 6. Ottawa (16-43-0-5) will have the No. 1 pick. … Otters C Connor McDavid (25 goals, 37 assists, 62 points) entered Thursday trailing Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (27-36-63) by one point for the league’s rookie scoring title. McDavid leads his counterpart by one assist and trails him by two in goals. The Sting faced Oshawa at home Thursday night. … McDavid needs one point to set a new franchise mark for points by a rookie in a season. He’s tied with Tim Connolly, who had 62 points in the 1997-98 season. McDavid already has broken the club’s mark for assists by a rookie in a season originally held by Brad Boyes (36 in 1998-99). … RW Connor Brown (26-41-67) could finish the season among the league’s top 20 scorers. … C Jake Evans (5-11-16) remained on crutches for Wednesday night’s loss to London at Erie Insurance Arena. … The Otters are holding a raffle as part of their annual Mario Lemieux Foundation Night. Tickets are $5 for one, $20 for five and $50 for 15 and will be drawn Saturday night. The list of 15 prizes include a framed Lemieux sweater signed by 15 players from his fantasy camp and sweaters signed by Lemieux, a Hockey Hall of Famer and Penguins co-owner, and current Penguins Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. … Guelph stands four points behind Midwest Division rival Kitchener with two games left. The Storm need to sweep the Otters this weekend and Rangers losses in Sault Ste. Marie and Saginaw this weekend to clinch the fourth seed and home-ice advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. … The Storm are fourth in the league with 247 goals scored despite having one player among the top 20 in goals (RW Scott Kosmachuk, 33) and no players among the top 20 in points.
* Saturday’s game will air on WFNN-AM/1330

- Victor Fernandes

KITCHENER, Ontario – The Erie Otters’ postseason hopes continued to slip away Friday night.
Kitchener’s three-goal second period sent the Otters to a 5-1 loss in front of 7,294 fans at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Meanwhile, Saginaw and Windsor won Friday, leaving the Otters 13 points behind the eighth-place Spirit and nine behind No. 9 Windsor in the race for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot heading into today’s 7 p.m. rematch with the Rangers at Erie Insurance Arena.
The Otters (15-25-3-5), which have 20 games left in the regular season, have lost three straight games and six of their last seven. In the latest defeat, the Otters played the Rangers (27-14-1-5) to a scoreless tie. But rookie Justin Bailey‘s goal 46 seconds into the second period, and Tobias Rieder‘s goal 1 minute, 5 seconds later, sparked Kitchener’s run to a 3-0 lead. Ryan Murphy also scored midway through the period.
The Otters hoped to mount a comeback following J.P. Labardo‘s 16th goal of the season 3:02 into the third period. But Matia Marcantuoni scored at the 7:05 mark to regain the Rangers’ three-goal lead. Derek Schoenmakers capped the scoring with 2:29 left.
Devin Williams stopped 41-of-46 shots in a losing effort for the Otters, while Joel Vienneau made 31 saves on 32 shots for the Rangers.
Luke Cairns had an assist for the Otters. Murphy led Kitchener with a goal and two assists, while Ben Thomson had two assists. Otters defenseman Adam Pelech was given an indefinite suspension for his knee-on-knee hit against Saginaw’s Zach Bratina Wednesday. The league hasn’t issued an official ruling.

Erie Otters (15-24-3-5) at Kitchener Rangers (26-14-1-5)
When: Today, 7 p.m.
Where: Kitchener Memorial Auditorium – Kitchener, Ontario
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Saturday vs. Kitchener, 7 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters enter a home-and-home series with the Midwest Division rival Rangers trailing eighth-place Saginaw by 11 points in the chase for the final playoff spot in the OHL’s Western Conference. They are seven points behind No. 9 Windsor. … The Otters play 11 of their 21 games against division opponents – Kitchener (four times), London (three), Owen Sound (twice) and Guelph (twice). Those teams hold four of the top five spots in the conference standings. … The Rangers are third in the division and fourth in the conference. They are 17 points behind frontrunning London and six behind third-place Owen Sound. … The Otters and Rangers have split the first four games of the eight-game season series, with each team winning once at home and on the road. Erie won the past two meetings 6-2 and 4-3 in a shootout Dec. 14-15. … Otters officials are awaiting word from the league today on defenseman Adam Pelech, who could be suspended for his knee-on-knee hit against Saginaw LW Zach Bratina Wednesday night. Pelech received a five-minute kneeing penalty and game misconduct. … G Oscar Dansk (concussion) remains day to day. He hadn’t returned to practice as of Thursday. … Rookie C Connor McDavid has four goals in his last 14 games after totaling nine goals in 13 November games. However, he has 14 points in those past 14 games. He still leads the league’s rookie scoring race with 49 points, eight ahead of Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin. … The Rangers are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games. … The Rangers rank 16th in the league with 134 goals scored and 19th on the power play (16.1 percent). But they are third with 118 goals against and second on the penalty kill (85.4 percent). … G John Gibson, a Pittsburgh native, ranks among the league leaders with a 2.41 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. … LW Joshua Leivo ranks among the top 20 scorers with 52 points. … Frank Corrado joins Pelech (34 points) among the top 10 defensemen with 31 points.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters RW Johnny McGuire‘s open-ice hit on Kitchener rookie RW Darby Llewellyn in Saturday night’s game has prompted an automatic review from OHL officials, league Vice President Ted Baker said Tuesday.
Baker said the league expects to make at least a preliminary ruling before the Otters’ 7 p.m. game Wednesday against Plymouth at Erie Insurance Arena. Baker didn’t rule out issuing an indefinite suspension if the review process isn’t complete in time for the game.
The league was awaiting video from the Otters of McGuire’s first-period hit, which led to a 5-minute charging penalty and game misconduct and reportedly left Llewellyn with a concussion. The game wasn’t available on the OHL Action Pak, the league’s broadcast television package.
League officials have reviewed the referees’ report from the game. Baker said the report remains confidential as the review process continues. Baker simply said the referees determined McGuire’s hit warranted the penalties he received during the game.

- Victor Fernandes

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League announced today that Anaheim Ducks prospect John Gibson of the Kitchener Rangers is the first Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the 2012-13 season after posting a 2-0-0-0 record with a shutout victory along with a 0.96 goals-against-average and .964 save percentage for the week ending September 23.

Gibson opened the 2012-13 campaign on Friday night recording the first shutout across the CHL this season making, the second of his career, with 25-saves as first star of the Rangers’ 3-0 win over the Mississauga Steelheads. He followed that performance with a 28-save effort on Sunday afternoon in a 3-2 shootout win over the Sarnia Sting.

Gibson, a 19-year-old from Pittsburgh, PA, is playing in his second OHL season with the Rangers following a 2011-12 season where he led the league with a .928 save percentage in 32 games. Gibson was selected in the second round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks and was a member of last year’s U.S National Junior Team.

Also considered for the award this week was Luke Siemens of the Prince Albert Raiders who posted a 1-0-0-1 record for a 1.44 goals-against-average and a .957 save percentage. In the QMJHL, Carl Hozjan of the Rimouski Oceanic posted a 2-0-0-0 record with a goals-against-average of 0.61 and save percentage of .978.

- From CHL news release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that forward Seth Griffith of the London Knights is the OHL Player of the Week for the opening week of the 2012-13 OHL regular season ending Sept. 23 after scoring five goals and one assist for six points in two games with a plus-minus rating of plus-3.

Griffith and the Knights opened the season with an 8-2 win over the Erie Otters on home ice Friday night where the defending Robertson Cup champs were honoured with a pre-game ceremony that raised their 2011-12 Championship Banner to the rafters. Griffith recorded his fourth career hat-trick scoring all three goals in the second period and was named first star of the game. On Sunday afternoon he scored a pair of goals and added an assist as third star of an 8-2 win over the Guelph Storm.

Griffith, a 19-year-old from Wallaceburg, ON, is playing in his fourth season with the Knights after leading the club with 85 points in 68 games last season scoring 45 goals and 40 assists. In June, Griffith was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins.

Also considered for the award this week was Cameron Brace of the Owen Sound Attack who scored three goals and three assists for six points in two games, while defenseman Cody Ceci of the Ottawa 67’s picked up a goal and four assists for five points in two games. In goal, John Gibson of the Kitchener Rangers went 2-0-0-0 with a shutout victory and a goals-against-average of 0.96 and save percentage of .964.

- From OHL news release

Victor Fernandes unveils his predictions for the 2012-13 OHL season:

REGULAR SEASON

Eastern Conference
East Division
1. Belleville
2. Oshawa
3. Ottawa
4. Peterborough
5. Kingston

Central Division
1. Barrie
2. Niagara
3. Brampton
4. Mississauga
5. Sudbury

Western Conference
Midwest Division
1. Kitchener
2. Guelph
3. Owen Sound
4. London
5. Erie

West Division
1. Plymouth
2. Windsor
3. Sarnia
4. Saginaw
5. Sault Ste. Marie

PLAYOFFS

Eastern Conference
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Barrie def. No. 8 Peterborough, 4-0
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 7 Mississauga, 4-1
No. 3 Niagara def. No. 6 Ottawa, 4-1
No. 4 Oshawa def. No. 5 Brampton, 4-3
Semifinals
No. 1 Barrie def. No. 4 Oshawa, 4-2
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 3 Niagara, 4-2
Finals
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 1 Barrie, 4-3

Western Conference
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 8 Erie, 4-1
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 7 Sarnia, 4-1
No. 3 Guelph def. No. 6 Windsor, 4-2
No. 4 Owen Sound def. No. 5 London, 4-2
Semifinals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 4 Owen Sound, 4-1
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 3 Guelph, 4-2
Finals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 2 Plymouth, 4-3

League finals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 2 Belleville, 4-2

- Victor Fernandes

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 1

Rank Team (Record)
1 Quebec Remparts
2 Edmonton Oil Kings
3 London Knights
4 Portland Winterhawks
5 Kitchener Rangers
6 Halifax Mooseheads
7 Plymouth Whalers
8 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
9 Saskatoon Blades
10 Oshawa Generals

Honorable Mention:
Moncton Wildcats
Kamloops Blazers
Belleville Bulls

This week, I’ll break down all 20 OHL clubs division by division and unveil my predictions for the 2012-13 season. Today, let’s look at the Western Conference’s Midwest Division (listed in alphabetical order):

Erie Otters
Coach/GM: Robbie Ftorek/Sherry Bassin
2011-12 finish: 10-52-3-3, 5th division, 10th conference
Playoff finish: Did not qualify
Key players: C Connor McDavid (No. 1 pick in 2012 OHL Priority Selection; 33 goals, 39 assists, 72 points in 33 games with Toronto Marlboros minor midget), G Oscar Dansk (No. 3 pick in 2012 CHL Import Draft; 2.82 goals-against average, .910 save percentage in 28 games with Brynas in Sweden), C Dane Fox (23-31-54), RW Connor Brown (25-28-53; Toronto prospect), LW Stephen Harper (24-11-35)
Key losses: G Ramis Sadikov (6-23-3-2, 4.26, .894)
Outlook: The highly anticipated McDavid era begins in Erie, but this team has other promising players at every position. Now these young Otters have to learn how to win after enduring the worst record in franchise history a season ago.

Guelph Storm
Coach/GM: Scott Walker/Mike Kelly
2011-12 finish: 31-31-2-4, 4th division, 7th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Plymouth 4-2 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: RW Zack Mitchell (37-38-75), G Garret Sparks (27-25-1-3, 3.11, .907, 5 SO; Toronto prospect), RW Cody McNaughton (25-24-49), RW Scott Kosmachuk (30-29-59; Winnipeg prospect), D Andrey Pedan (10-30-40; N.Y. Islanders prospect)
Key losses: C Francis Menard (24-36-60; traded to Peterborough)
Outlook: The Storm are ready to take the next step in this always competitive conference. They play solid defense, led by Sparks in goal and Pedan on the blue line, and they have skill up front in Kosmachuk, Mitchell and McNaughton.

Kitchener Rangers
Coach/GM: Steve Spott
2011-12 finish: 42-24-1-1, 2nd division, 3rd conference
Playoff finish: Lost to London 4-0 in conference finals
Key players: RW Tobias Rieder (42-43-85; Edmonton prospect), D Ryan Murphy (11-43-54, +14; signed with Carolina), C Radek Faksa (29-37-66; signed with Dallas), LW Matt Puempel (34-35-69; acquired from Peterborough, signed with Ottawa), G John Gibson (21-10-0-0, 2.75, .928, 1 SO; signed with Anaheim)
Key losses: C Michael Catenacci (25-44-69), C Andrew Crescenzi (24-23-37; signed with Toronto)
Outlook: The Rangers are a perennial contender in the conference, and they made sure this season was no different with the acquisition of Puempel from Peterborough. Expect the Rangers to be near, if not at, the top of the West in 2012-13.

London Knights
Coach/GM: Dale Hunter/Mark Hunter
2011-12 finish: 49-18-0-1; 1st division, 1st conference
Playoff finish: Won league championship, lost to Shawinigan (QMJHL) in Memorial Cup final
Key players: RW Seth Griffith (45-40-85, Boston prospect), D Scott Harrington (3-23-26, +26; signed with Pittsburgh), D Olli Maatta (5-27-32, +25; signed with Pittsburgh; C Max Domi (21-28-49), C Ryan Rupert (17-31-48)
Key losses: Michael Houser (46-15-0-1, 2.47, .925, 6 SO; signed with Florida), C Greg McKegg (31-44-75; former Otter, signed with Toronto), C Vladislav Namestnikov (30-39-69; signed with Tampa Bay), RW Jared Knight (25-45-70; signed with Boston), C Austin Watson (25-43-68; signed with Nashville)
Outlook: Dale Hunter returns behind the Knights’ bench after leading the NHL’s Washington Capitals to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. He has work to do if the Knights are to recapture the success they enjoyed in 2011-12.

Owen Sound Attack
Coach/GM: Greg Ireland/Dale DeGray
2011-12 finish: 32-29-304, 3rd division, 6th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Kitchener 4-1 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: G Jordan Binnington (21-17-0-1, 2.99, .906, 1 SO; signed with St. Louis), C Daniel Catenacci (33-39-72; signed with Buffalo), C Gemel Smith (21-39-60; Dallas prospect), C Cameron Brace (29-27-56), D Keevin Cutting (7-18-25, +20)
Key losses: LW Mike Halmo (40-45-85; signed with N.Y. Islanders), D Jay Gilbert (10-23-33, +8)
Outlook: The Attack lost a 40-goal scorer in Halmo, but they have enough talent from back to front to make a run in the conference. But they need to be more consistent after tailing off late last season and losing in the first round of the playoffs.

- Victor Fernandes

Toronto – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Kitchener Rangers’ Chief Operating Officer and Governor Steve Bienkowski is the recipient of the OHL Executive of the Year Award for the 2011-12 season.

Bienkowski championed the 2012 expansion of the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex creating a business plan that will see the Rangers Hockey Club fully fund the $10.6 million upgrade to the city owned facility. The venture will see an additional 968 seats installed providing more opportunities for fans to enjoy Kitchener Rangers hockey.

The facility will also receive new media boxes and suite expansions, new concourse, washrooms and concessions, improved accessibility, along with a dressing room upgrade for the club, new medical and training facilities for players, and business offices for staff. The renovations will also create a new Rangers “Hall of History” in time for the franchise’s 50th Anniversary celebrations next season.

“We are very fortunate to have Steve leading our business operations,” said Craig Campbell, President of the Kitchener Rangers Board of Directors. “Steve complements the vision of our entire Board in recognizing the importance of our role in supporting community. On behalf of our Board, I offer congratulations to Steve on this most deserving recognition.”

Under Bienkowski’s leadership the Rangers maintain a strong focus on their community supporting hundreds of charitable programs and non-profit organizations including: St. John Ambulance, Kitchener Sports Association, Children’s Wish Foundation, Kitchener Minor Hockey Association, House of Friendship, Kitchener Panthers Baseball Club, Food Bank of Waterloo Region , THEMUSEUM, Waterloo Regional Boxing Academy, and the Royal Highland Fusiliers.

Bienkowski, the Rangers’ COO since 2002, previously served six years on the club’s Board of Director’s Executive Committee. He is also a graduate of the league playing two seasons with the Rangers from 1979-81 winning an OHL Championship in his final season. His tireless efforts have also been recognized by the community as Bienkowski received the 2011 Citizen of the Year Award bestowed by the Lions Club of Kitchener, and also recently received the Order of St. John from the Governor General of Canada in recognition of his many years of volunteer service to St. John Ambulance.

The OHL Executive of the Year Award is presented annually to the executive whose team demonstrates success both on the ice and at the administration level through excellent organization and franchise success. The winner is selected by the League’s Executive Council.

This marks Bienkowski’s second OHL Executive of the Year Award having first received the honour following the Rangers’ Memorial Cup-winning season in 2002-03. Other recipients of the award include Craig Goslin of the Saginaw Spirit who won the award back-to-back in 2005-06 and 2006-07, followed by Denise Burke of the Niagara IceDogs in 2007-08, Warren Rychel of the Windsor Spitfires in 2008-09, Rick Gaetz of the Guelph Storm in 2009-10, and Dale DeGray of the Owen Sound Attack who won the award last season.

Bienkowski will be formally presented with the OHL’s Executive of the Year Award at the league’s annual award ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

- From OHL new release