It's a Saturday Night Without Any Stars

There has to be something about Saturday Nights that casts some kind of spell on the New York Ranger prospects as nobody stood out. Not one Ranger prospect earned a single star for their play which might have been a first this season.

Ryan McDonagh (Trade 2009) scored his first goal of the season but by the time he did the outcome of the game had long been decided. McDonagh's Wisconsin Badgers dropped a 5-2 decision to the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The Badgers gave up 3 goals over the first 2 periods and were trailing 4-1 before McDonagh scored at 12:14 of the 3rd period. It made the score 4-2 but it was too little too late for the Badgers.

McDonagh's teammate Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) had a night to forget as the sophomore center was a -3 with 4 shots. With the loss the Badgers fell to 4-3-1 on the season.

Roman Horak (2009 5th) had the only other goal scored by a Ranger's prospect on Saturday night as his 6th goal was the first goal for the Chilliwack Bruins who went on to a 5-4 overtime win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Horak's goal was a power play; his second power play goal of the season. Horak is now 6-11-17 for the season.

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) stopped 40 of 43 shots as his Owen Sound Attack rallied from down 2-0 for a 4-3 win over the Guelph Storm. Stajcer improved to 7-9-1-1 3.71 0.903 in 19 games this season.

Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) did not score but was a +2 as his Erie Otter made it a weekend sweep of the Niagara Ice Dogs with a 6-2 win. It was an emotionally charged weekend for the Otters after the events of the last 2 weeks and they have held up well.

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) had an assist as his Saskatoon Blades rebounded from the end of their losing streak with a 4-3 shootout win over the Prince Albert Raiders. For Klassen it was his 9th assist of the season (3-9-12).

Chris Kreider (2009 1st) returned to the Boston College Eagle lineup after missing one game due to injury as the Eagles defeated the Northeastern Huskies 5-1. Kreider was scoreless but took 2 shots and was a +1 for the game.

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) did not score and was a +1 as his Sudbury Wolves shut out the Peterborough Petes 2-0. Maggio's offense has quieted down after an early start with just 1 assist in his last 5 games.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) had a rough night as he was a -2 along with 1-5 on faceoffs as his Prince Edward Island Rocket were beaten by the Halifax Mooseheads 4-1 in QMJHL action.

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) saw his 5 game scoring streak come to an end as his Quebec Remparts lost in the shootout 6-5 to the Gatineau Olympiques. Bourque was a -2 and held to just 1 shot in regulation as well as missing his shootout attempt.

Bourque put up 1-8-9 during his streak to raise his season totals to 7-10-17.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his "Up and Down" Medicine Hat Tigers were "Down" on Saturday as they were beaten by the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-1. It was a rough night for Kundratek as he was a -3 on the evening.

Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) and his 4th ranked Michigan Wolverines also had a lost weekend as they dropped Saturday's game with top ranked Miami of Ohio 5-1. Hagelin saw his 3 game scoring streak come to an end but for his Wolverines the loss meant they were swept by a team at home for the first time since October 26-27th of 2001.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) did not score but his Western Michigan Broncos improved their record to 5-2-1 after a 2-1 win over Lake Superior State.

Luke Walker (Traverse City) broke out of his mini scoring slump with 2 assists as his Portland Winterhawks had to go to the shootout before defeating their rivals the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-5.

For Walker it was his first points in 3 games as he recorded assists 10 and 11 on the season to raise his stats to 11-11-22.

Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) and his Vancouver Giants lost their 2nd straight game 2-1 to the Spokane Chiefs. Cunningham was held scoreless in this matchup.

We end this with some happy news as we got this from the good folks at the Kitchener Rangers

The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club has been informed that Ben Fanelli was released from Hamilton General Hospital late (Friday) night.

"This is obviously an emotional day for the Fanelli family, our organization and community and really for the entire Ontario Hockey League's players and fans. It is still very early in Ben's recovery that will include out-patient treatments at the hospital along with additional supporting treatments at home," stated Rangers C.O.O., Steve Bienkowski.

Ben's mother, Susan Fanelli, conveyed the following: "The support from the Kitchener Rangers organization has been wonderful. We are so appreciative it is hard to express."

Restrictions on visiting will remain in effect.

The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club and the Fanelli family ask that the family's past requests for privacy continue to be honoured.

Any future information will continue to be released through the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club.

We again thank everyone for their support to both Ben and his family.

However after now seeing Chris Drury be injured by a cheap blindsided shot against the Flames is it not time we had a discussion about hitting vs "hitting" in hockey as a whole?

Talk now before we talk about one of these hits resulting in someone dying on the ice; by then it will be too late for discussion about player safety.

Friday Night Fun

First Star Ryan Bourque

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) continued his hot play as of late scoring a goal as well as an assist but his Quebec Remparts saw their 4 game winning streak come to an end 4-3 to the Victoriaville Tigres via the shoot out.

Bourque extended his own personal scoring streak to 5 games by scoring his first QMJHL career shorthanded goal and his 7th goal of the season at 4:30 of the 3rd period to give the Remparts a 3-2 lead.

The goal also ended a 6 game goal scoring drought for Bourque. Bourque also earned the game's "First Star" for his efforts.

Bourque also set up Samuel Grouix for his 10th assist of the season and his 8th assist in his last 5 games. Bourque has gone 1-8-9 in his last 5 games but also 5-9-14 since returning from his "concussion like" injury suffered at the end of September.

Second Star Danny Hobbs

Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) picked a very good time to score his 2nd career goal as the sophomore from Shawville, Quebec wound up with the game winning goal to help his 19th ranked UMass Minutemen to a 5-1 win over the Niagara Purple Eagles. It was Hobb's first goal of the season as he deflected a shot from teammate Martin Nolet with just 13 seconds remaining in the 2nd period.

It was a power play goal for Hobbs; the first of his career with the Minutemen as they continue their surprising start to the season. Hobbs has been working harder this season attacking the crease and finally it paid off for him.

For Hobbs and his Minutemen it continues a surprising start to their season as they improve to 5-1 on the year.

Third Star Ethan Werek

In what had to be the most entertaining game of the night, Ethan Werek (2oo9 2nd) scored his 9th goal of the season but it was not enough as Werek's Kingston Frontenacs lost in the shootout to the Brampton Battalion 3-2.

Werek who was named the game's "Second Star" should have had at least 2 more goals if not for the great play of Brampton goalie Patrick Killeen.
Killeen stole the show and the game with some outstanding play of his own as his Battalion rallied from down 2-0 for this win.

Werek had several strong scoring chances but other than his goal was simply robbed by a hot goalie. The only shot we think Werek would like to have back was his one from the shootout as it looked like he had beaten Killeen but shot it high above the net.

Werek is now 9-7-16 in 16 games.

Here is some game action for you to take a look at courtesy of our friends at the Kingston Frontenacs



The Rest of the Ranger Prospects

Of course we know we are a jinx as one day after naming Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) the Prospect of the Month; both Klassen's "plus" streak and his Saskatoon Blade's winning streak came to an end. The Blades lost to the Regina Pats 4-3 in the shootout to end their 7 game winning streak.

Klassen saw his own 7 game "plus" streak come to an end with a -1.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) scored his 3rd goal of the season as his Western Michigan Broncos despite the final score saying 3-3 earned the 2nd point by winning the shootout 1-0 over Lake Superior State. Campbell led the Broncos with 6 shots on goal but missed on his shootout attempt.

We love how the CCHA awards points as this is exactly the way the NHL should do things. Win in regulation or overtime and you earn 3 points, win in the shootout get 2 points, lose in overtime or the shootout for 1 point and lose in regulation for 0 points.

Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) and his 4th ranked Michigan Wolverines got a first hand look at why Miami of Ohio is the top ranked team in college hockey as the Redhawks despite being held to just 13 total shots on goal defeated the Wolverines 3-1.

Hagelin had an assist for the 3rd straight game and his 60th career point with Michigan. Hagelin's point came on a 2 man advantage as his shot just sat on the goal line before being shoved in by linemate Chris Brown.

Ryan McDonagh (2009 Trade) had an assist while teammate Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) was scoreless as their 18th ranked Wisconsin Badgers held off the Minnesota Golden Gophers 4-2. For McDonagh it was his 6th point (all assists) of the season as the Badgers improved to 4-2-1

Luke Pither (Traverse City) had 2 assists as his Barrie Colts just whipped on Daniel Maggio's (2009 6th) Sudbury Wolves 6-2. Maggio was scoreless as Pither registered his 14th and 15th assists to bring his season totals to 12-15-27.

Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) had his first points in 4 games with a 2 assist night as his Erie Otters won an emotionally charged game over the Niagara Ice Dogs 9-3. For Gaulton it was assists 6 and 7 on the season as the Otters blew the game open with 5 goals in the 3rd period.

The Otters were playing without Michael Liambas who was suspended for the rest of the OHL season and playoffs due to the hit on Ben Fanelli last week in Kitchener. Our friend Victor Fernandes who does an awesome job covering the Otters has a game report here, coverage of the Liambas press conference and an interesting take on how the Liambas ruling could change the roles of some players which includes quotes from former Jeff Beukeboom which are worth reading.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) had an assist as his Medicine Hat Tigers edged the Moose Jaw Warriors 3-2. For Kundratek it was his 10th point of the season all of them coming as assists.

Roman Horak (2009 5th) and his Chilliwack Bruins were shut out on the road 3-0 by the defending WHL champion Kelowna Rockets. Horak was quiet on the evening as the Rockets just outplayed the Bruins.

Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) was held scoreless as his Vancouver Giants were whipped 8-2 on the road by the Tri-City Americans. The Americans just jumped on the Giants for 4 first period goals and never looked back.

Chris Kreider (2009 1st) sat out Friday's game as his Boston College Eagles escaped with a 4-4 overtime tie with New Hampshire. The Eagles blew a 4-1 third period lead as Hockey East does not have the shoot out.

Kreider is out with an injury and no word has been officially given as to what is the exact nature of his injury.

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) was the back up as his Owen Sound Attack got whipped 8-2 by the London Knights.

(Bourque courtesy of Katherine Ep, Hobbs courtesy of UMass, Werek courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL images)

Dean Prentice Prospect Of The Month

The best way to describe why we named the Prospect of the Month after Dean Prentice is to borrow from the folks at the Legends of Hockey's description of Dean Prentice during his time as a New York Ranger.

Prentice became the two-way standout who excelled at backchecking, killing penalties, working the corners and jumping onto the powerplay. But his quiet, unassuming personality took a back seat to the more colorful (Andy) Bathgate who was the dipsy-doodler and scorer among the trio. As such, Prentice has been characterized as the most underrated forward of his era.

Whether it is 1959 or 2009, New York Ranger fans have always had one standard for their team; either they work hard or they got booed. All you have to do is look at those who the Ranger fans select as the winners of the "Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award" to see the kind of standards Ranger fans have.

It is with those standards in mind when we pick who is the Ranger prospect of the month because sometimes it is not how many points you put up but what you do in order to help your team win.

Dean Prentice Prospect of the Month for October- Sam Klassen of the Saskatoon Blades

Others had more points, others had highlight performances but what nobody else offered was the consistent performance that could be tied directly to how well his team played. Sam Klassen only scored 11 points during the month of October (3-8-11) but he was an impressive +17 as his Saskatoon Blades went 10-2-0-1 and jumped to the top of the WHL standings.

Had you asked us at the beginning of the month who we thought was going to suffer from the "Post-Camp Blues" after being cut our first thought was Klassen. Klassen is an overage defenseman who signed as a free agent with the Rangers last June but due to the combination of a glut of defenseman and having a year of junior eligibility remaining, Klassen was returned to the Saskatoon Blades (who were very happy to have him back).

Klassen even had a very quiet first 3 games back with the Blades but against the Kootenay Ice on October 2nd both Sam and the Blades work up their season with a decisive 8-4 win thanks in part to Klassen's 3 assists. It was his first points of the season but it helped the Blades start a 6 game winning streak.

Klassen scored his first goal of the season 2 nights later against Red Deer but it was his +4 that stood out that night. In fact it is Klassen's plus/minus that has had us almost addicted to his play as since October 9, Klassen has been either a "plus" or even in 12 out of 13 games.

The Saskatoon Blades have been 12-1 during those same 13 games which is why we have fast become fans of Sam Klassen's game. It is also interesting to note that Klassen who we interview for the November issue of the Blueshirt Bulletin told us his goal for the season was to become more involved with the Blade offense.

After watching Klassen's work on the defensive end, whatever numbers he puts up on offense are a very nice bonus.

Congratulations to Sam Klassen for earning this month's Prospect of the Month Honors.

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The Latest on Ben Fanelli

Kitchener, ON: November 5, 2009 - 3:10pm

Kitchener Rangers defenseman, Ben Fanelli has been moved from I.C.U. to a private room in Hamilton General Hospital. His medical status remains unchanged. Medical testing continues and a no visitor policy is in effect.


The Fanelli family and the Rangers Organization again thank the many people who have expressed their concerns and wishes for Ben's recovery. If you wish to send cards or messages, those may be dropped off to the Kitchener Rangers office or emailed to info@kitchenerrangers.com.


Further updates will be made by the Kitchener Rangers when they become available.


Steve Bienkowski
Chief Operating Officer
Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club

(Dean Prentice courtesy of the New York Rangers, Sam Klassen courtesy of Steve Hiscock Photography)

Bravo for the Irony

It is ironic that on the night before the Rangers faceoff against the Edmonton Oilers with their new "associate" coach Tom Renney that 2 undrafted Ranger prospects went against each other. Like Tom Renney as the Ranger's coach or not; his contribution to the Rangers will pay dividends longer than people will ever realize.

It was during the NHL lockout that Tom Renney made his greatest contribution to the rebuilding of the Rangers as he spent that season scouting, planning and helping to develop the prospect program that Ranger fans are seeing the benefits of today.

If not for Tom Renney, there is no Michael Del Zotto, no Brandon Dubinsky, no Ryan Callahan and many more yet to come. The prospect program that is in place today is because of Tom Renney, Gordie Clark, Christer Rockstrom and the 8 great guys who make up the Ranger's amateur scouting team.

With only 7 rounds in today's NHL Entry Drafts, it is really key for the Ranger scouting staff to find free agents who can help supplement the draft picks and sometimes turn themselves into Rangers like Dan Girardi did.

We bring this up because 3 of the Traverse City invitees were in action on Wednesday night starting with Craig Cunningham and his Vancouver Giants visiting Luke Walker and the Portland Winterhawks. Cunningham has been leading Ranger prospects in scoring prior to the game against the Winterhawks and added on to his lead.

Cunningham scored his 11th and 12th goals of the season to raise his prospect leading season totals to 12-16-28 (good for 7th in the WHL) as Cunningham's Giants shut out Walker's Winterhawks 4-0. For Cunningham he has now 7-8-15 over his last 10 games as the Giants have gone 7-2-1 during that span.

As for Walker and his young Winterhawk teammates it was their second straight game where they were shutout. Still Walker is also not having a bad season as he is 11-9-20 in 20 games which is 3rd among Ranger prospects.

Cunningham earned the game's second star for his efforts as his first goal of the game was also the game winner. Cunningham now has 4 game winners on the season also tops among Ranger prospects.

Yes Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) extended his "Plus" streak on Wednesday night to 7 straight games and yes that means that his Saskatoon Blades also won their 7th straight game this time coming from behind to edge the Swift Current Broncos 2-1.

This win in our eyes was more impressive because the Blades were playing their 5th game in their last 6 nights. How they were able to find the energy and effort to not only shut down the Broncos but to pull out the win is just amazing.

Klassen with a +1 is now up to +19 on the season which is 3rd in the WHL behind his defensive partner Stefan Elliot. In fact the Saskatoon Blades who are at the top of the WHL can credit their league leading defense as for why as they have only given up 2.25 goals a game also tops in the WHL.

Luke Pither (Traverse City) is the oldest of the Traverse City prospects but he is also having a pretty solid year with the Barrie Colts of the OHL. On Wednesday, Pither had 2 primary assists to help his Colts whip on Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) and the Owen Sound Attack 6-1.

For Pither, he is second among Ranger prospect scoring with a 12-13-25 record in 17 games. Pither is tied with Cunningham for most goals at 12 and has 3 game winners to his credit.

Scott Stajcer and the Attack once again saw the penalty kill as the main cause of their undoing as the Colts went 4 for 7 on the power play. Stajcer faced 45 shots and sorry when the goalie is facing that many shots it is almost impossible to blame him for the loss.

Then another prospect that the Ranger scouts can take a bow for is Roman Horak (2009 5th) as he was an unknown to most of us in North America but has been a pleasant surprise for the Chilliwack Bruins of the WHL. Wednesday night's results may not have shown it as Horak's Bruins got spanked on the road by the Spokane Chiefs 5-1.

Horak was held scoreless and for a rare occasion was a -2 for the night. On the season Horak is a respectable 5-11-16 in 19 games with a +7.

The hardest team for us to figure out is Tomas Kundratek and his Medicine Hat Tigers as no team in the WHL reminds us more of last year's Rangers than this season's version. It is "flip a coin" or "toss a dart" as we have never a clue as to what will happen with the Tigers.

On Wednesday evening it was the Bad Tigers who showed up as they got beaten 7-4 by the Regina Pats on the road. Kundratek was not bad with his play as he set up Taylor Gal for Medicine Hat's first goal (Kundratek's 9th assist) during a 4 on 4 but the Tigers were already trailing 2-0 at the time.

The Tigers were spending so much time playing catch up as they tied the game on 3 different occasions before giving up 3 third period goals for the loss.

(Cunningham courtesy of the Vancouver Giants, Klassen courtesy of the Saskatoon Blades)

The Helper Helps Himself

Prospect Park Player of the Week Ryan Bourque

At first glance when we heard that the New York Rangers used their 2009 3rd round pick on Ryan Bourque we really liked the idea. Bourque was one of the top young playmakers in the United States Development Program and there was really only one reason why Bourque fell to the 3rd round; his size.

If Bourque was 6'1 210 then no way do the Rangers get him with a 3rd round pick but Bourque is a small 5'9 170. Talent wise there is not a question that Ryan Bourque can play but that concern about his size is not going to go away.

Bourque plays for the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL and during most of the early part of this season we saw more goal scoring from Bourque than his playmaking skills. Until last week when Bourque showed the playmaking side and the Remparts reaped the benefits of that side.

Bourque had a 6 assist week as he helped his Remparts to 3 wins but it was more than just the assists as it was the kind of the assists that stood out. Against Moncton, Bourque had a career high 4 assists but his 2nd assist set up the game winner.

Against Prince Edward Island, Bourque only had one assist but his 3 good hits stood out in the Rempart's 4-3 win. To end his week, Bourque set up the game tying goal as the Remparts came from behind to defeat the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 3-2 in OT.

Altogether Bourque has a 4 game scoring streak (0-7-7) as his Remparts also have a 4 game winning streak. We also think that the more assists that Bourque puts up the more his Remparts are going to win.

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Game Action

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) set up the first goal for his Sudbury Wolves as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Ethan Werek's (2009 2nd) Kingston Frontenacs and then held on for a 4-3 win. Maggio's assist was his 7th of the season and added a +2 for the evening.

Werek was held scoreless and was a -1 for the night.

People may think our watching Sam Klassen's (2009 UFA) "Plus" is crazy but here is what is not crazy; Klassen has been a "plus" in 6 straight games and his Saskatoon Blades won their 6th straight game edging the Moose Jaw Warriors 2-1.

Klassen may not be scoring but since his streak started the Blades have jumped to the top of the WHL standings. If anything we like Klassen because our firm belief is you can have all the offense in the world but defense will win you championships.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers have been playing 500 hockey as of late so you never know which Tiger team is going to show up from night to night. Tuesday night the effort was there but the Tigers lost to the Everett Silvertips 3-1.



Kundratek was held scoreless and a -1 for the evening

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Ben Fanelli Update

The Kitchener Rangers released this update on Tuesday:

The condition of Kitchener Rangers defenseman, Ben Fanelli has been upgraded to serious but stable.

The Fanelli family and the Rangers Organization again thank the many people who have expressed their concerns and wishes for Ben's recovery.

Further updates will be made by the Kitchener Rangers when they become available.

Steve Bienkowski
Chief Operating Officer
Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club

(Bourque courtesy of the Quebec Remparts)

Not a Sunny Sunday

Normally we would like to start out with the highlights but on Sunday we have to start out with the news that 2009 First Round Pick Chris Kreider was forced to leave Boston College's game against the Merrimack Warriors due to an injury.

Due to the Federal Privacy Laws (HIPPA) we do not know the extent of Kreider's injury at this time but if we are given any information that we can report we will of course pass it on.

(Monday Update: best report is that Kreider "got his bell rung" nothing too serious but Boston College will observe him for a day or too to be safe. Injury was caused by a huge hit when Kreider got caught with his head down)

Kreider before getting injured had a secondary assist on Boston College's first goal but the Eagles eventually lost to Merrimack 5-3 to split the weekend series. It was Kreider's 2nd assist on the season as well as 2nd point.

Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) was given the primary assist when teammate Mitch Lebar scored off a rebound of Werek's shot for what at the time was the game tying goal in the second period. However Werek's Kingston Frontenacs gave up 2 third period goals to drop a 4-2 decision to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Sunday.

For Werek is was his 7th assist of the season and his 15th point in 14 games for the Fronts. The Frontenacs let this game slip away as they had dominated the first 2 periods but in the 3rd period became undisciplined and the Greyhounds made them pay for it.

Jeff Beukeboom's son Brock wound up setting up the Greyhound's 4th goal of the game on a power play about midway of the 3rd period. It is interesting to see how younger Beuk looks like his dad but does not play like him.


Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) is starting to heat up exactly as we thought he would for the Quebec Remparts as the young forward's 7th assist in his last 4 games set up the tying goal at 17:02 of the 3rd period as the Remparts went on to score in overtime for a 3-2 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

As we said in the preseason, Bourque's strengths are his playmaking as well as his forechecking and now the playmaking is starting to show up. During his 4 game scoring streak, Bourque has not only set up goals but most of his assist have been for key goals like this one on Sunday.

Bourque's hot streak has helped his Remparts to a 4 game winning streak as well as a 8-1-1-0 record in their last 10 games. At 6-9-15, Bourque is a key part of a Rempart team that currently has the 3rd best record in the QMJHL.

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) may not have scored but his Saskatoon Blades edged the Swift Current Broncos 3-2 to extend their winning streak to 5 games and now have the best record in the WHL. Klassen also continued his "plus" game streak with a +1 to 5 games (+10).

Klassen is now 3-8-11 +17 to lead all Ranger prospect defensemen.

Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) under normal circumstances would have been our star of the game off a 1-2-3 night as his Vancouver Giants whipped Roman Horak's (2009 5th) Chilliwack Bruins 8-2. Cunningham has been red hot as of late and Sunday was no exception as the current Ranger prospect scoring leader upped his season totals to 10-16-26.

Since October 2nd Cunningham has gone 7-10-17 in his last 12 games as he is 6th in the WHL in scoring. As for Horak, while his Bruins may have lost badly, Horak's strong play continues as he added an assist to extend his own hot streak to 7 game (4-4-8) and has moved up to 6th place among WHL rookie scoring (2nd in assists) at 5-11-16 in 18 games

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) was scoreless as his Sudbury Wolves continued to struggle after a 3-1 loss to the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. The Wolves have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games.

Luke Walker (Traverse City) and his Portland Winterhawks saw their 5 game winning streak come to an end as they were shut out by the Spokane Chiefs 3-0 to earn a split of the home and home series. On Saturday it was the Winterhawks who shut out the Chiefs 2-0.

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Ben Fanelli Update

The Kitchener Rangers put out this press release regarding the condition of the young defender badly injured on Friday against the Erie Otters.

Kitchener, ON: November 1, 2009 - 12:35pm - Media Update Ben Fanell

Kitchener Rangers defenseman, Ben Fanelli remains in Hamilton General Hospital's ICU unit.

There has been no official change in his condition.

The Fanelli family and the Rangers Organization again thank the many people who have expressed their concerns and wishes for Ben's recovery.

Your continued respect for the family's privacy as they focus on supporting Ben is appreciated.

Further updates will be made by the Kitchener Rangers when they become available.

Steve Bienkowski
Chief Operating Officer
Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club

We will honor this request but will share any information with New York Ranger fans as we get it. The K-Rangers have accounts on both Facebook and Twitter if you wish to leave messages of support for both player and his teammates during this rough time.

(Kreider courtesy of Boston College, Werek courtesy of the Kingston Frontenacs, Bourque courtesy of the Quebec Remparts, Fanelli courtesy of OHL Images)