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| By: Tom Larry Anstett, KW Record - April 20th, 1982 |
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Who would the Kitchener Rangers rather meet – the Ottawa 67’s or Oshawa Generals – in the Ontario Hockey League finals? The consensus among a handful of Rangers Monday was that each team has its advantages and disadvantages and it doesn’t matter who they play because they’re confident they can beat either one. Rangers won three of four games against Oshawa during the regular schedule but beat Ottawa only once. The win over the 67’s in the final game between the two teams Feb. 12, was right in the nation’s capital – where Rangers victories have been rare over the years. An Ottawa-Kitchener matchup would give the 67’s the home-ice advantage because they finished higher than the Rangers in the overall standings. Ottawa led the league with 96 points followed by Kitchener with 91. Rangers would get the home-ice nod over Oshawa because Generals finished fourth with 82 points, one fewer than Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds whom the Rangers defeated in six games (four wins, one tie, one loss) in the Emms Division finals. Ottawa has a reputation for being a classy, high-scoring team which emphasizes skating and finesse. The 67’s had the lowest penalty total (1,239 minutes) in the OHL this year while the Generals, generally regarded as the league villains and often criticized because of their rough-house tactics, led the penalty minute parade with 2,659 minutes – more than twice Ottawa’s total. Rangers had the second most penalty minutes with 2,335, led by Mike Moher’s league leading 384. “Ottawa and Oshawa play two different styles of hockey. We’ve got the type of team that can adjust to either one,” Rnagers coach Joe Crozier said. “Ottawa has a fine club, with (Moe) Lemay and (Jeff) Vaive leading the attack and Jim Ralph in goal. Oshawa’s got (Tony) Tanti and (Mitch) Lamoureux up front and (Dave) Andreychuk will be back form a fractured ankle. They’ve got (Joe) Cirella on defence and (Shawn) MacKenzie in goal. There’s a lot of strength there.” Here’s what some of the Kitchener players said: Captain Brian Bellows: “It doesn’t matter who we played. We’ve had better success against Oshawa, I’m not worried about their aggressiveness because we’ve got a tough enough team. It might be hard skating with Ottawa in a long series but I think we can do it.” Mike Hough: “The home-ice advantage (against Oshawa) wold help. It’s tough to win in Ottawa. This year was the first time we’ve won there in how many years?” Brad Schnurr: “Both teams have strong points. I don’t think Ottawa’s as tough as Oshawa, but they’re quicker. When we won that last game in Ottawa, everybody played it like a playoff game because we didn’t wan to go through the whole schedule without beating them.” Mario Michieli: “We can handle whoever we play. I think we might have a better chance against Oshawa because they’ve got a smaller rink and we’ve got wingers who really dig. If they (Generals) want to take penalties, we’ll just get a lot of power-play chances. When it comes to playing here (Kitchener), there’s no problem against anybody (Rangers have lost only one of their last 17 home games).” Joel Levesque: “Personally, I can play in any type of series, but I’d rather play Ottawa even though I think it would be easier against Oshawa. I know what type of series it would be against Oshawa. You just have to look in the paper and you see all their (Oshawa’s) penalties.” Moher: “I play better against a bump-and-grind team like Oshawa than I do against a wide-open team: If me and (Ottawa’s) Vaive are racing for the puck, I don’t think I’ll get it.” Rangers could
start the OHL finals either Thursday, Friday or Sunday, depending on what
happens tonight – or Wednesday – between Ottawa 67’s and Oshawa Generals.
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