Kitchener Rangers take on Guelph in 1st round of OHL playoffs

The Highway 7 rivalry gets renewed tonight, as the Kitchener Rangers take on the Guelph Storm in the first round of OHL playoffs.

It's a repeat of what happened in 2018, when the two also squared off in the Western Conference quarter-final, with the Rangers eliminating the Storm in six games. 

This time, the Rangers are the series underdog. Guelph is fourth in the Western Conference; Kitchener is fifth  — but they don't mind, coach Jay McKee told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.  

"Going in as an underdog just gives you that added little bite," said Rangers coach Jay McKee. 

"We're well aware of the talents that they have, and when a team is talented and can score the way that Guelph can, the only way to beat them is to out-work them," said McKee.

Injured Guelph players hope to return Friday

Guelph has had some key players injured, and head coach George Burnett hopes to have them back on the ice Friday night.

"We're still hoping to see a number of our players that have missed a considerable length of time back in our lineup," said Burnett. "You need to approach it, that the players that are available are the ones that you got to do your best with."

The teams are very familiar with one another and have had a week to prepare, said Burnett. 

"I don't think there's a lot of secrets between the teams," said Burnett and McKee agrees: "They're a team that we know a lot about after playing them eight times over the course of the season."

And it won't take much to get the team motivated, said McKee. "They're excited for this series, it's a rivalry. So we're going to be the best prepared that we can be... and I think everyone's excited to get started." 

The playoff series will go best of seven games and begins Friday at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph.