Hurricanes vs. Moose Jaw...Former Hurricane Maniago Dies in Traffic Crash

Well, what a game at the Enmax Centre on Friday night. The Hurricanes tangled with the Brandon Wheat Kings for the first time this season and came away with a 4-2 win. This game had a little bit of everything I thought. Nice goals, a few doozy scraps, and a very energized crowd. The Canes' put in a spirited performance improving their record to 13-12-0-1. The 3rd period is really where all the excitement happened. A bit of line brawl broke out after Carter Bancks threw a check behind the Brandon goal. That charged up both teams, not to mention the crowd. The "Juha" chants were back, the fans got the wave going, and "Go Canes' Go" was being belted out by the Enmax faithful. I think it was the most energized crowd since the playoffs last year. I can tell you one thing. The players truly do notice it and try and feed off that energy. When they feel the crowd behind them, it gives them that little extra boost.

Lethbridge has now won 4 of it's past 5 games and this team is really playing better. Friday night they forced the Wheaties into making mistakes, coughing up the puck, and twice it turned into a Hurricanes goal. The Defencemen were shooting more from the point too. The Canes' scored 3 of their goals as the result of going to the net and finishing off on rebounds. It appears this team is starting to turn the corner after that rough run in early November.

Lethbridge also received some secondary scoring the other night with the likes of Braes and Iwanski chipping in with goals. That is crucial to the success of any team is to get contributions from across the line-up, not just simply relying on the top two lines to get all the points.

The Canes' will try to get another home-ice win when they host struggling Moose Jaw. The Warriors have the league's 2nd worst record, but that doesn't mean this is a slam dunk game for Lethbridge. On paper one would think this is maybe a mismatch, but I would disagree. Once teams start thinking they'll have an easy night, that's when the troubles begin. I know for sure that Coach Michael Dyck won't be taking the Warriors lightly. I'm sure he'll prepare his team for Moose Jaw as he would for Calgary, Vancouver, or another of the top teams in the WHL.

Tonight's game is a 6pm start from Lethbridge. The pre-game show on CJOC at 5:30.

On a much sadder note, former Hurricane goaltender Michael Maniago passed away after being involved in a car crash in Calgary the other night. Maniago was a big part of the Canes' run to the WHL final last season. News of his sudden death I'm sure brings shock and sadness to all who knew him. Maniago died early Saturday after the car he was driving collided with another vehicle in Calgary. Rest in Peace Manny.
Here's a link to the story in the Lethbridge Herald.
http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/content/view/11498/50/

Hurricanes This Week:

Monday night on CJOC tune into Hurricanes This Week. This week's guest in Canes' GM Roy Stasiuk. He'll join Dick and I for the whole hour to take your calls and answer e-mails. Monday night at 7pm on CJOC, 94.1 The Lounge!